AndyEvs

My experience of my kiwi colleagues is that they don't moan or complain as much as poms, for whatever reason.
But despite the AirNZ rep's comments we all know the flights here can be crazy prices as this article today points out.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/new-ze...urb-travellers

Charismatic

Doesn't seem too bad for a ride in a heavily engineered aluminium tube costing in the $10 - 300 million range, powered by very flammable pre-historic liquefied swamps sucked out of the ground half way around the world and kept in the air by long panels angled such as to push air downwards (filled with previously mentioned swamp). Also you get a choice of a cookie or fighter jet jellies. What we should really be asking is how can air travel be such good value?

I'm quite puzzled as to why "Invircargull" should be so pricey and popular. For the price of a flight there you could go somewhere much nicer.

Why are we surprised one company maintains a monopoly on regional flights when the government owns a significant (80% ish) share or the business?

sr71

Surely those prices are to try and keep Invercargillians (?) away from the rest of the country?

Clappy

I don't think that is a new thing.

My wife grew up in this country and says that when she was a child it was cheaper to fly to Australia for a holiday than to fly somewhere in New Zealand.

She has only been to the South Island three times, all of those with me. 'Typical JAFA' I can hear the screams now.

BEVS

Does my head in and is something I really wish we have investigated more deeply before coming here.

Out of Nelson is a monopoly. AirNZ$$$$$$$ or nothing.

We can't afford the fares to get anywhere. Nightmare.

moonie2011

Is the same in the UK, we live in Devon and for a recent flight to Germany for four it was £800 from Exeter, £600 from Bristol & £400 from Heathrow, so it was cheaper for us to travel to London and stay in a hotel than travel locally

TommyLuck

I thought to to be the case, but had no evidence.

It's a shame really that the discrepancy in the pricing is such that you have to spend all that time schlepping to and from London.


Air travel is going to get more expensive, not less expensive - as a populous we need to start accepting this, dealing with it and thinking about how manage this in future,

lapsed kiwi

It's a non-story really. Queenstown airport is a two hour drive from Invercargill, so this is like me complaining that flights from Plymouth are so expensive that have to drive to Bristol to get a reasonable flight. Well, in UK that was my best case scenario - usually it was Gatwick, Heathrow or quite often Stanstead. Unrealistic to imagine airlines competing with each other to service Invercargill

BEVS

Yes. I can quite see this could be the case.

We could drive the 4 / 5 hours to Christchurch but any internal flight prices would be about the same price.

For an international flight from Nelson it is either do the 4 /5 hour drive to Christchurch or book an internal . As there is only Air NZ there is no choice and no competition.