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Major airlines are expected to announce a second wave of discount deals in the coming months - with travellers likely to see more one-dollar flights and website-only deals.
The past fortnight has seen some of the lowest airfares in New Zealand aviation history and there are predictions of more holiday bargains for domestic and international travellers wanting a cheap winter escape.
The Aviation Industry Association of New Zealand says with the high exchange rate, traditional winter slowdown and cut-throat nature of the competition, carriers were prepared to go the extra mile to entice travellers.
Some of the one-off specials have included cut-price $159 fares to Tonga, two-for-the-price-of-one holidays to New Caledonia - and last week's $139 fares from Auckland to Sydney. Factor in the outrageously cheap Australian domestic fares - $49 from Sydney to Brisbane, for example - and travellers can have a overseas holiday for little more than the price of a night at an Auckland hotel.
Domestic travellers were also able to cash in last week with rock-bottom $1 fares to mark the birthday of Air New Zealand's grabaseat website.
And these might not be the last.
Aviation Industry Association of New Zealand chief executive Irene King said now was a "fantastic time" for consumers looking at domestic or international travel. "There is more capacity in the market at the moment - it's the off-season for tourists, so July and August are always good months for prices - and [these sales] are all competitively driven."
One-day deals and novelty fares, such as the $1 domestic flights offered by Air New Zealand on their grabaseat website, showed airlines were becoming "sharper" in the way they sold and marketed fares.
"Airlines are getting more savvy about how to encourage people.
"They are behaving like every other supermarket and retailer at the moment, with their specials that grab people's imaginations - and that's great for consumers."
King said she expected deals such as those in the last few weeks to continue, particularly while the New Zealand dollar was in such a strong position. "The airlines will be benefiting from the exchange rate, although $1 is nowhere near enough to cover costs, but it's better than an empty seat.
"In terms of air travel, the prices of seats are going down all the time, and I wouldn't expect that to change."
A spokesperson for Flight Centre said the competitive atmosphere made for good deals for consumers - especially for those looking to travel to the Pacific Islands where fares were as low as $159 one-way.
She said there might be similar deals in future to stimulate interest in areas such as Vanuatu and Tahiti.
Flight Centre general manager of products Greg Parker said the poor weather here meant people were more open to the idea of a spontaneous trip across the ditch. House of Travel retail director Brent Thomas agreed that winter always meant cheaper airfare deals, particularly within the "dynamic" trans-Tasman market.
He believed consumers would see more "attention-grabbing" sales as airlines tried to remain price competitive.
Emirates would not confirm the number of flights sold over the two-day America's Cup sale, but said they were "incredibly popular".
The Air New Zealand grabaseat promotion also attracted a large numbers of punters, with the quickest-selling flights taking only 20 minutes to be completely booked out.
Air New Zealand and Qantas would not hint at deals to come, but Air New Zealand was "looking at ways to innovate and stay ahead of our competitors over the next three to five years".
Peter Harbison, chairman of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, put the low prices down to things being "a bit quiet this time of year, and the cold weather".
He said airlines such as Emirates, and its long-distance competitors Royal Brunei and Lan Chile - both of which dropped their prices to match Emirates' America's Cup deal - were able to offer cheap flights for several reasons, including their ability to profit from transporting cargo across the Tasman in their larger planes.
And competition between airlines on the transtasman flights is unlikely to ease, especially with Singapore-based Tiger Airways seriously considering joining the nine other airlines already flying the routes.
