New Zealand’s borders are fully open
New Zealand is open to vaccinated visitors from anywhere in the world. Unvaccinated travelers are not allowed to enter the country unless they are New Zealand citizens or residents.
Before traveling to New Zealand by air, all visitors must complete a declaration, and receive a Traveller Pass by email. If you are not a New Zealand or Australian citizen, you may need to apply for a visa or an NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority).
Transit is only allowed through Auckland Airport as long as you stay in the transit area and your next flight is within 24 hours. Some travelers may need to apply for a transit visa.
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Tips, tricks & hacks
for flying to New Zealand
The 80-hour rule for Qantas seat selection
Qantas restricts access to sought-after seats to elite frequent flyers, so you may not see those seats as available during the booking process. But these restrictions are lifted 80 hours before a flight. So, if you want to snap up your favorite seat, log in to Qantas Manage Booking 80 hours before departure, check for previously unavailable seats, and change your seat selection.
Extra checked bag for an infant
Virgin Australia aims to become the first choice for family travelers. It has the most generous policy regarding infant luggage allowances – a 23kg checked bag, and 3 infant items are allowed, free of charge.
This policy applies to the airline's domestic and international short-haul and long-haul flights.
Airports in New Zealand
New Zealand has 41 airports, including 5 airports with scheduled international services – Auckland AKL, Wellington WLG, Christchurch CHC, Qeenstown ZQN, and Dunedin DUD. Domestic airports scattered all over the country provide access to distant locations: Nelson NSN, Napier NPE, Tauranga TRG, Palmerston North PMR, Hamilton HLZ, Invercargill IVC, New Plymouth NPL, Rotorua ROT, and Chatham Islands CHT.
As in any country, airports with the largest volume of flights are located near major cities – about 10 to 20 kilometers from the city center – with public transport and airport shuttle service available. These are hubs for major New Zealand airlines, with large passenger terminals, first class lounges, shops, and restaurants.
Auckland (AKL) from
Wellington (WLG) from
Christchurch (CHC) from
Flights from Russia to New Zealand (airports nearby Moscow)
- Check flight schedules and ticket prices in October 2022 for flights to New Zealand from nearby airports in your area.
- Once in New Zealand, there are frequent flights between the major cities via local carriers such as Air New Zealand, Jetstar, Sunair, Barrier Air, Stewart Island Flights, Air Chathams, Golden Bay Air, Origin Air, and Sounds Air.
- Popular destinations near New Zealand can be easily reached with regional low-cost airlines by the likes of AirAsia, Bonza, Cebu Pacific, Jetstar, Rex Airlines, and Scoot.
Here are some examples of the real-time economy class airfares from Russia to New Zealand in October 2022. All prices are for one-way flights.
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Arriving and transiting in Auckland, the easy way
Arriving in Auckland with Air New Zealand is pretty straightforward (see this guide).
When transferring to a domestic flight, there's no need to drag your bags to the domestic terminal. Instead, after collecting them off the plane and exiting customs and immigration, you can check them in at "Zone A" of the international terminal. The bags will be transferred to your domestic flight.
Likewise, if you are flying abroad from an NZ domestic airport, you can ask for your bags to be checked through to your final destination.
Book domestic flights on airnewzealand.co.nz
When booking Air New Zealand flights, always use its website located at the co.nz domain - irrespective of where you are based.
It's surprising, but often the domestic flights listed at airnewzealand.co.nz are much cheaper than on the .com, .eu, .co.uk and com.sg sites (sometimes you can save 50% of the ticket price or more).
Stopover options for traveling to New Zealand
Direct flights to New Zealand can be expensive. So if you’re looking at a long-haul trip with at least one connection, rather than simply transiting an airport, why not take an opportunity and plan a longer stopover? It won’t only break up your journey but will become a legitimate part of your vacation.
When booking flight tickets, many airlines include a stopover en route to your final destination. Those flights are usually cheaper than non-stop flights, and they can be a great way of seeing more than one place on your trip. You can often add it at no additional cost, just by looking for multi-city flights with longer layovers.
Check flight prices and other details for these great stopover options when traveling to New Zealand:
Flights to New Zealand fromUnited States and Canada
- Most flying routes from North America to New Zealand are over the Pacific, even if the departure airport is on the east coast. Travel times for these routes vary between 9 - 22 hours depending on the point of departure, length of layover, etc.
