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Low-cost and traditional airlines

  • Over 950 airlines
  • Air New Zealand, Jetstar
  • Emirates, Qantas, Virgin Australia
  • Flights up to 50% off

Where do low-cost airlines fly to?

Budget airlines are for people who don’t want to spend a lot on travel, and would prefer to use the money they save buying low-cost tickets for other things.

  • Low-cost airlines mainly handle short and medium hauls. It is rarely that an air connection realised by such a carrier exceeds the territory of our continent. However, the network of connections within New Zealand is quite well developed. You can easily travel between all airports. It often happens that during a stop-over, the passengers transit to the aircraft of another carrier. It’s a quite common phenomenon, and thanks to the cooperation of different airlines, their offer is even larger.

  • Low-cost airlines, as any other airline for that matter, are businesses that need to make profits to survive. Since the ticket itself is so cheap, it’s expected that additional services, like drinks and meals, or checked luggage, cost extra. However, with most connections of budget airlines being only around 3 hours long, this should not be a problem. It’s also worth noting that low-cost airlines often fly to airports located further away from cities than regular carriers. Even though they might not be as close, those airports are always well-connected with plenty of public transportation available.

  • The greatest air traffic can be observed on routes to seaside resorts and the most popular tourist destinations. Of course, the largest number of flights takes place during the holiday season. Low-cost airlines will often offer flights on such routes, because it is easy for them to fill their aircraft. Unfortunately, some airlines reduce the number of available flights on their routes when it’s not high season. The cause is usually that low-cost airlines are very careful with the profitability of flights, and a plane that is not full does not bring profit. This is worth remembering, as sometimes airlines will offer great discounts on last-minute flights.

Airlines ranking

  Airline Ticket prices Comfort Punctuality Staff Overall rating No. of reviews
1. Air New Zealand Air New Zealand (NZ) 4 4.1 4.6 5 4.4 10
2. Air Chathams Air Chathams (3C) - - - - 0 0
3. Jetstar Airways Jetstar Airways (JQ) 3.4 3.3 3.7 3.4 3.3 48
4. Qantas Qantas (QF) 3.4 4.1 4 4.4 4.1 39
5. Virgin Australia Virgin Australia (VA) 3.6 4.2 4.4 4.6 4.2 29
6. Ryanair Ryanair (FR) 3.9 3.6 4 4.3 3.9 24434
7. Wizz Air Wizz Air (W6) 3.9 3.8 4.1 4.5 4 12913
8. American Airlines American Airlines (AA) 3.8 3.8 4.1 4.3 3.9 455
9. Finnair Finnair (AY) 3.6 4.1 4.4 4.6 4.2 164
10. United Airlines United Airlines (UA) 3.8 3.7 3.9 4.2 3.8 538

Which airlines are the cheapest?

When analysing the cost of airplane tickets, you should think about more than just the price of the fare.

  • No single low-cost airline will always be the cheapest option. Instead, you should always compare the ticket prices between different budget carriers and see which ones offer the best prices on given routes. It’s also worth noting that oftentimes with budget carriers the comfort of travel might be lower than regular airlines. However, for most people, the possibility of getting to their holiday destination for a price that might be several times lower will outweigh a complimentary drink or snack.

  • The distance of the airport to the city centre is another thing that should be taken into account when deciding on the purchase of cheap air tickets. If your hotel or another place of night’s lodging is close to the city centre, you have to add the cost of transfer from the airport.  You should also include the time you must spend on such a journey in the costs. Most low-cost airlines use airports that aren’t as close as those of regular carriers, so when calculating the cost and time of travel, remember to include the final airport transfer in your budget. Sometimes it might even be cheaper to choose a regular airline.

