Lester12

What are the best / least expensive airlines to fly from New Zealand to Australia?
Leaving just after Christmas from the Sound Island. Do I need to book now?

Itinerary is totally open - Want to leave from the South Island and fly to Melbourne or Port Douglas, or? (anywhere but Sydney as I am leaving from Sydney) - what is best place to fly out of?

Also, what are the best airlines to use for internal flights within Australia?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Melnq8

Best - Air New Zealand & Qantas.

Least expensive - JetStar and Virgin Australia.

tt7

In the "least expensive" category, add Tiger (depending on where you're going). Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. For Christchurch to Melbourne, you probably have a choice of Air New Zealand, Virgin or Jetstar. Timing and cost/availability will most likely dictate which airline you fly (particularly if you have a specific date in mind). I don't think anybody flies direct to Cairns from Christchurch.

As for "book now" - yes, probably. Remember December/January is prime holiday season here (middle of summer) so airlines, accommodation get booked. That said, business traffic probably drops off so the pointy end of the plane may be more empty but the back is more likely to be packed....

michelhuebeli

At the time you're flying all bets are off. Those rule-of-thumb truths about "usually" cheap and expensive are not necessarily true at that time. Look at all fares now and act quickly, they are going up scarily because you're talking about the height of the festive and vacation time for the locals and visitors alike. I just saw a NZ$ 680 fare for a one-way from Christchurch to Sydney on Dec. 27 - that's wild! And for Dec. 27 from Christchurch to Melbourne the cheapest I see right now (on www.itasoftware.com) is USD402 with a stop in Auckland!

It's a short hop, hurry, pick what you can afford and don't worry about anything else, they all get there and it doesn't take long. And be early at the check-in, I have found NZ airports to take forever.

dreamon

Check expedia and wotflights as well as some international flights (e.g. beyond NZ) may have seats available (e.g. flights from USA to Australia via Auckland).

Within Australia your choices are Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin, Tiger and a range of very small regional airlines. Try flight engines such as wotflight and flightcentre.

As said, it is the busiest and most expensive time of year here. If you can delay until after New Year it might make a slight difference to availability as most people take between Christmas and New Year off work.