A Jetstar report said Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast were the top cities people wanted to visit.

Jetstar’s latest polling showed that 75 per cent of people who were planning a domestic holiday expected to spend $1000 or more. For an overseas holiday, 54 per cent said they would budget about $4000 or more for a week.

The airline used the data as a lead-in for a new campaign allowing people to fly a friend for free to some of the popular holiday destinations including tropical north Queensland, the Gold Coast, Whitsundays and the capitals of Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart.

Flight Centre subsidiary FCM Consulting also said today that it expected global airline seat capacity to hit 85 per cent of pre-Covid levels by the end of the year with Australian airlines to be about 83 per cent.

However, it admitted there were challenges for the sector which included emloyment constraints and rising costs.

But a separate report from Flight Centre subsidiary FCM Consulting, which focuses on corporate travel, showed that overseas travel prices were soaring. An economy fare between London and Singapore jumped 46 per cent in the second quarter of the year; Sydney to LA was up 51 per cent and Auckland to Sydney prices increased 42 per cent.

“Despite prices heading northwards, demand for domestic and international travel is skyrocketing,” FCM said.

It said the costs of the top 30 corporate routes had increased by 40 per cent or more for economy and 23 per cent for business class compared with 2019.

Room rates had also increased in Europe by $US25 a night.

Qantas has also apologised for its disastrous series of delayed flights, cancellations and lost baggage in recent months and offered customers a $50 flight discount to make amends.

Chief executive Alan Joyce conceded the national carrier had been beset by recent “operational challenges” as customers queued for hours at airports around the country.

The airline is rolling out vouchers and frequent flyer perks, including lounge invitations and reward seat availability, as additional sweeteners to win back customers.

In a bid to get back to pre-pandemic service, Qantas has hired an additional 1500 staff and adjusted flight schedules to help smooth the travel experience.

In a video and email message sent to millions of the company’s Frequent Flyers, Mr Joyce said the return to skies hadn’t all gone smoothly.

“Over the past few months, too many of you have had flights delayed, flights cancelled and bags misplaced. There are good reasons why, but when it comes to what you expect from Qantas, it’s not good enough.

“On behalf of the national carrier, I want to apologise and assure you that we’re working hard to get back to our best.”