Best time to book flight to NZ?

Josieg

Hi

We plan on going to New Zealand for a wedding in July. We want to go around the 13th of July and return around the 8th of August. We can fly from anywhere really and into anywhere in New Zealand. The problem is the flights seem really expensive for around that time. The best I've come across so far is €1400 per person. Is there any time that is best to book or do the flights generally only get more expensive as you get closer to the date of the flight?

Also does anyone know if booking via STA can save much if you have a "teacher" card?

Thanks in advance.

Joe

pclancy

To be honest that price doesnt seem that bad, I've paid similar amounts several times in the past. Cheapest I ever got was probably e1000 return. Maybe shop around some more, I've heard Air Korea, Air Asia X and China Southern have got budget flights at the moment. Qantas and Cathay often have specials. I don't know why prices would be higher in July unless its peak holiday season for kiwis and ozzies going up for the European summer.

keaneray

I've just came back to NZ from Ireland last week and I would recommend not always going for the cheapest option if you can. The dreaded 'Jetlag' is a real 'b*tch and can take a week to get over which might ruin the initial week after arriving. I had four flights, dub to lon to bangkok to sydney to auc. It was with Qantas (who are great), but it took 40 odd hours and cost $2800NZD return (peak Xmas period).

Emirates have recently opened up a route from dublin to dubai. You could get this with a direct then onto Auckland taking 30 hours. Check their prices. You could be lucky and get a return for around the 1600-1700 euro mark. Book soon though as the euro is taking a massive swan dive. You'll find it very expensive over in NZ at the moment.

If your looking for really cheap the best option would be AirAsia. Last year they opened up the London to Christchurch route via KL. You'll pay for all the extras like meals, entertainment and seats choice, but a good bang for your buck option.

Ray

Josieg

Thanks guys. I've got an option with Quantas that actually seems alright at about €1300 each from Dublin. The AirAsia site is not working properly today so I cant check them.

@keaneray We don't care about where we fly into but will be at a wedding on the 6th of Aug in Wellington and would like to fly back on the 8th. As most flights seem to be from Auckland how easy would it be to get there from Wellington and how long would it take? Also why are flights quite expensive to NZ in July? I thought it would be cheaper since it will be winter?

keaneray

Best bet would be to fly from Auckland down to Wellington. It costs approx $80NZD one way and takes 1hr. The other options would be the train which I think is roughly the same price, but take nine hours I think. You could also do a car relocation which is very cheap (usually free) and see some great places along the way. You might be allowed 2-3 days to take the car from A to B.

Not sure why flights are expensive around that time. The only fact I do know is that flight aint getting any cheaper.

Qantas for 1300e sounds like a bargain!

Josieg

Thanks for your reply keaneray. I have taken the plunge and booked a Qantas flight from Dub to Wellington (I didn't try that combo for some reason!) for €1050 so I'm pretty happy. Will be doing some research on what to do over the next few months so I might pick your brains if thats ok.

pclancy

Sweet price if that's a return!

keaneray

No worries man. I'm taking it that that's a one way price? NZ has some amazing places to see and visit especially around winter. You'll be very close to Mt Ruapehu which is the north island's main ski resort if you like the powder. It depends if you want to travel much or stay in the same area. Since you have a two weeks before the wedding I'd definitely recommend heading down west on the south island, making sure to see Franz Josef, Wanaka and Queenstown. Smashing spots!

irishh_bob

Josieg wrote: »

Hi

We plan on going to New Zealand for a wedding in July. We want to go around the 13th of July and return around the 8th of August. We can fly from anywhere really and into anywhere in New Zealand. The problem is the flights seem really expensive for around that time. The best I've come across so far is €1400 per person. Is there any time that is best to book or do the flights generally only get more expensive as you get closer to the date of the flight?

Also does anyone know if booking via STA can save much if you have a "teacher" card?

Thanks in advance.

