23 Apr 2025

NZ Airports Association on Air NZ regional air fare prices

From Checkpoint, 5:14 pm on 23 April 2025

Why does it cost so much to travel to New Zealand's smaller regions? Palmerston North flying one-way to Dunedin this Saturday costs $650. To fly to Brisbane, it is actually a tad more expensive to fly across the Tasman at $1000 one-way. Heading from Palmerston North to the sunny shores of Rarotonga is $30 cheaper than going to Dunedin at $623 and Nadi even better $416. So what would it take for our smaller operators to be more competitive? NZ Airports Association chief executive Billie Moore spoke to Melissa Chan-Green.