Australian air fares on major international routes are all set to fall now with Virgin Blue preparing for US flights and several airlines getting ready to use the giant Airbus A380 for their flights to and from London.

Virgin Blue wants to schedule two direct flights to the US per day using the Super Jumbo. This will be in direct competition with Australian flag carrier Qantas, and US carrier United Airlines.

Virgin CEO Brett Godfrey says cheaper Aussie flights could start next year once both governments have approved the scheme. He also says that Virgin, which operates Boeing 737 aircraft on domestic Australian routes, was already talking to Boeing and Airbus about buying bigger airplanes for the trans-Pacific route.

"It's still too early to put our cards on the table but Virgin has a reputation of being innovative when they set up new ventures," said Mr Godfrey.

In the meantime, it has already been predicted that air fares will drop later this year, once airlines start flying the 550-seat A380 between Australia and London. Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Emirates have all bought the super jumbo.