Flying to Europe from Australia used to mean a stopover in Dubai or Doha for most people. Not any more. Travel agents are reporting a wave of bookings on Asian carriers, driven by fares that are hard to argue with.
Flight Centre says demand for the June-to-September window has jumped by triple digits on several Asian airlines compared with last year. China Eastern leads the pack with a 278 per cent surge in bookings, followed by Taiwan's China Airlines at 118 per cent and Malaysia Airlines at 103 per cent. Flight Centre's global leisure CEO John Kavanagh says many travellers are considering these routes for the first time, and that some fares are 'simply too good to pass up'.
The numbers back him up. Examples he cites include a premium economy Melbourne-Paris return with Vietnam Airlines for $3,458, and a Brisbane-Madrid return with China Southern for around $1,200 — a price he admits 'feels like a mistake'. Plenty of other Australia-to-Europe fares are sitting under $1,500, some as low as $1,300. His advice for anyone eyeing a Euro summer trip: book now.
Geopolitics is part of the story. Ongoing conflict in the Middle East has made some travellers wary of routing through Gulf hubs, though Kavanagh insists Emirates and Qatar Airways remain the most popular options overall, especially since the DFAT travel warning was downgraded. It's less a boycott than a broadening of horizons — and Asian carriers have been quick to sweeten the deal. Vietjet is rolling out free high-speed Starlink WiFi across its fleet, including the A320s and A330s it flies to Australia, while Singapore Airlines is refreshinging its menus with more than 100 new dishes from November, from an apple tart in every cabin to lobster royal and champagne-poached Maine lobster up front.
Cruise passengers are a big chunk of this movement. CLIA figures show 286,000 Australians cruised outside Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific in its latest annual count, up 17 per cent. Europe is a major driver: an estimated 92,000 Australians are expected to cruise the Mediterranean in 2025, up from about 82,000, while Northern Europe numbers are tipped to jump from around 14,500 to 19,000 — combined growth of roughly 15 per cent.
The wider market is shifting too. Bureau of Statistics data for June 2026 shows Qantas and Jetstar together holding 31.5 per cent of the international market, with Singapore Airlines third at 9.5 per cent. The most striking movement is Emirates, whose share halved from 6.6 per cent to 3.5 per cent year on year — though the data alone can't pin down exactly why.
For travellers, the takeaway is simple: the cheapest way to Europe right now is often via Asia, the product on those airlines is improving fast, and the fare window may not stay open long. If a $1,200 return to Madrid fits your plans, it's probably worth locking in.
