Left it late to sort out getting home for Christmas? We scanned every day from 15 December 2026 to 5 January 2027 on all 110 city pairs between eleven New Zealand airports - Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Napier, New Plymouth, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown and Invercargill - and pulled the cheapest one-way fare on each. All prices are NZD.
About the Airlines
New Zealand domestic flying is a two-airline market on the main trunk and effectively a one-airline market everywhere else, so which carrier you end up on depends mostly on which pair of cities you pick.
Air New Zealand is the local flag carrier and a Star Alliance member, working closely with Singapore Airlines and holding partnerships across Australia, North America and Asia. Its network covers New Zealand domestic, Australia, the Pacific Islands, North America and key Asian destinations, and it is the carrier behind most of the regional routes in this list - the smaller airports at Napier, New Plymouth, Nelson, Tauranga, Hamilton and Invercargill are served by its turboprop fleet rather than jets. More on our Air New Zealand airline guide.
Jetstar is the Qantas Group's low-cost arm and a mainstay of Australian and New Zealand sale fares, flying domestic routes in both countries plus the Trans-Tasman, the Pacific and selected Asian destinations. In New Zealand it sticks to the busiest jet routes, which is where the cheapest fares in this list are clustered. It isn't in a global alliance, but Qantas Frequent Flyer earning is available on eligible fares and add-ons, and being low-cost you should expect bags, seat selection and food to be extras rather than inclusions - see our Jetstar airline guide.
Connection Information
Only a minority of the 110 pairs below are flown nonstop. Anything crossing between a North Island regional airport and a South Island regional airport - Napier to Invercargill, New Plymouth to Dunedin, Tauranga to Nelson and so on - will route you through a hub, most commonly Auckland (AKL), Wellington (WLG) or Christchurch (CHC). Check the actual transit airport on your own itinerary against the published minimum connection time before you book. Over Christmas that matters more than usual: airports are at their busiest, and if the legs sit on separate tickets a missed onward flight is your problem rather than the airline's.
It is also worth sanity-checking a few of these against a road map. Auckland to Hamilton is a 90-minute drive and the cheapest fare in the window is $201 one-way. Hamilton to Tauranga is around an hour and a half by car and starts at $264. Queenstown to Invercargill is under three hours by road and tops the table at $278. Where the flight is priced as a connection through a hub, driving or a bus will often be both cheaper and faster.
The Fares
The cheapest fare anywhere in the Christmas window is $73 one-way from Queenstown to Wellington, on 18 December - and the same $73 fare also shows up on 16 and 19 December and, remarkably, on Christmas Day itself. Eighteen routes come in under $100, thirty-six under $125 and fifty under $150.
After that, $84 is the next tier, and it's all Wellington: Auckland to Wellington, Wellington to Auckland, Christchurch to Wellington and Wellington to Christchurch are all $84 in the week of 15 December. Seven routes then sit at $92, including Auckland to Christchurch on 31 December, Christchurch to Auckland on 20 December and Nelson-Christchurch in both directions.
Wellington is the best-value city to fly out of. Its ten cheapest fares average $113, and every one of them is under $160 - nowhere else manages that. Christchurch ($122 average) and Auckland ($126) come next. Hamilton is the priciest place to start, averaging $180, with Invercargill close behind at $178.
5 January is the standout date. Thirty-seven of the 110 cheapest fares land on Tuesday 5 January, and forty-seven routes hit their lowest price that day. The average fare across all routes drops to $177 on 5 January against $290 on Boxing Day, which is the most expensive day in the window by a distance. If you can travel either side of the peak - the week of 15 to 18 December, or 31 December, 1 January and 4-5 January - you'll generally pay a lot less than flying between 19 and 28 December.
Christmas Day is cheaper than you'd think. Fly on the day and a handful of routes stay cheap: Queenstown to Wellington is $73, Auckland to Wellington $95, Christchurch to Wellington $95 and Nelson to Wellington $98.
A few one-way gaps are worth exploiting. Christchurch to Hamilton is $93 on 5 January while Auckland to Hamilton never drops below $201. Wellington to Hamilton is $104 and Hamilton to Wellington $102, against $220 to fly the short hop from Hamilton to Auckland. And Christchurch to Invercargill is $108 on New Year's Day, with Invercargill to Christchurch $107 on 4 January.
These are one-way fares priced independently, so a return trip is not necessarily two of these added together. On a handful of routes the scan found no fare on a few dates (mostly between 23 and 27 December, and Queenstown to Auckland on 2, 4 and 5 January), which means no fare was returned for that day rather than the flight necessarily being sold out. Christmas fares move quickly as seats fill, so if you see one that works, don't sit on it.