- For long-haul flights choosing a reputable airline is crucial. Comfortable seats, inflight entertainment, food and drinks, and just the general atmosphere of the flight can make a big difference to the trip. For flights from the United States or Canada to New Zealand, we recommend legacy carriers such as Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Air Tahiti Nui, American Airlines, ANA, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, and United Airlines.
- There are no direct flights from the United States or Canada to New Zealand. However, most main hubs in SE Asia have direct flights to New Zealand, as do some larger airports in the Middle East – your journey will have at least one stop.Direct flights from the US and Canada to New Zealand are about 13-18 hours long (or just about 9 hours if departing from Honolulu). When opting for a nonstop flight, American travelers can only choose from a limited range of flight operators: Air New Zealand (from Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Vancouver), American Airlines (from Dallas and Lost Angeles), United Airlines (from Chicago, Houston, New York, and San Francisco), Hawaiian Airlines (from Honolulu), and Qantas (from Dallas). All those flights arrive in Auckland Airport located in the northern part of the North Island.
- When flying to New Zealand you have plenty of convenient layover or stopover options. Flights with one or more stops depart from most major North American airports, including Atlanta
ATL, DallasDFW, DenverDEN, ChicagoORD, Los AngelesLAX, Las VegasDFW, MiamiMIA, SeattleSEA, HoustonIAH, New YorkJFK, and San FranciscoSFOin the United States and TorontoYYZ, VancouverYVR, CalgaryLAS, and MontrealYULin Canada. Your chosen airline will most likely dictate which airport you transit through – among the best stopovers are Bali, Bangkok, Fiji and Pacific Islands, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, and Tokyo.
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Find the best economy seats
Contrary to the popular view, not all economy seats on a plane are created equal. Some seats have slight advantages over others. It all depends on the aircraft, so we recommend visiting the SeatGuru website, where you will see a detailed seat map after entering your flight number. Hover over individual seats to compare quality and check other travelers’ reviews.
Notify your bank before traveling
Banks do whatever they can to protect you from identity theft, but this eagerness could backfire when you travel. They may lock your card to protect against fraud when they see strange charges in unfamiliar locations across Asia.
Contact your bank so they are aware that you are traveling. They will add a record to your account and share it with their fraud detection system – this will prevent your "abnormal" spending patterns from triggering a block on your card. If you using online banking, you may be able to set an online travel notice by yourself by entering your destinations and the length of your trip.
Airlines of New Zealand
The most know airline in New Zealand is Auckland-based Air New Zealand (ANZ). According to AirlineRatings, it is the second-best airline in the world for the second year in a row. ANZ flies domestic routes in New Zealand, as well as operates international services to Australia, Asia Pacific, and North America. Awarded for its “constant innovation and industry leadership”, ANZ has been revealing new products recently – including Economy Skycouch (a row of Economy seats that can be changed into a couch) and revolutionary Skynest bunk beds (available from 2024).
When traveling domestically in New Zealand, you may be flying with other, smaller NZ-based airlines, such as Air Chathams (NZ’s largest privately-owned airline with nearly 100 scheduled flights from Auckland and the Chatham Islands), Sounds Air (small regional airlines with daily flights to Wellington, Christchurch, Picton, Blenheim, Paraparaumu, Taupo, Westport, Nelson, and Wanaka), Barrier Air (scheduled and charter flights to/from Great Barrier Island, Auckland, North Shore, Kaitaia and Whitianga), Sunair (covers the North Island), Origin Air (serves Wellington, Napier, Nelson, Hamilton, and Palmerston North), Stewart Island Flights (light aircraft flights between Invercargill and Stewart Island), and Golden Bay Air (serves Takaka Wellington, Karamea and Nelson).
Flights to New Zealand from Europe
- There are no direct flights from Europe to New Zealand. It's a long trip from Europe to NZ (over 18,000km/11,000 miles and 25-35 hours flight time), so all airlines plan at least one stop en route. Choose your airline wisely - look for exceptional in-flight experience and comfortable seats. For the long-haul flights from European countries to New Zealand we recommend Air New Zealand, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and Qatar Airways.
- To break the trip and stretch your legs, consider transit through popular Asian airport hubs, extending your total journey time by 1–3 hours. A 1-day stopover in Bangkok, Bali, Delhi, Dubai, Singapore, and Sydney will be a great option to reduce your jet lag at the final destination and do some extra sightseeing.