  • Another additional cost is also checked baggage. Keep in mind that low-cost air tickets do not include an extra unit of baggage. Basic tickets of low-cost airlines usually include one piece of carry-on baggage, most often of up to 10 kg. Every other extra suitcase raises the cost of your journey. This is why it is worthwhile to remember that you shouldn’t bring any unnecessary items. Sometimes it’s a better idea to buy toiletries or other items at your destination, rather than bringing them with you from home.

Airline sales

Ticket prices change frequently. This is your chance to hunt for the cheapest flight tickets.

  • When looking for cheap flight tickets, it’s important to check regularly so that you are well-informed in all the deals and discounts that might be happening at the moment. Sometimes you might find a ticket for half its original price, or even less. So, how do you search for those sweet discounts? First of all, get acquainted with different airlines’ websites. Most carriers offer a discount on all their flights on one specific day of the week. Another thing to keep in mind is that if a route brings little interest, the carrier might lower the ticket prices so that they can fill their planes.

  • Low-cost airlines may encourage us with organised discounts upon the opening of a particular connection. Wanting to earn the trust and loyal customers for a new connection, the carrier is able to significantly lower the price of air tickets. But it is worth keeping abreast of what is happening, because such tickets sell out at a dizzying pace. So it’s best to stay informed by subscribing to newsletters and following the social media accounts of eSky and various carriers.

  • Last but not least, remember to use platforms that aggregate information about cheap flight tickets from all available airlines. Not only will it save you some time, you can also specify some criteria for your search. Most basic criteria include the date, airports, and number of passengers. However, you can also specify the number of transfers, or the inclusion of additional services offered on the plane. This makes the process of finding the perfect ticket way easier than before.

Low-cost airlines in New Zealand

  • There is probably no more convenient and faster means of transport to cover long distances than a plane. Thanks to the development of low-cost airlines, it is no longer a form of transport reserved for the more prosperous. Low-cost airlines operate on the most popular routes. In New Zealand, there are flights with such carriers at every airport.

  • However, none of the known and important airlines originate from there. Of course, this does not prevent in the realisation of connections, even between two native cities. The New Zealand on-board staff and service at the airport make the passengers forget what country does the airline

  • The most popular airlines operating in New Zealand are Air New Zealand and Qantas. These companies realise the largest number of connections between the New Zealand airports and European ones. One of the most important carriers with quite an impressive fleet is the Virgin Australia International. There are also some other airlines, such as Garuda Indonesia, FlySafair, and American Airlines

  • Which airlines are the safest?

    It is difficult to specify which airlines are the safest in the world. Considering only the number of malfunctions and accidents does not cater for situations which are not in any way dependent from the staff nor the technical condition of the machine. Before being admitted to operation, every aircraft, regardless of the carrier, is subject to the same procedures at the airport. Identical mechanisms are checked and similar parameters are analysed. Technical inspections are also mandatory after the same time for every carrier.


    Every now and then, tech magazines publish rankings of the safest airlines. Such rankings consider the conditions inside the aircraft, the age and technological advancement of the machine, or the quality of the meals. These are the categories in which low-cost airlines cannot compete with traditional carriers. However, the case is different in commissioned rankings concerning only low-cost airlines, where the mentioned New Zealand companies do appear and are ranked high.

     

  • Where to search for low-cost airlines?

    Low-cost airlines offer a slightly lower standard of connections from that of traditional carriers. If this is something you agree to and you can do just fine in worse conditions, while saving even several hundred dollars, do not hesitate to choose a ticket from such a carrier. However, tracking offers at a given line in search of an attractive price is not the best idea. Even if you expand your search to a few carriers, you cannot always be sure that you will find the best offers. The solution is professional websites or flight search engines.


    Using such portals is very simple and intuitive. The most important task will be to enter your destination into the relevant fields. You can choose the departure airport closest to you or all airports in New Zealand. In just a few seconds, the search engine will check the offers of all carriers which operate on the selected route. The results will also include connections with one or two transfers. Good search engines, like eSky, are available for download in the form of an application that will inform you about the latest deals and allow you to keep your fingers on the pulse.