Auckland to Hamilton (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $201
Auckland to Tauranga (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $92
Auckland to Napier (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $179
Auckland to New Plymouth (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $92
Auckland to Wellington (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $84
Auckland to Nelson (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $137
Auckland to Christchurch (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $92
Auckland to Dunedin (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $114
Auckland to Queenstown (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $114
Auckland to Invercargill (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $153
Hamilton to Auckland (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $220
Hamilton to Tauranga (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $264
Hamilton to Napier (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $191
Hamilton to New Plymouth (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $194
Hamilton to Wellington (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $102
Hamilton to Nelson (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $179
Hamilton to Christchurch (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $100
Hamilton to Dunedin (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $178
Hamilton to Queenstown (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $189
Hamilton to Invercargill (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $178
Tauranga to Auckland (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $92
Tauranga to Hamilton (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $240
Tauranga to Napier (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $185
Tauranga to New Plymouth (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $187
Tauranga to Wellington (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $136
Tauranga to Nelson (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $159
Tauranga to Christchurch (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $114
Tauranga to Dunedin (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $159
Tauranga to Queenstown (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $169
Tauranga to Invercargill (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $166
Napier to Auckland (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $93
Napier to Hamilton (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $192
Napier to Tauranga (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $178
Napier to New Plymouth (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $189
Napier to Wellington (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $98
Napier to Nelson (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $167
Napier to Christchurch (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $116
Napier to Dunedin (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $164
Napier to Queenstown (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $158
Napier to Invercargill (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $167
New Plymouth to Auckland (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $124
New Plymouth to Hamilton (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $213
New Plymouth to Tauranga (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $186
New Plymouth to Napier (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $189
New Plymouth to Wellington (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $105
New Plymouth to Nelson (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $178
New Plymouth to Christchurch (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $114
New Plymouth to Dunedin (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $178
New Plymouth to Queenstown (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $166
New Plymouth to Invercargill (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $167
Wellington to Auckland (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $84
Wellington to Hamilton (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $104
Wellington to Tauranga (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $139
Wellington to Napier (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $98
Wellington to New Plymouth (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $119
Wellington to Nelson (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $98
Wellington to Christchurch (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $84
Wellington to Dunedin (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $107
Wellington to Queenstown (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $142
Wellington to Invercargill (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $158
Nelson to Auckland (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $102
Nelson to Hamilton (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $168
Nelson to Tauranga (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $159
Nelson to Napier (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $167
Nelson to New Plymouth (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $178
Nelson to Wellington (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $98
Nelson to Christchurch (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $92
Nelson to Dunedin (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $138
Nelson to Queenstown (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $149
Nelson to Invercargill (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $157
Christchurch to Auckland (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $92
Christchurch to Hamilton (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $93
Christchurch to Tauranga (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $142
Christchurch to Napier (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $143
Christchurch to New Plymouth (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $140
Christchurch to Wellington (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $84
Christchurch to Nelson (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $92
Christchurch to Dunedin (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $162
Christchurch to Queenstown (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $160
Christchurch to Invercargill (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $108
Dunedin to Auckland (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $114
Dunedin to Hamilton (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $178
Dunedin to Tauranga (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $159
Dunedin to Napier (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $149
Dunedin to New Plymouth (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $167
Dunedin to Wellington (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $142
Dunedin to Nelson (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $147
Dunedin to Christchurch (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $116
Dunedin to Queenstown (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $185
Dunedin to Invercargill (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $267
Queenstown to Auckland (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $114
Queenstown to Hamilton (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $186
Queenstown to Tauranga (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $179
Queenstown to Napier (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $167
Queenstown to New Plymouth (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $167
Queenstown to Wellington (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $73
Queenstown to Nelson (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $137
Queenstown to Christchurch (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $156
Queenstown to Dunedin (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $185
Queenstown to Invercargill (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $278
Invercargill to Auckland (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $178
Invercargill to Hamilton (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $178
Invercargill to Tauranga (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $167
Invercargill to Napier (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $166
Invercargill to New Plymouth (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $167
Invercargill to Wellington (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $167
Invercargill to Nelson (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $136
Invercargill to Christchurch (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $107
Invercargill to Dunedin (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $240
Invercargill to Queenstown (15 Dec - 5 Jan) from $278
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Also consider having a look at the current best found deals by city - Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Queenstown, Wellington.