RESEARCH by Flight Centre has confirmed what every air traveller must now realise - international air fares have never been so cheap. A comparison of fares advertised by the Queensland-based travel group last month and in May five years ago shows an average fall of 15 per cent on major routes, with those on one route - Brisbane to Los Angeles - down 41 per cent. On that route five years ago, Flight Centre advertised a return economy ticket for $1725; two weeks ago, the price was $1025. Fares for London last month were being advertised for $1455 - down 6 per cent on the 2004 price - while those for Bangkok were down 29 per cent, New York and Buenos Aires were down by 22 per cent, and Paris dropped by 5 per cent. A major anomaly was the Brisbane-Wellington fare, which rose by 17 per cent ($398 to $465), while fares for Hong Kong and Johannesburg were virtually unchanged. During the five-year period, Flight Centre said, average full-time wages in Australia had risen by more than 20 per cent. Flight Centre executive general manager Shannon O'Brien said international fares now were "the cheapest in memory". Increased competition, the advent of low-cost carriers and, more recently, a fall in demand for long-haul flights had created "a golden era" for travel bargain hunters. "The overall deals that are currently available are generally terrific value and will probably never be repeated," Mr O'Brien said. However, he warned airlines would not be able to sustain the cheap fares - like the recent, eye-catching deals that included a Brisbane-London return economy airfare for $1299 - for long.