New Zealand: Here I come!

[Omaha]

Right it's decided, NZ it is with no South Pacific or Oriental stopovers. I feel those areas warrant a trip each all on their own to do them justice & I'm gonna need the five weeks off just to see NZ alone.

Anyway what I want to know is:

1. Are there any reputable airline websites that will give me a cheaper flight than a travel agency.

2. What are the best airlines to travel with to Auckland from LHR return or another British airport (doubt somehow that any fly direct from Dub) :(

3. When are the best times to travel in December (or should I move my flights back into late November) without getting fleeced (believe the flights go up something else coming up towards Xmas) & when should the price of flights go down again in Jan?

Looking forward to hearing all your pearls of wisdom. :)

[Globaliser]

5 weeks off for NZ alone is definitely a good idea! :ok: It's a big country with lots to see and do.

The thing I can help most with is the cheap bit of December. It's usually up to about the 9th. But availability is absolutely dire in the last few days before the cutoff point, as you can imagine, so get in early if you want to travel about then.

I think your options from MAN would be SQ and EK. Beware of EK's 777s, though - 10 abreast in economy although with a better-than-normal pitch make up for it.

All other reasonable choices (incl SQ and EK) go from LHR. Don't forget to compare going east with going west. If you go west, you can now connect onto a NZ at San Fran instead of necessarily having to go to the zoo at LAX.

Although it's too late for you for this trip, there is a way of getting 10% off the base fare of every BA flight. Buy 200 shares, and then wait till you're on the register on a record date (usually early Nov) to get the discount for the following year.

[RatherBeFlying]

The great circle plotter shows a route over the Arctic coast of Poccia and then pretty much South with a possible connection in Magadan or Petropavlosk-Kamchatskii :}

Tokyo might be a practical connection point and less TSA hassle than SFO or LAX.

[Pax Vobiscum]

I'm very envious - you're sure to have a great holiday in NZ.

As to airlines, it depends on what you mean by 'best'. Cheapest could well be via Japan (and you can smoke on the flight, in case you're fed up with having to 'step outside' in DUB). Fastest is via SIN, which saves a couple of hours over the comfiest, which is NZ1/2 via LAX (decent seat pitch in Y and friendly rather than grovelling service).

Personally I'd go for NZ1 - take some knockout drops once in your seat and wake 24 hrs later in Auckland ...

[gn4p7]

I would recomend SQ the service is excellent and the inflight entertainment generally at the high end. That is where ANZ fall down, very dated in the in flight entertainment area, you might be lucky to be in a seat where you can see the screen but then again you might not. And it's a very long way to be sitting in a seat with not much to do or see. Also a stopover in singapore is not a bad thing, if you have a couple of days to spare.

forgot to say, i agree with staying well clear of EK 777's, the seat base is on an angle for some strange reason, very uncomfortable. It's not just me, most people i mention it to agree.

[Omaha]

Well my flight is booked & I'm very happy. :D

Heading out the 9th December on Singapore Airlines with a one day stopover in Singapore on my return to get a brief taste of the Orient, made no odds whether I stayed about 15 hours in Singapore or 2 hours since flights were leaving NZ at the same time. 15 hours should be time enough for a brief whizz through the city. Even though I booked so far ahead, people in the know that flights go up after the 9th for Xmas travel had swiped all the cheap seats, still I think I got a good deal.

Pax Vobiscum

Don't be envious, life is what you make it & I'll be far from living palatially over there. Go for it mate. :ok:

Thank you for all your advice.

P.S. I don't smoke.