UK to New Zealand prices - can it be done cheaply?
 

We have agreed to visit some relatives in New Zealand, ideally spending Christmas 2008 in New Zealand, but I just had a shock when I checked the cost of flights for myself, wife and 3 kids with Air New Zealand :eek:

Does anyone have some good tips on the best way to fly UK to Christchurch as cheaply as possible?

Are there any genuinely cheap websites for finding these flights?

Are stop-overs expensive as my wife fancies breaking the journey up?

Thanks

Try Emirates or Air NZ. The other option is to try and get a cheap fare to Bangkok or similar, then jump on Jet* from there to Christchurch. That would give you a nice stopover.

One of the key determinants for price will be: How much time do you have?

• Can you got slightly out of the peak season? Like travel a week before the schools close (your children may all be at school)?
• Could you travel back on a public holiday - leave on Christmas Day or New Year's Eve?
• Can you split the journey into separate sectors (your children may be too young for an extended journey with layovers in airports)
• Breaking the journey may cost as much as making the journey in one.

The old rubric still holds: Time is money

We seem to carry quite alot of pax from LHR-LAX who then connect onto NZ1 LAX-AKL which always baffles me as NZ1 starts at LHR anyway. I often wondered if it was cheaper to do it that way which is why they are doing it as aside from the LHR-LAX bit being full, I don't see any other reason.

You could always go via Sydney/Brisbane/Melbourne and then hop across to Christchurch on PacificBlue too.

If you book with certain airlines, often a stop over is allowed in the fare, either on one sector or sometimes both. The only extra it would cost then is the cost of a hotel in the city you choose.

Have you spoken to Austravel ?. They are specialists in OZ and NZ flights etc.

Often it can work out cheaper to book the flights through a company such as Austravel as they may have access to fares that are not onsale to the public directly from the airlines.

:ok:

yahootravel.com.au
expedia.co.nz
kayak.com
flightcentre.co.nz etc

Dates, dates, dates.
 

Christmas is probably the busiest time on the routes from here to Australia and New Zealand and the airlines know it and take advantage (and I don't blame them). You would probably need to go no later than mid December and/or come back after mid January to avoid the worst fares although, as someone has already said, the slot between Christmas and New Year may offer some relief. Also think about New Zealanders and their holidays. I've just booked to go out on 5th January to Hong Kong on Air NZ continuing to Auckland on the 10th. I wanted the 11th but the class I wanted was already full which I reckon is about New Zealanders going home.

My view is always that the cheapest fare is unattainable. You need to find something you can live with and then book it. Leave it and you won't get there.

Yes try oasis hong kong airlines from LGW. flights to hong kong from £75 one way. Then get another carrier from there. They are also starting hong kong sydney soon, so may be able to go all the way to sydney and then get another carrier from there. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=seagreen]They alternative is to get a flight from amsterdam as they are generally about £200 - £300 cheaper than london

On thing to bear in mind if booking lots of flights seperately with different airlines, if anything does go wrong during the journey and you miss connections, the inbound airline is not responsible for re-booking you/paying for it etc, and you are on your own to sort that out. Then it could end up costing a fortune as you could then have to pay a difference in the fare to get on the next flight for example - providing they actually have space !!.

Thats why it costs a bit more to book it all together on one ticket/itinerary, then if anything does go wrong then you will be sorted out.

If it all goes ok though, you can save quite a bit, but thats the risk you have to take.

:\

I can't offer specific routing advice, but just some pointers. Consider luggage requirements, and also connectivity at airports. That is, if you book with two different airlines, just remember, if one is delayed, it then may be up to the good will and nothing more, for the second carrier to put you on a later flight. This can be avoided using a good agent.

If you are taking a break, one routing that can be good, is via west coast USA, at that time of year, you can go via San Francisco (VS to LHR, then NZ (I think?) to christchurch), also via LAX (but most FF pax prefer SFO, as it's a tad more civilised). One cool aspect (depnding upon how easily entertained you are), is that if you spend a few days on the west coast USA, then flying to NZ will give you very little jet lag, as there are only a few hours time difference, but, and heres the good bit, you will lose exactly one whole day from your life (as you cross the international dateline) - the opposite of what happened to phileas fogg.

Anyway, I'd highly recommend a good specialist agent, as they can put several flights together for you, on one reservation, check your travel documentation for you, and maybe suggest a really unusual stopover as well. As some have said, trailfinders can do it, but also travelmood are especially good at flight routings to oz and NZ.

