When to Book December Flights to NZ?

LBoodek on 05/02/2017 - 15:43

Hello all,

We are looking to fly to NZ for Christmas this year, leaving on or around the 20th December and returning around the 5th of January. A quick look at prices for the five of us (2 adults, 3 young kids) shows about AUD$480 each, which we will pay if we have to. However, I was wondering if anyone has had experience of booking similar flights and would know when between now and the time of travel would be the best time to book to make some savings?

Thanks.

Travel

Comments

  • illumination on 05/02/2017 - 16:13

    I'm not too familiar with the NZ market - but I would recommend a couple of things:

    • Look out for sale fares posted here on Ozbargain for New Zealand fares - I have seen some posted periodically
    • Also look out for generic "10% off Virgin Australia fares". A recent one was this - however not sure if it includes NZ
    • Do you have any Frequent Flyer points? Sometimes booking using your points offers you superior value than paying cash. Also, don't just think Velocity & Qantas. FlyBuys, for example, count too!
    • If you don't have points, I can try and have a look for you and I'll let you know what I find. I have a post here where I do this.
    • Boodek on 05/02/2017 - 19:12

      Thanks illumination, I'll keep this in mind as we get closer to the trip.

  • robbo135 on 05/02/2017 - 20:30
    +1

    If your dates are set in stone, I would just book it. Flying around Christmas/NY is peak season and therefore it is highly unlikely to be any sale/promotional fares.

    If the current price is acceptable to you, just book, don't worry about whether fares will go up or down. If you book it now, there's no risk of having booked out flights or unfavourable flight times.

  • subywagon on 05/02/2017 - 21:22

    Before December I'd recommend.

  • mistermr6 on 06/02/2017 - 21:41

    Checkout an App called Hopper https://www.hopper.com/ -you provide a route and date and it tries to predict the cheapest flight and tell you to buy now or wait… obviously take recommendations with a grain of salt but they're better than having no idea :-)

  • Boodek on 07/02/2017 - 14:57

    Thanks to all for their replies. I generally err on the side of caution so will probably book my flights sooner rather than later.

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