Fares start at $64, and with cost-of-living still biting, the timing couldn’t be better.

Jetstar has never exactly been shy about a birthday party. But this year, as Australia’s dominant budget carrier turns 22, the airline has gone big, dangling the promise of a free return flight to anyone willing to book within the next 48 hours.

The mechanics are simple: purchase an outbound “starter fare" on a qualifying route, and the return leg comes back to you at $0. Over 75,000 such seats are available across more than 80 routes, spanning everything from quick domestic hops to long-haul flights to Osaka and Seoul.

The timing is calculated. With cost-of-living pressures still squeezing household budgets across Australia, the free-return offer lands as something of a permission slip – the final psychological nudge for the trip that’s been sitting on the back burner all year.

Domestic fares start at $64 (Adelaide to Melbourne’s Avalon airport), with Sydney to Ballina Byron at $86, Brisbane to Cairns at $139, and Perth to Sydney at $289 – all with a free seat waiting for you on the way home. International options range from $249 for Perth to Bali through to $559 for Brisbane to Tokyo, with Seoul, Phuket, and Osaka also on the list.

“Low fares are in Jetstar’s DNA," said Prue McKenzie, the airline’s executive manager of customer and digital. “Our Return for Free sale delivers the kind of value we’re known for at a time when cost-of-living pressures are squeezing household budgets."

Travel dates span mid-January to late February 2027 for domestic routes, and mid-June 2026 through to mid-March 2027 for international. The 48-hour public sale window opens at midnight AEST tonight (4 May) and closes at 11.59pm Wednesday 6 May. Club Jetstar members also get 12 hours of exclusive early access from midday today, a quiet but effective loyalty play.

Given how fast these seats have gone in previous years, that sell-out caveat is not idle fine print.