Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific - Sightseeing flights from Queenstown-Milford Sound

I noticed there are nearly a dozen or so operators that fly between Queenstown and the Milford Sound area. From my liimited research, it appears all of them have good records, but I wonder if anyone could make a recommendation with regard to price/service, etc?

Thanks

Service will be basically the same. Price varies a bit, and some airlines have options to loop around Mt Aoraki/Cook, Mt Aspiring, etc.

As for safety - well there probably is some info somewhere either explicit or just look for risk factors yourself if it is a concern.

Weather is another factor. All operators have been non flying on my last two visits (doesn't of course change our choice of operator)

Jeff

I'm a stickler for safety and airplane operation and all the operators I examined a few years ago were very good. NZ has some really good processes for aviation safety and I'd say it is much better out of Queenstown than what you find out of Hawaii for example. I have mixed feelings about flying to Milford Sound. The flights are often grounded due to low cloud/fog, and the drive to Milford is pretty nice and an adventure in its own right (as long as you avoid the buses -- so start the drive from Te Anau and not from ZQN). The real value of the plane is to save the time of the drive -- but the drive is nicer than most of the activities around ZQN.

Doubtful sound is pretty nice, if you have the option for a plane trip that includes it.