Delta has entered the Australian market, making flights between Los Angeles and Down Under  more competitive than they already were since V Australia added its presence to the trans-Pacific route last month. Delta will begin service between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Sydney, Australia (SYD), on July 1, 2009, if the government gives its stamp of approval. Qantas has reacted with a “travel-stimulus” sale, offering low fares between the United States and Australia and New Zealand.

you can have flights on Delta between LAX and SYD (July 11-25) as low as $722 round-trip, including tax. Here’s how that stacks up against the competitors for travel on the same dates: V Australia from $773; Qantas from $708; United from $1,168 for the same dates, but fares were only $729 if you adjusted the dates by a day on either side. In the end, Qantas came out the cheapest.

The Qantas “travel-stimulus” sale to Australia and New Zealand has fares starting at $299 each way, pre-tax, and is good for flights departing from Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Auckland. Book by March 20 for travel March 15 through Oct. 24, 2009. Note: Most of the LAX-SYD fares I found were $329 or $333 each way, and often the return flight was $380. Still, a remarkable sale price.