Phillips was whisked from the tarmac at Dunedin International Airport in a late-model silver Range Rover shortly after she arrived on the 7.55pm flight from Wellington via Christchurch.
Most passengers had no idea Ms Phillips was among their travelling companions, but two did recognise her.
One said she was travelling with a female companion.
Both sat toward the middle of the aircraft. Zara was wearing a black cap whle her friend wore a red one, and both sat quietly keeping their heads down for most of the flight.
"They were real subtle. She was just kind of really low key," one passenger, who declined to be named, said.
