BELLISIMO!
Hot new holiday deals
Return economy fares to Europe have dropped below $1000 in deals this weekend and the growing shift by Kiwis to premium travel will be boosted by business-class fares for under $4000.
Limited Air China flights to Rome will sell for
$999 at Flight Centre’s
Expo for travel in the three months from March.
And China Southern Airlines is offering business class to popular European entry port Amsterdam for $3999 from May to mid-November. Business-class fares have often been double that, although they have fallen over the past two years.
China Southern also has return flights to London, typically the most expensive place to fly into Europe because of taxes, for $1249 return a person for travel in the same period.
Both Chinese airlines are large state-owned carriers, and mainly operate modern Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliner aircraft on their long-haul routes.
If hot competition between airlines is pushing down promotional airfares, rising fuel prices are looming as a threat to standard fares.
Flight Centre general manager product Sean Berenson said there were signs of regular fares edging up.
At this weekend’s Auckland expo the agent is also offering Hawaii return fares for $739 on Hawaiian Airlines and $799 on Air New Zealand as the two carriers scrap it out on what will be a battleground route this winter as both put on more flights.
Berenson said with the rise in carriers flying to New Zealand that offer more premium services, travelling in premium cabins was no longer the “bucket list” travel it once was.
During the past three years the number of passengers booked on first-class cabins by the agent was up eight times while last year the agent booked 15 per cent more into business class.
Further back in the plane, Flight Centre had seen a “notable increase” in upgrading to deluxe economy.
Berenson said Kiwis were travelling further afield or looking for “offthe-beaten-path” destinations close to home. This was reflected in more travel to destinations such as Africa (up 10 per cent last year on 2016), the Middle East (up 29 per cent) and South America (up 5 per cent).