- The best chance for a cheaper flight is when you are flexible about the departure point. Especially look for larger cities with airports that serve as hubs for multiple airlines: London
LHRand ManchesterMANin the United Kingdom; FrankfurtFRA, MunichMUCand BerlinBERin Germany; ParisCDGand NiceNCEin France; MunichMUCand BerlinBERin Germany; AmsterdamAMSin the Netherlands; MadridMADin Spain; StockholmARNin Sweden; ZurichZRHin Switzerland; BrusselsBRUin Belgium; OsloOSLin Norway; WarsawWAWin Poland; and DublinDUBin Ireland.
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Watch for a good sale
One of the most convenient ways to ensure cheap flight tickets is to be abreast of the promotions, discounts and sales offered by various airlines.
To get a great bargain, be sure to track the airlines' online activity over several weeks. Keep checking their websites, subscribe to their newsletter and follow them on social media (set notifications for their posts that contain keywords such as “discount”, “promotion”, “ticket sales”, etc.).
Easier way: visit Promo Radar and sign up for weekly email alerts about the best ongoing promotions from all popular airlines.
Fly early in the morning
Early morning flights (6 am or earlier) are usually cheaper than other day schedules. It's because of lower demand – most people are not willing to go to the airport so early. Use it to your advantage.
Moreover, airports are also less crowded, and there tend to be fewer delays if you fly early in the morning. Due to increasing air traffic, delays get worse throughout the day - starting around 8-10 am and reaching a peak at 4-6 pm.
Air Traveler Club.How to book a superdeal to New Zealand?
Every superdeal you receive from Air Traveler Club includes a link you can use to book a flight. It always directs you to the website that offers the lowest price. Sometimes it’s an airline website; in other cases, Google Flights or a similar flight booking platform.
This video explains how to use Google Flights to book a plane ticket.
Flights from Asia
- Asia is probably the best continent for short-haul and mid-haul flying. The sheer scale of this most populous region on Earth is reflected in the type of aircraft operating many short-haul flights: intra-Asia flyers benefit from comfortable, wide-bodied aircraft by the likes of Boeing 777, 787 or Airbus A350, A330, and A380.
- When flying within Asia, you’ll often use regional airlines. The budget carriers offer tens of weekly flights to New Zealand with relatively comfortable flight experience and the cheapest fares – check the prices from AirAsia, Bonza, Cebu Pacific, Jetstar, Rex Airlines, and Scoot.
- For more comfort and top-notch customer service, consider flying with recognized full-service airlines such as Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana, EVA Air, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, and Virgin Australia.
- Mentioned airlines operate direct or 1-stop flights from primary Asian hubs such as Bangkok
BKKin Thailand, SingaporeSIN, BaliDPSin Indonesia, Hong KongHKG, SeoulICNin South Korea, TokyoHNDin Japan, DubaiDXBin UAE, Kuala LumpurKULin Malaysia, HanoiHANand Ho Chi Minh CitySGNin Vietnam, Phnom PenhPNHin Cambodia, DelhiDELin India, BeijingPEKin China, TaipeiTPEin Taiwan, ManilaMNLin the Philippines), DohaDOHin Qatar, IstanbulISTin Turkey, and others.
Flight prices can vary considerably. Here are some real-time examples:
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Proof of onward travel – a simple hack
Travelers who go on long trips often don’t have a set itinerary and fly on one-way tickets. The problem? For many Asian countries, proof of onward travel is a legal requirement. If you arrive at the airport without an onward ticket, you’ll either be forced to buy one online or forbidden from boarding the plane altogether.
The cheapest solution? Renting an onward ticket! Use the websites such as OneWayFly or OnwardTicket to get a flight reservation for a limited amount of time (usually 2 to 14 days). They work by actually booking you on a real flight and giving you a confirmable flight reservation with a PNR (Passenger Name Record) under your name. After the time limit, your spot on the flight is automatically canceled. Such "temporary tickets" tend to cost anywhere from $10 to $20.
Best times to contact airline’s call center
Call center wait times may be frustratingly long. And only a handful of airlines offer a call-back service. To decrease lengthy periods on hold, try to call the airline during off-peak times in the middle of the week – Tuesday to Thursday. Savvy travelers suggest that the best time to call is early in the morning: from 4 am to 7 am (call center time zone) for 24/7 hotlines or right after the call center opens. Also, late hours on weekends can increase the chance for your call to be answered promptly.
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Before booking a flight, check if any of these promotions applies to you: