Extras double 'cheap' fares

Taxes and charges on cut-price air travel from Auckland to Queensland and back this winter will double the cost of the basic fares.

Pacific Blue and Freedom Air are offering $79 single fares to Brisbane and the Gold Coast from May 13 if booked on the internet, or $89 for telephone orders.

Advertising by Pacific, the local wing of Australian Virgin Blue, refers in smaller print to taxes and charges of $45 from Auckland to Brisbane and of $40 to the Gold Coast.

A matching advertisement by Air New Zealand subsidiary Freedom quotes extra charges of $44 and $41 to the two destinations.

These figures include fuel surcharges but do not include the $25 departure tax at Auckland International Airport.

The advertisements also omit details of higher taxes and charges on the return leg, which push the overall cost of flying to Queensland and back to more than $300.
Pacific Blue's advertisement says, in even smaller print, that "additional taxes apply for return journey".

But it takes a search through the airline's website to find that these amount to $85 from the Gold Coast and $98 from Brisbane.

Extra charges with Freedom amount to $86 and $97.65.

Pacific's $2 credit-card booking charge takes its passengers' costs of flying to Brisbane and back to $328, including the Auckland airport charge which the airline does not handle, and to $310 to and from the Gold Coast.

Freedom return flights are slightly cheaper at $324.64 and $309.49.

But both airlines report heavy demand for the cheap seats, and each had only one left yesterday for a May 13 Black Friday flight to Brisbane.

A booking agent disclosed that only nine $79 seats had initially been allocated that day.

But Pacific spokeswoman Joanne Wedlock said the numbers varied throughout the period covered by the offer, to June 30.

She said well over 1000 seats were available overall, although they must be booked before February 28.

Freedom general manager Stephen Jones said between seven and 21 of the cheapest seats were available on each of his flights.