Originally Posted by
frappant
Just checked a couple of dates for SFO-CHC in December.
For Premium Plus, the fares to CHC are about 600-700 more, or 15-17% more than fares to AKL. So a bit of a premium to fly in directly to CHC. For the fare difference, you can pay for a short NZ flight from AKL to CHC or any other gateway to the South Island so maybe direct to CHC isn't worth it, at east as of now.
The UA SFO-CHC direct is a nominal 14 hours 05 minutes. SFO-AKL-CHC takes usually around 16:15 on Airnz with a 1:50 layover in AKL. During that layover you'll need to clear customs, go through NZ biosecurity, check your bags again, get yourself to the domestic terminal (either 10 minute shuttle or about a 10 minute outside walk), get through security, and find your gate. The biosecurity checkpoint can be quite slow, depending on your situation (hiking / outdoor gear especially) and if other arrivals are already in the line up in front (6am to 8am local is peak time for international arrivals at AKL). There is no premium line for bio. Once at CHC you'll walk straight out into the domestic terminal with no further delay aside from checked luggage pickup. Flying direct will save a little time, but you'll still have to allow 30-35 min to get off the plane and clear customs and bio in CHC - so the actual time will be around 14:35-14:40. Basically a time savings of around 90 minutes if your end destination is CHC.