[MB]

Hi, all. Does anyone have any good current (or general) tips about finding the cheapest Auckland to USA flights? Am interested in one-way and/or return, for various logistical reasons. Most likely, of course, would be flights that are headed to LAX or San Francisco. Would consider other ports (such as Hawaii), but I am assuming that although Seattle is our destination, LAX or SF would be cheapest.... and then I can find a domestic to Seattle.

My inclination is to hit a few sites such as NZ's houseoftravel. I also almost automatically check sites such as expedia and travelocity... but I am a little unclear as to how booking via US companies ties in with that whole 'can't-book-you-for-flights-starting-in-NZ' deal.

Any advice appreciated. Many thanks.

[Newbe1]

We used Air New Zealand. You can visit their webpage www.airnewzealand.com. We found them to be the cheapest and they had WONDERFUL service. We just moved here from the States, without a work visa so we bought a one-way from LAX to Auckland. You can't enter NZ with out a ticket leaving NZ so we bought a one-way from Auckland to Sydney as it was cheaper than buying a round-trip. If we don't go to Sydney...we loose less than our return ticket back would have been, if that makes sense?
Hope this helps.

[swissmissdesigner]

I would try Qantas.com
or www.bt-store.com

good luck!

Anna

[kanatakiwi]

when are you going? Starting the beginning of November, Air NZ has direct flights Auckland to Vancouver, BC , and then its just a short hop by plane, or a lovely ferry trip to Seattle.

[CjChris]

I found Air Pacific to be nearly 500 dollars cheaper than NZ for December when I return to the US to go to my oldest's graduation. I went directly to their website (you'll have a stopover in Fiji but only for about a 3 hour plane change).

Christine

[MB]

Thanks so much, everyone. Some great tips.

One muddle-headed issue, though: I'm a bit confused about the actuality of booking via sites/agenices that are not in one's country of flight origin. E.g.:

I'm in NZ currently. Fine. I think that I can book via one of the big USA price-comparison sites. Fine. But then you sometimes come up against the issue of, e.g., regular US travel agents not being able to book a (return???) flight originating outside of the US. How come that discrepancy? Is it just that they can't flip the origin city while also maintaining a particularly irresistible fare? Is that their only issue?

After all, it seems to be the case with, e.g., AKL-USA flights, that the prices attained via the USA big online sites are pretty much equivalent to booking via a NZ site once the exchange rate is taken into account... hence it makes no big odds anyways(?) But then, are the taxes one pays via one of the big US sites simply a sustitute for what one would pay if buying via a NZ site... i.e., a kind of piece of financial ballet whereby you get to pay the US flight-tax package instead of the equivalent NZ taxes?

I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to go ahead and book via somewhere like travelocity, and am fine with the US taxes and the general exchange rate, but just don't want any weird surprises later on down the line. (The travelocity price AKL-Seattle seems comparable with one booked via NZ, by the way.)

:laugh I have a suspicion that this is one of those matters that will make some sense to folks who have 'been there', but to others will seem like hopeless waffle!

Cheers!

[MB]

Re. my most recent post (right above this one) I think I have it sorted now. You can book via, e.g., a big US site even if the journey originates in NZ. I think what was confusing me was the kind of situation whereby, e.g., someone out shopping in LA sees a travel agency offering a really cheap fare... say LAX-AKL for US$500 round trip. "Okay," they say to the agency "my niece lives in Auckland and she's always wanted to visit us, so can you simply start the fare in AKL, not LAX?" Answer: probably not.

But if the fare is not a no-brainer special, and instead the price is comparable, then you or the agency can originate the fare in Auckalnd.

Phew. I think that's right. Quite willing to be corrected, though!:nice1

[txbarb]

Hi Matt, we booked a flight earlier this wk. To give you an idea on pricing - Air NZ has a "Discover NZ" special for $918 that includes 3 stops. It added very little from the base LAX-AKL flight and for us this was a big advantage. Their customer service was extremely friendly and helpful. No problem if you decide to drop certain legs of your itinerary.