Lew Gdanitz, who also has a Christchurch home, says Queenstown to Christchurch return fares are regularly $600-plus or even $700-plus.
"I just think they’re having a major impact on domestic tourism – I just think it’s appalling.
"You’re not going to come here for a weekend if you’ve got to pay $600 or $700 return from Christchurch or Auckland.
"It’s all very well if you want to book three months ahead.
"Most people can’t book that far out – I’m very short-notice."
Gdanitz says he’s taken to driving between Queenstown and Christchurch instead.
"I’ve been in Christchurch thinking I’ll come down to Queenstown just to do a couple of things, and it’s $367 each way."
On Wednesday this week, he noted a fare from Auckland to Queenstown tomorrow morning was $514, yet a Christchurch to Singapore fare, about the same time, was $636.
Another local hotelier, Mark Rose, from The Rees, says "we all know when [competitor] Jetstar comes off a route, the price goes up".
"When Jetstar ran the Christchurch to Queenstown route, you could get a flight for a hundred bucks to Christchurch."
That’s just competition, Rose says.
On the other hand, he notes he flew Auckland return on Tuesday, at short notice, for only $350 – "I remember when it was $1000".
Rose adds that he’s not seen any drop-off in domestic tourism in Queenstown.
Local travel agent Alan Ward on Wednesday found the cheapest Queenstown to Christchurch flights next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were, respectively, $296, $153 an $133 – Tuesday’s higher fare, he suggests, is probably a "hangover" from the extra demand for seats this Labour Weekend.
Ward advises people to buy in advance as all flights, when released, have designated seats priced down to $53, for example, between Queenstown and Christchurch.
An Air NZ spokesperson says: "We offer seats between Christchurch and Queenstown for a lead-in fare of $39 one way, and seats between Auckland and Queenstown for $79 one way.
"Naturally, as the cheapest fare class, lead-in fares tend to sell first.
"We recommend customers book early to secure the best possible deals."
The spokesperson says Air NZ, in February, shrank its lowest domestic fares by up to 50 per cent, including on the Christchurch-Queenstown and Auckland-Queenstown routes.
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Comments
Agreed, Air NZ takes the mickey out of us on regional routes. I have had to pay $300 for a short notice ticket Dunedin to Christchurch one way! Air NZ has done the numbers and has plenty of experience in regional pricing- we pay these fares because we have to at times. I personally will not be setting up a regional airline and they know it!
They've certainly done the numbers. They need to know what people are willing to pay for last-minute fares so they can sell enough of them to subsidise the below-cost flights they sell to people that book early. Air New Zealand is relatively tame at this game. Ryanair sell tickets for as low as one pound/euro (+ taxes & baggage), and I'm not sure what their upper limit is, but it can be surprisingly high.
Although I can see this is a problem from Queenstown business point of view, it is a small part of the picture, and there are better solutions.
Queenstown is often listed as one of the most overtouristed destinations in the world. At such destinations you need to plan in advance.
The real cost of the flight (e.g. on the local and global environment) is not being paid by cheap airfares.
A better strategy might be to fill last minute spaces (e.g. hotel rooms) with locals e.g. from the ODT area, I look forward to the offers. This would still put as much money into Queenstown and be much better for the environment.
I find it rather hypocritical of a hotelier in Queenstown complaining about airfares being so high for travellers who have not booked well in advance, try booking a hotel/motel in Queenstown at the last minute or when a concert is on or during the holiday period, the prices will be hiked up considerably!!!!!