Cheap New Zealand Domestic Flights

Kiwis complain about the price of domestic flights, and it is fair that some routes almost price as high as they fly. Out guide puts you in control, making the best
 
And in the first part of an ongoing series, moneyhub investigates our most domestic expensive flights per kilometre flown, and the cheapest. We look at:
  1. 5 tips to save BIG on domestic flights, every time you need to fly
  2. The five cheapest and most expensive flights within New Zealand per KM flown

10 tips to save BIG on domestic flights, every time you need to fly

Book in as far advance as you can and be flexibile

Cheap flights go quickly. Both Jetstar and Air New Zealand release cheap fares 11-12 months in advance on almost every flight. If you know your plans now and your travel is next year, it makes sense to book. 

Sign up to Jetstar and Air New Zealand’s sale alerts

When it comes to airfare promotions, email works much better than watching for Facebook or Twitter offers, as there is so much other stuff going on in social media. Sign up to Air New Zealand and Jetstar

If you’re flexible, ONLY book sales

If your travel is leisure and flexible, wait for a domestic sale. Flights around the country get slashed and you can save up to 50%.
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moneyhub reader David writes “I was pricing a work trip which involved four flights, and was quoted $450 on Air New Zealand. Within a day I got an email about a sale and booked the same flights for $250 as it was saved in my search history. Result!

Use the top comparison sites to slash costs if you know your exact dates and destination

Skyscanner.com and webjet.co.nz are two examples of comparison sites that find the best deals. You can adjust your preferred travel time and airline as you laser-target the cheapest airfares. 

Consider Jetstar’s Club Membership or Air New Zealand Airpoints

For $49/year (and waived in your first year), Jetstar’s Club Membership offers member-only fares (a discount of around $4 per sector), 20% off bags and seat selection, early access to sales and the ability to save when you add other passengers to your bookings. Unless you are flying about 10 times per year, it’s unlikely Jetstar’s Club will pay for itself. But if you do, it may be worth looking at. Best of all, you can always take the membership for free and cancel before the end of your first year without penalty.
 
Air New Zealand Airpoints is free to join and a lot of credit cards and retail partner purchases earn Airpoints Dollars so you can put them towards free flights. If you don’t have enough, Flexipay lets you part-pay your airfare in cash and Airpoints (see our Flexipay guide here - LINK  http://www.moneyhub.co.nz/airpoints-flexipay-guide.html). You’ll need to fly Air New Zealand at least once a year to avoid a $30 annual fee.  

Don’t pay for seat reservations

Unless you have any special reason, paying $5 or $10 to sit someone for a 1-hour flight doesn’t make sense. It’s a good idea on a long-haul flight if you want unrestricted access to the bathroom but we don’t see the point on domestic hops. 

If you’ll don’t need check in baggage, don’t buy it.

Air New Zealand Jetstar charge around $10 for one 20 KG bag. If you’re fine with the 7kg carryon, don’t bother about it. But if you plan to take a few things, don’t try and sneak it on – both airlines check weights and Jetstar stings you at the airport with a 15kg checkin bag costing $70. You can always add a bag to your booking for a much lower price BEFORE you get to the airport. 

Ignore the “travel insurance” and “cancellation protection” – they have a lot of terms and conditions and won’t cover you for travel plans changing or a change of mind.

Try to claim on these and you’ll probably face an excess, a lot of hoops to jump through and maybe, just maybe, a payout on your airfare. We recommend you avoid them unless there is a high chance you may be ill during the time of your travel and the airfare is high value. Otherwise, it’s an add-on that is designed to make the airlines more money. 

Avoid paying by debit or credit cards - use POLI instead

Card fees are steep – Air New Zealand charges $4.00 and Jetstar whacks on $5 per passenger per booking for a “Booking and Service Fee”. Avoid this every time by using POLI – you’ll need to have enough money in your account and your online banking details handy, but the process is easy and it will save you at least $4 per passenger you are booking flights for. 

Don’t book rental cars or hotels with the airline

Airlines love to offer us “deals” but it’s likely that the rental cars and hotels on offer are much cheaper when you go via a price comparison site or contact the companies directly. Sites like kayak.com and booking.com offer a better range and price on everything you’ll need for your holiday. To save more money, look at their best deals and contact the rental car agency or hotel/motel directly – you may find they offer a better deal if you book direct.
 
moneyhub reader Max writes “I found a good deal on a car rental in Queenstown. I looked up the company and saw they offered a 25% discount code for small vehicles. Not only was the rental cheaper than what was quoted on the price comparison site, I got an extra discount and ended up paying around $160 for a week’s rental – thanks moneyhub!

Check out “grabaseat” and “weekend frenzy”

Grabaseat and Weekend Frenzy periodically offer cheap deals from Air New Zealand and Jestar respectively. If you’re looking for ideas to go somewhere and want a deal, these are great websites to start with.   

The five most expensive flights within New Zealand per KM flown

Ranking Airline Route Price Distance (KM) $/KM
#1 Stewart Island Flights Invercargill-Stewart Island 107.5 59.36 1.81
#2 Air2There Blenheim-Nelson 99 59 1.69
#3 Sounds Air Wellington-Picton 99 70.76 1.40
#4 Barrier Air/Fly My Sky Auckland Airport-Great Barrier Island 89 86.74 1.03
#5 Barrier Air Kaitaia - Great Barrier Island 220 234.9 0.94

​Flying to Stewart Island? You’ll pay nearly $2 for every kilometre flown. Compare this to 7-9 cents per KM flown for most domestic jet flights and you can see how expensive it is. Popular routes Wellington to Picton and Auckland to Great Barrier also come in at $1.03 - $1.40 per KM. 

The five cheapest flights within New Zealand per KM flown

Ranking Airline Route Price Distance (KM) $/KM
#1 Jetstar AKL-CHC 49 746 0.066
#2 Jetstar AKL-Dunedin 79 1,062 0.074
#3 Air NZ/Jetstar AKL-Queenstown 79 1,025 0.077
#4 Air NZ AKL-CHC 59 746 0.079
#5 Air NZ AKL-Dunedin 99 1,062 0.093

​Jetstar delivers the best prices on busy Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown flights out of Auckland.
 
And the award for the most expensive year-round advance booking airfare? The honour goes to Air Chathams, which charges $385 each way between Auckland or Welington to the Chatham Islands. It’s a fair distance (1,100KM+ from Wellington alone) and saves days on a boat.
Airline Route Price Distance (KM) $/KM
Stewart Island Flights Invercargill-Stewart Island 107.5 59.36 1.81
Air2There Blenheim-Nelson 99 59 1.69
Sounds Air Wellington-Picton 99 70.76 1.40
Barrier Air/Fly My Sky Auckland Airport-Great Barrier Island 89 86.74 1.03
Barrier Air Kaitaia - Great Barrier Island 220 234.9 0.94
Sounds Air Wellington-Nelson 120 132.04 0.91
Barrier Air North Shore Airport-Great Barrier Island 89 105.06 0.85
Air2There PPQ-Nelson 120 154 0.78
Sounds Air Wellington-Westport 199 272.61 0.73
Originair Nelson-Palmeston North 99 229 0.43
Originair Nelson-New Plymouth 99 267 0.37
Air Chathams AKL-Chathams 385 1,105 0.35
Air Chathams WLG-Chathams 385 1,105 0.35
Air NZ AKL-Dunedin 99 1,062 0.09
Air NZ/Jetstar AKL-Queenstown 79 1,025 0.08
Jetstar AKL-Dunedin 79 1,062 0.07