Cheapest and Most Expensive Flights Revealed by MoneyHub as part of newly released guide to bagging cheap domestic
airfares
With New Zealanders frequently competing against overseas tourists for cheap airfares, personal finance website MoneyHub
releases a guide to booking air travel within New Zealand. The research also confirms the cheapest and most expensive
airfares per kilometre flown.
MoneyHub’s Senior Researcher Christopher Walsh said “We’re delighted to publish our succinct guide to saving money on domestic airfares. With Air New Zealand and Jetstar
competing aggressively on main routes and key regional services, it’s never been cheaper to fly. Our guide formalises
tips to save even more when booking flights”.
“We recommend that everyone planning to fly signs up for newsletters from both Jetstar and Air New Zealand. Neither of
the airlines filled up inboxes with irrelevant offers – instead when domestic sales go live email recipients are the
first to know. Sales could see 50% reductions on fares in some instances.”
“If you’re flexible, we recommend using the Skyscanner search-by-month tool which gives the cheapest airfare on each day
in a month. Best of all, you can avoid the travel agents that appear in Skyscanner’s search results and price the fares
directly with the airlines once the cheapest dates/flights are known. Additionally, you can redeem Airpoints Dollars™ or Jetstar credit, making the actual cost even cheaper”.
“We warn travellers against three money-sucking extras – seat reservations, unnecessary baggage and so-called
cancellation insurance. These are of course up to the needs of a traveller, but for a couple going away for a long
weekend, a checked bag each, pre-selected seats and a cancellation insurance policy can add an extra $100 to the total
cost. We want to encourage travellers to challenge what they really need and save money”.
“The New Zealand car rental market is wildly competitive, with new operators starting in Auckland, Christchurch and
Queenstown frequently. For this reason, much cheaper car rental deals can be found away from airline websites. In one
instance, a MoneyHub team member recently paid around $150 for a seven day car rental in Christchurch with unlimited
mileage – airlines were offering similar cars for $400”.
“New Zealanders are facing fees for paying with debit and credit cards – Air New Zealand and Jetstar charge $4 and $5
respectively per passenger. POLI was an alternative to eliminating these fees – you’d need to have enough money in your
bank account to buy the airfares”.
“To put the price of airfares in perspective, we researched New Zealand’s cheapest and most expensive flights per
kilometre flown based on the lowest year-round airfares available. Jetstar beat Air New Zealand on the
Auckland-Christchurch (6.6 cents/KM) and Auckland-Dunedin (7.4 cents/KM) routes, with both airlines tying on the
Auckland-Queenstown route (7.7 cents/KM)”
When it came to the most expensive flights based on distance covered, Stewart Island Flights’ Invercargill-Stewart
Island route started at $107.50 each way, breaking down to $1.81/KM flown during the 59 km route. Next highest was
Sounds Air’s Wellington-Picton flight at $99, or $1.40/km flown. Rounding out the top 3 was Barrier Air and Fly My Sky’s
Auckland-Great Barrier Island service which at $89 equated to $1.03/km flown. MoneyHub appreciates that regional
operators didn’t enjoy the economics of scale of either Air New Zealand or Jetstar, hence the higher prices. In the case
of Steward Island Flights, the fare needs to keep up the airline’s own airport on Stewart Island”.
MoneyHub has released the guide to share previously unpublished tips and money-saving techniques to make domestic travel
more affordable for individuals and families alike. The page will be updated on an ongoing basis.
ENDS