Air New Zealand Air Points - Prices seem a little high for AKL-CHC

I wish to travel between AKL-CHC and back on the morning of Jan 16 & 23, 2004. NZ comes in with a price of US$435 but QF is at US$104, which seems reasonable. Are these typical fares between AKL and CHC during high-season on NZ? I can only get award tickets till AKL (I don't understand how AKL-CHC is not available so far in advance, but thats another story), so am just thinking of buying tickets to CHC from AKL. I'd rather fly NZ than QF. I looked on NZ web-site, expedia, travelocity, so if someone knows of a better source to get tickets, please let me know.

Hi Zakami!

Those prices are crazy http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif I did several searches with different dates (diff times of year) and found it was always $430 or so on AirNZ! I can only assume that this is some sort of error with the published rates, as I can almost guarantee that those flights would be almost empty of ordinary NZ'ers were having to pay that much for a flight! I would suggest emailing or calling AirNZ to ask them what the story is. I remember seeing much lower prices only a month or two ago, and I'm sure there would be a huge outcry if the prices has honestly jumped so much. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Go on the AirNZ web site and set your country to NZ. Then reprice again...I did this as an experiment awhile ago...the fares were MUCH, much lower that way. Now I am not sure what the difference is...if you need to be a NZ citizen/resident, I recall something about more limited baggage, etc...but give it a try...and if the prices are much lower, perhaps you can ask that if you call them. Please post your findings here!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by zakami:
I wish to travel between AKL-CHC and back on the morning of Jan 16 & 23, 2004. NZ comes in with a price of US$435 but QF is at US$104, which seems reasonable. </font>

AKL-CHC-AKL, out on Jan 16 2004 returning Jan 23 can be booked for NZD $157.60 at http://www.airnz.co.nz

The domestic baggage limit for that trip on Air NZ would be 20 Kgs (total) per person. If you'd like a higher baggage limit, FF points and (perhaps) a meal, book with QF instead of NZ.

When booking your flights, make sure you leave plenty of time for connections in AKL. It is a long 15 minute walk between the the international and domestic terminals.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by BillMorrow:
When booking your flights, make sure you leave plenty of time for connections in AKL. It is a long 15 minute walk between the the international and domestic terminals.</font>

Or you could catch the free shuttle...

If you can do it, I suggest walk. The bus is not available early or late at night. It also only runs every 15-20 minutes or so. That means if you miss one, you may as well walk. It's a nice walk, flat and clearly marked (follow the thin blue line).

I agree take the walk. Especially if it's a sunny day, stretch those legs.....
Welcome to chc Zakami !

For the opposition try Qantas. They can be cheaper. US$50 to US$75 one way is common
http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/home/qualifier-region-nz



[This message has been edited by Mwenenzi (edited 03-25-2003).]