Etihad slashes airfares to Europe AIRFARES to Europe have hit another low with Virgin Australia partner Etihad offering return economy tickets from $1209 as part of a 10th anniversary sale. The offer is valid for flights out of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and good for travel in October and November, with Melbourne-Istanbul leading the way with the cheapest ticket. Other deals include Melbourne-Amsterdam ($1245), Melbourne-Geneva (from $1218), Sydney-Istanbul (from $1224), Sydney-Paris (from $1293), Brisbane-Milan (from $1277) and Brisbane-Brussels (from $1285). The airline is also offering double miles for members of its loyalty program. The fares are comparable with low-price Chinese carriers and come as airlines have released attractive early-bird fares for travel to Europe next year as they battle for customers on the highly competitive market. Chinese carriers have been offering fares as low as $1294 return economy ticket to Amsterdam for travel between February 1 and June 30. But even full-service carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Emirates are putting their best foot forward fare-wise with tax-inclusive economy class return deals to Europe starting in the mid $1400s. Separately, Virgin Australia today announced it would introduce direct Brisbane-Cloncurry flights from November 27.