Also think outside the box, maybe it's cheaper to fly to Western Australia (Perth), and then use the budget airline Virgin blue to connect via adelaide or sydney to christchurch

Finally, not sure how good this is with kids, but have you considered a 'round the world' ticket. These can sometimes offer a real cost saving, and are often completely changeable, with one or more stopovers each way (up to you) and again a specialist agent will know these tickets inside out. All the main airlines offer these, including the alliances, like oneworld, star alliance etc. If you only want to make a single stop each way, then virgin and NZ do a combined round the world ticket. One point though, if an agent tries to 'push' you with one airline only, then they are probably getting a good kickback. A good agent will provide you with multiple options. Don't take the first prices, check with another agent.

Don't forget, if you fly all the way to NZ, it might be worth spending a few days in Wellington, then catching the overlander train down to christchurch from picton, via the whale watching town of kaikoura.

Oh, and if you end up stopping over in Hong Kong on the way back, don't forget, that the chinese new year fireworks there are the best in the world - and you might just make it, as in 2009, it falls in late January.

Hope that helps. Oh, final tip, sometimes it's worth busting the bank a bit for a trip like this.

Thanks
 

Thanks for all of the advice.

After a weekend of trawling flight prices and options, and taking on board the comments from PPRuNe we have booked the whole trip with Air New Zealand. I certainly prefer the idea of one carrier to sort out any problems.

We are flying from LHR to HKG on 9th December stopping over a couple of days and then on to Christchurch via Auckland. We return between Christmas and New Year with a 3 night stopover in LA.

We managed this booking with the lowest prices quoted, spending Christmas with our family and free stopovers too, so I'm pleased with the outcome although my wallet is smarting a little.

So now just to work out the details of our stopovers in Hong Kong and LA - any suggestions?

Thanks again

Hong Kong is a fantastic city. My 2nd favourite city after Sydney.

Loads to see and do there.

Make sure you go up the peak, but try and go just before dusk if time is tight, then you see the city in the day and then see it at night too. There are shops and restaurants up there too.

The Markets on Kowloon side are also worth a visit too - Ladies market is quite good for fake watches and handbags etc. Also try popping into a supermarket for a look at the fish counter's - the fish are still alive they are that fresh !!. If you can handle it, watch a local buy one too. :ooh:

Try taking a ferry to Cheng Chau - it's a tiny island that has no vehicles, you can walk round the whole island in a couple of hours. Also a trip to the Bhudda on Lantau island is good too.

Also take the bus to Stanley Market on the other side of HK island. IIRC you take the No16 bus, not the 16a as that goes through the tunnel, and it goes over the top of the mountains. Try sitting at the front for a great view. :eek:

A tram trip down through central is also a good way to pass the time and watch the world go by. The tram line actually used to be on the shore line at one time !!.

If you fancy Chinese food when your there, but want it more western like your used to here, there is a nice restaurant called the American Peking on Lockhart road in Central. Alot of the food in the proper chinese restaurants is proper chinese food - not like we get here !!.

Plenty of shopping centres to wander round, oh and take the sunset trip on the Star Ferry cruise too - it's a Star ferry that has been done out for harbour cruises rather than just the crossings - which are good themselves too.

If your looking for a hotel, try and get one that has a free shuttle bus from the central Train station - the train takes about 20 mins from the airport.

You will have a wicked time in HK.

:ok:

Agree with all Leezyjet has written about HK - some other tips:

• if you're on a budget... consider the YMCA for accommodation - decent rooms & prices, great location, close to the Star Ferry and the waterfront for views across to the island.
• a trip to the races at Happy Valley is also well worth it if they're on while you're there. Hong Kongers are nuts about racing.
• and if you want to get away from it all, Sai Kung in the New Territories is really lovely and probably the best place to go to for seafood in Hong Kong. There's also a national park there - nice hills for walking and you can kayak and windsurf: you'd never guess you were in Hong Kong.

Public transport there is good - if you're going to be there for a few days, get yourself an Octopus card - you can charge it up with cash and it works on buses, trains and underground and makes getting around hassle-free. :ok:

13Alpha

The YMCA has been a Kowloon side institution for years. I stayed there in 1997! Pretty well next door to the Peninsular Hotel (probably the best in HK at the time), almost opposite Star Ferry, comfortable room at a reasonable rate. You've reminded me that I need to book something for myself and I'll probably use the Y.