Cheap New Zealand Domestic Flights

Our exclusive tips help you save money on flights that is far better spent on your holiday.

Updated 10 September 2023

Our Guide to Saving Money on Domestic Flights

Kiwis complain about the price of domestic flights, and it is a fair comment to say that some routes can seem like a ripoff. We've put together this guide to help New Zealanders save money when it comes to getting on a plane.
If you have tips that you'd like to share with us, please contact our research team.

11 Must-Know Domestic Air Travel Tips

Book in as far advance as you can and be flexible

Cheap flights go quickly, especially during holiday periods. 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 early - you can lock in the lowest price and be guaranteed not to pay more.

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

When it comes to airfare promotions, email notifications work much better than watching for Facebook or Twitter offers given so much other stuff goes on in social media. Sign up to Air New Zealand and Jetstar email alerts to be the first in the know. Sales are usually emailed with no warning, so you won't have to wait to book.

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%.

MoneyHub reader David writes: “I was pricing a work trip which involved four flights, and was quoted $550 on Air New Zealand. Within a day I got an email about a sale and booked the same flights for $250! It was saved in my search history, and all of the flights were massively reduced. Result!

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

Skyscanner.co.nz and webjet.co.nz are two examples of comparison sites that find the best deals. Use the helpful "search my month" feature on Skyscanner to get the cheapest fare on any given day. You can also 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 around $60/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.

Alternatively, 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). 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 next to 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're desperate to have a window or aisle but don't want to pay, select it at check-in and/or ask an agent to change whatever you've been given - they usually do this without a problem.

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

Air New Zealand and Jetstar charge around $10-15 for one 20 KG bag. If you’re fine with the 7kg carry-on, 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 checked bag costing $70. If you know you're pushing the carry-on limit, it's best to add a bag to your booking for a much lower price BEFORE you get to the airport.

Ignore the “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 "cancellation insurance" and you’ll probably have to stump up the cost of an excess, jump through a lot of hoops and prove you couldn't fly. Then maybe, and just maybe, a payout on your airfare will be granted. We recommend you avoid such policies unless there is a high chance you may be ill during the time of your travel and the airfare is high value. Otherwise, we take a view that cancellation insurance is an add-on 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 each flight. It's an easy way to save, and it's almost as quick as entering your credit card details.

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 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.

Our guide to rental cars has more details.

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 Jetstar respectively. If you’re looking for ideas to go somewhere and want a deal, these are great websites to start with.

Help us improve our guide

Do you have tips or something useful you'd like to share with us? We'd love to hear from you - contact our research team with your tips and experiences.

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