Get me to Melbourne

QUESTION: I need to visit a relative in Melbourne, Australia. Can you suggest the quickest, cheapest and most comfortable return fare in economy class from Cape Town? - D Levin

ANSWER: Without dates, it is difficult to tell which would be the cheapest ticket on the popular SA-Australia route. Certainly, you should try to avoid school holidays if you want a cheap fare. There is no direct flight from Cape Town to Melbourne. If you want the fewest stopovers, you should choose Emirates or Singapore Airlines. With Emirates, you can take the newly-launched direct flight from Cape Town to Dubai and connect with the airline's non-stop flight from Dubai to Melbourne. On Singapore Airlines, you can fly from Cape Town direct to Singapore and then on to Melbourne. The quickest flying time would be with SAA. You would fly from Cape Town to Johannesburg and then on to Perth with the national airline. However, from Perth to Melbourne you will have to fly with Qantas or another Australian airline. Alternatively, you could book a flight to Johannesburg on a local airline and then fly with Qantas to Sydney and on to Melbourne.