Joe

those prices are very expensive , thats the cheapest time of year to fly to australia or new zealand as its off season - winter

you should be able to get a ticket for under a grand

Josieg

irishh_bob wrote: »

those prices are very expensive , thats the cheapest time of year to fly to australia or new zealand as its off season - winter

you should be able to get a ticket for under a grand

Thanks for all the replys guys. €1050 was a return fare from Dublin. I assumed like the last post said that I should easily get a flight for under a grand but when I went to investigate I could'nt get anything like that price for the dates I need to be there. I contacted the STA as well and they told me that it was unusually expensive for that time and they could only assume that it had something to do with the Olympics in London (even though I will be going in the opposite direction to those flying to and from Europe for them!!). I'm quite pleased with the cost really considering some of the prices I was quoted over the last few weeks.

I also got 5% cash back with Quidco (uk) which is a bonus.

irishh_bob

Josieg wrote: »

Thanks for all the replys guys. €1050 was a return fare from Dublin. I assumed like the last post said that I should easily get a flight for under a grand but when I went to investigate I could'nt get anything like that price for the dates I need to be there. I contacted the STA as well and they told me that it was unusually expensive for that time and they could only assume that it had something to do with the Olympics in London (even though I will be going in the opposite direction to those flying to and from Europe for them!!). I'm quite pleased with the cost really considering some of the prices I was quoted over the last few weeks.

I also got 5% cash back with Quidco (uk) which is a bonus.

abbey travel had a very limited fares offer in october for flights in febuary and march of this year , the cost was something around 900 return to australia and less than a grand to new zealand , febuary and march is a more expensive time to travel down under than in june - july , it often depends which airline you go with , eithad , emmirates and to a lesser degree qantas tend to be much cheaper than all the others

Josieg

irishh_bob wrote: »

abbey travel had a very limited fares offer in october for flights in febuary and march of this year , the cost was something around 900 return to australia and less than a grand to new zealand , febuary and march is a more expensive time to travel down under than in june - july , it often depends which airline you go with , eithad , emmirates and to a lesser degree qantas tend to be much cheaper than all the others

Yeah thats exactly what I was told but for some reason both Eithad were over the €1300 mark and the likes of Air NZ and BA were nearly €2000 return!! I was thinking of waiting because I thought it would be like short haul airlines which release their cheap offers usualy 3 months prior to departure date but the flights started to get more expensive by the day. Its just my luck to decide to go off peak and still get screwed on price.

irishh_bob

Josieg wrote: »

Yeah thats exactly what I was told but for some reason both Eithad were over the €1300 mark and the likes of Air NZ and BA were nearly €2000 return!! I was thinking of waiting because I thought it would be like short haul airlines which release their cheap offers usualy 3 months prior to departure date but the flights started to get more expensive by the day. Its just my luck to decide to go off peak and still get screwed on price.

you must have just stumbled across a bunch of flights with only a handfull of seats remaining , you could check prices twice in one day and see tottally different fares

kelzer

Josieg wrote: »

Yeah thats exactly what I was told but for some reason both Eithad were over the €1300 mark and the likes of Air NZ and BA were nearly €2000 return!! I was thinking of waiting because I thought it would be like short haul airlines which release their cheap offers usualy 3 months prior to departure date but the flights started to get more expensive by the day. Its just my luck to decide to go off peak and still get screwed on price.

I found Air NZ cheaper when calling them to get a price than what they quoted on their website. Also it was much cheaper to fly out of Belfast City than Dublin with them for some reason.

darrell00

hi there darrell here i am trying to get a 1 way flight to queenstown just after the christmas i know its the most expensive time but i have no choice the best i am getting is 1200 euro one way so any ideas or suggestions would be great

pclancy

Try getting quotes for flights from Europe into Christchurch or Auckland instead of direct to Queenstown and book your internal flight down to Queenstown separately with Jetstar or AirNZ. Jestar for example often have Auckland-Queenstown flights for only $59!

But yeah just after Xmas is New Zealand school summer holidays and the best weather so its gonna be dear

Batgurl

Have you tried looking at doing Air NZ? If time isn't an issue, it's often cheapest and also helps with jetlag as crossing the timeline means you just lose a day.

Dublin-London-San Francisco-Auckland-Queenstown