Best flight deal: How to fly to Australia for under £450

Grab a deal for next New Year's Eve (Getty Images)

Every week, Jack Sheldon from Jack’s Flight Club selects a flight deal from the UK for Independent readers that you can’t afford to miss. This week: return flights to Australia for £415 and Asia for £353 for next New Year’s Eve.

Some of the lowest fares we’ve ever seen to Australia and New Zealand have just dropped, with availability over New Year’s Eve 2018 – normally very rare. These flights depart from London and fly via Beijing to destinations all over Asia and Australasia. There is scattered availability throughout the year, but the real prize here is the range of departures from 25 to 31 December, with returns from 2 to 13 January. School holiday-time flights like these are typically three times the current offer and are almost never seen at prices this low, so we suggest grabbing the early bird flights while you can.

How to book

The fares are available through booking sites such as momondo and kayak , but the best way to book this one is directly with the airline, Air China. Go to airchina.co.uk and put in any of the destinations listed below.

From

London Heathrow

To

Auckland (AKL): £419

Brisbane (BNE): £415

Melbourne (MEL): £424

Sydney (SYD): £437

Ho Chi Minh (SGN): £361

Bangkok (BKK): £363

Manila (MNL): £353

Singapore (SIN): £364

Shanghai (SHA): £391

Hong Kong (HKG): £369

Taipei (TPE): £357

Fuzhou (FOC): £393

Xiamen (XMN): £406

Tokyo (NRT): £425

When to fly

Scattered availability throughout 2018, but the dates over the Christmas holidays and New Year’s Eve 2018 are:

Departure 25 to 31 December 2018

Return 27 December 2018 to 12 January 2019

When to book

These prices should last few a few more days.

Pro tips

Some of the routes, especially those heading to Australia and New Zealand, will have longer stopovers. Make sure to look into grabbing a discounted lounge pass or take advantage of Beijing’s free short-stay visa for a visit to the Great Wall or the Forbidden City.

Air China does also allow you to extend your stay in Beijing for longer. To do this, simply change the return itinerary to a multi-stop one and extend your Beijing stop for the number of days you prefer. China allows visas on arrival for up to three days, but make sure to get a visa in advance if you’re staying for longer.