Kiwi Flyer

Starting December 2014 SQ should fly A380 for SQ285/286 (evening departure for SIN-AKL and afternoon for AKL-SIN).

Air NZ and CX have premium economy to NZ.

Goalhanger

I spent some time last night going through routes and I think decided upon booking through Virgin, Virgin to San Francisco then ANZ to Auckland . Had to be careful as it appears that on Mondays ANZ fly a 777-200 instead of a 300 and therefore no space seats which I would prefer on the ANZ legs .
Booking through Virgin means I get the points/miles automatically added .
Just have to get down to doing it now , but at least Virgin looks the cheapest way anyway .

Phil

losta

Hello forum members,
I just started looking into flights for a trip to New Zealand for 3 weeks next April. I have looked at Delta where I have miles (but not enough to make much of a dent), Hawaiian Airlines, Qantas, Air New Zealand and a few others. I hope to travel business class. I have gotten prices from around $4200 (Hawaiian Airlines) to over $11,000 (Qantas).

I was wondering if the quality of business class really varies from Hawaiian, Air New Zealand and Qantas? I may consider Fiji Airways, Air Tahiti Nui, or some other airlines too. I would like to have minimal layovers-shortest duration too, unless I decide to stay at one of the transfer points for 2 days or so on the way. One option I consider was to spend a few days in Sydney, if my flight were to bring me there.

I will be traveling from NY so most options involve getting to LAX (Which I can use my miles for or get a reasonably priced flight) but some are NYC to Aukland. I have plenty of time to get this all worked out, but I want to start planning.
Thanks in advance!

Mwenenzi

Have a look at OneWorld circle pacific fare
A big difference in quality between Hawiian & QF. But may be not $6800 ($11,000 - $4200)

Airlines that fly USA/Canada to Australia (most from LAX) are
- United (Star Alliance)
- Qantas (OneWorld Alliance)
- Delta (Skyteam Alliance)
- Virgin Australia
- Hawaiian, via Hawaii
- Air NZ, via AKL (Star Alliance)
- Fiji Airways, via Fiji
- Air Tahiti Nui (last segments on codeshares)
- Air Canada
And others via Asia, South America & Middle East

Airlines that fly Australia – New Zealand are
- Air New Zealand (codeshares with VA) (Star Alliance)
- Virgin Australia (codeshares with Air NZ) (Delta partner)
- Jetstar (a low cost, low quality carrier with medium priced fares owned by QF)
- Qantas (codeshares with EK) (OneWorld)
- Emirates (codeshares with QF)
- LAN (SYD AKL) (OneWorld)
- China Airlines (BNE AKL) (Skyteam)

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...lia-miles.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...a-economy.html

Kiwi Flyer

China Airlines flies both BNE-AKL and SYD-AKL

losta

I found information about OneWorld circle pacific fare but I can't find how to book that. When I go to AA and put in my route I get fares from $9000-$16000+ for business class.
Any idea of approximate cost of OneWorld circle pacific fare business class might be?

Antonio8069

I am planning a long stay in New Zealand (DUD), and finding car rental rates are absurdly expensive ($85/day).
What other options are available:
- rent a wreck?
- is it better/cheaper to avoid airport pick-ups?
- companies/WEB sites to monitor for deals?
Thanks for any helpful suggestions!

Boraxo

Rental car rates are expensive in NZ and not just at airports.

behuman

Go Rental is a fantastic company, offering competitive one way rentals and also allows you on the ferry. Rented with them three times already and very very happy.

Kitty63

I always use this site when booking rental cars (it's a consolidated view of the top companies' deals): http://www.vroomvroomvroom.co.nz/

I'm not sure if you're travelling anywhere else other than Dunedin? If so, and if you are going to be travelling between the South and North Islands, you need to be aware that you can't take a rental car on the ferry - you'll have to leave your car at the ferry terminal in Picton (top of the South Island) and pick up a new rental car at the ferry terminal in Wellington (bottom of the North Island).

The price doesn't really vary too much whether you choose to pick a car up from a city, or airport, depot.

If you're going to be in Dunedin for a really long time and the rental car options are all too expensive, why not look at buying a car? This is a good place to start looking: http://www.autotrader.co.nz/ (select 'Otago' for your region). Be careful not to buy a lemon though - get it checked out by the Automobile Association or Vehicle Testing New Zealand (both offer pre-purchase inspections and can also check if there's any money owing on the car for you); you'll also need to get insurance (third party is the cheapest); plus you'll need to check that it has current Registration and a Warrant of Fitness (otherwise it won't be insurable).

columbiazulu

I'm planning a trip in Nov 2015 and was wondering which airline mileage programs charge the least amount of miles to get to AKL from SIN? United is 35000 roundtrip (economy) but with one stop. Singaporeair was about 50000 roundtrip (direct). Would anyone any other flight awards that are a better deal? (I have AA and United miles, but also some Chase/Citi cards through which I can move rewards to another mileage program). Any advice would be appreciated.

Mwenenzi

You will need ff miles in the programe to be able to use. Availibilty & surcharges are another issue.
Look here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...demptions.html
Also look at the cost of a cash fare.

columbiazulu

That's a fantastic tool, and something I was looking for in general to find out roughly how many miles to get to anywhere. Thank you very much for directing me to it!

mushez

Just buy a $1,000-$3,000 car on the likes of www.trademe.co.nz with enough WOF and Rego for your trip, Rego is easy to buy and is just $$$ - roughly $30-40 per month from any local post shop, however WOF is a 6 or 12 month mechanical inspection that only costs $30-60 to do, however if you need any repairs or change any tires to pass it - that can add a few hundred so most aim to have enough WOF for the period you have it. It is a $200 fine if you are pulled over without current and upto date rego, and the same $200 if you do not have a current WOF - so $400 hit if both are out. Also parking attendants can issue the fine also if your rego or WOF is out. You cannot buy rego without the car having a current WOF, and you do have 30 days grace if you fail a WOF that you can legally drive as long as you have the failed WOF piece of paper in your hand.

Then just buy 3rd party insurance from an insurance company, which is $10-30 per month, payable on a month by month basis.

Then just list it to sell on Trademe with the closing date 48 hours before you leave, and normally get all, if not just loose a few hundred dollars.

SpannerSpinner

I suspect Antonio may have been and gone by now, but for future travellers....

Thats not quite true. You have 28 days after failing a WOF inspection to remedy the fault and have it reinspected without charge( at the same inspection location), after the 28days you will have to pay another inspection fee. You are only legally permitted to drive to/from a place of repair without a current WOF.

A police officer may let you off with a warning or give you compliance (a ticket they will cancel if you prove you have obtained a WOF within a certain timeframe). Parking wardens (in Auckland at least) will slap an infringement notice on the car if either WOF or rego are expired by a day, they are a significant source of revenue for the council.

There are cheaper rental companies like go rentals and jucy that will rent older high milage cars for much lower rates. ( ~$25/day) on long term rentals