$206 Find Cheap Flights from New Zealand to Cairns

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight to Cairns departing on 20/7. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Cairns

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to Cairns, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to Cairns, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Flight Deals

Cheap Flights from New Zealand to Cairns

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for return flights from New Zealand to Cairns that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent return flight deals from New Zealand to Cairns

Fri, 17 Jul - Thu, 23 Jul
Jetstar Logo
06:55 - 10:40
CHC
-
CNS
5h 45mdirect
Jetstar Logo
07:00 - 13:55
CNS
-
CHC
4h 55mdirect
$502Jetstar
Fri, 17 Jul - Thu, 23 Jul
Jetstar Logo
06:55 - 10:40
CHC
-
CNS
5h 45mdirect
Jetstar Logo
07:00 - 13:55
CNS
-
CHC
4h 55mdirect
$505Jetstar
Fri, 7 Aug - Thu, 20 Aug
Jetstar Logo
06:55 - 10:40
CHC
-
CNS
5h 45mdirect
Jetstar Logo
07:00 - 13:55
CNS
-
CHC
4h 55mdirect
$517Jetstar
Fri, 17 Jul - Thu, 23 Jul
Jetstar Logo
06:55 - 10:40
CHC
-
CNS
5h 45mdirect
Jetstar Logo
07:00 - 13:55
CNS
-
CHC
4h 55mdirect
$533Jetstar
Thu, 6 Aug - Mon, 17 Aug
Multiple Airlines Logo
19:40 - 10:40
WLG
-
CNS
17h 00m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
11:55 - 16:20
CNS
-
WLG
26h 25m
1 stop
$723Multiple Airlines
Fri, 7 Aug - Sun, 16 Aug
Multiple Airlines Logo
06:30 - 10:45
WLG
-
CNS
30h 15m
1 stop
Multiple Airlines Logo
07:00 - 19:00
CNS
-
WLG
10h 00m
1 stop
$774Multiple Airlines
Fri, 4 Sep - Mon, 7 Sep
Virgin Australia Logo
14:35 - 23:20
ZQN
-
CNS
10h 45m
1 stop
Virgin Australia Logo
10:30 - 16:45
CNS
-
ZQN
28h 15m
1 stop
$804Virgin Australia
Sun, 2 Aug - Wed, 12 Aug
Air New Zealand Logo
20:00 - 10:45
WLG
-
CNS
16h 45m
1 stop
Air New Zealand Logo
11:20 - 08:10
CNS
-
WLG
18h 50m
2 stops
$809Air New Zealand
Tue, 21 Jul - Wed, 29 Jul
Virgin Australia Logo
17:40 - 09:50
ZQN
-
CNS
18h 10m
1 stop
Virgin Australia Logo
09:20 - 13:20
CNS
-
ZQN
26h 00m
1 stop
$814Virgin Australia
Wed, 12 Aug - Tue, 25 Aug
Air New Zealand Logo
09:20 - 10:45
HLZ
-
CNS
27h 25m
2 stops
Air New Zealand Logo
11:55 - 13:20
CNS
-
HLZ
23h 25m
2 stops
$1,014Air New Zealand
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to Cairns

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights to Cairns to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest flight to Cairns?

These are the best round-trip prices found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 5 days.

In the last 3 days, the cheapest flight deal to Cairns was found on the route from Christchurch, at $502 return. The most popular connection is from Auckland to Cairns and KAYAK users have found return deals for as low as $627 in the last 3 days.

What is the cheapest day to fly to Cairns?

The average price of all round-trip flights to Cairns clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.

Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to Cairns is Friday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $416. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Tuesday, where round-trip prices are $579 on average.

What is the cheapest month to fly to Cairns?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights to Cairns, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights to Cairns is March, where tickets cost $164 on average for return flights. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and September, where the average cost of tickets from New Zealand is $434 and $362 respectively. For one-way flights, the best month to travel is January with an average price of $140.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Cairns?

The average price for all round-trip flights to Cairns depending on the time of departure, clicked by users on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

The cheapest time of day to fly to Cairns is generally in the morning, when round-trip flights cost $866 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to Cairns is generally in the morning, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $866.

How far in advance should I book a flight to Cairns?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights to Cairns, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 19% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 17 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
Cheapest flight$206
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 10% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 5% lower on average.
Flight from Christchurch to Cairns

FAQs - booking Cairns flights

  • What is the cheapest flight to Cairns?

    In the last 3 days, the cheapest flight deal to Cairns was found on the route from Christchurch, at $502 return. The most popular connection is from Auckland to Cairns and KAYAK users have found return deals for as low as $627 in the last 3 days.

  • How far is Cairns Airport from central Cairns?

    Central Cairns is 4 km away from Cairns Airport.

  • What is the name of Cairns’s airport?

    Cairns is served by Cairns Airport, also commonly referred to as Cairns or Cairns Intl. The airport code is CNS.

  • How much is a flight to Cairns?

    On average, a flight to Cairns costs $629. The cheapest price found on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks cost $354 and departed from Auckland Intl Airport.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights to Cairns?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights to Cairns.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket to Cairns?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Cairns is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights to Cairns?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Cairns with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight to Cairns?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Cairns up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Cairns

  • Looking for cheap airfare to Cairns? 25% of our users found return tickets to Cairns for the following prices or less: From Auckland $365
  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Cairns flight deals.

Reviews of the top airlines flying from New Zealand to Cairns

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying to Cairns. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline from New Zealand to Cairns. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with to Cairns? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
7.5
Qantas AirwaysOverall score based on 1047 reviews
8.1Crew
7.5Comfort
7.0Food
7.2Entertainment
7.7Boarding
Airline reviews

Boarding was effortless, the food was outstanding, the seats in Premium Economy were extremely comfortable, and the staff and crew were excellent.

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, June 2026
DFW - MEL
Read more Qantas Airways reviews

Boarding was effortless, the food was outstanding, the seats in Premium Economy were extremely comfortable, and the staff and crew were excellent.

I never flew with alliance. Kayak is a joke and none of the flights or times were correct. Won’t ever use kayak again

I missed my flight due to unforeseen circumstances It was, however , an excellent price !

We had a medical emergency, needing to get to an emergency room upon landing at LAX. I let the back flight attendants know the situation. One, David, contacted the pilot, who made arrangements for EMT's to be there when we got off the plane. They went above and beyond for us. We didn't have to go through customs, as a customs person came to us and checked us right at the exit of the jet way. Another wonderful woman, a United employee at LAX, perhaps a customer service liaison, took care of our luggage situation, as we weren't going to make our connection to Bozeman. When we came back to LAX to see when we could get a flight to Bozeman, the personnel are very accommodating and booked us on the next flight out, and assigned good seats. It was a horrible flight, physically, from Sydney to LAX, , but the professionalism of all involved was excellent! We are very grateful fir the way they all stepped in and helped during a very unpleasant medical situation. Thank you!!

PREMIUM ECONOMY - excellent !Brilliant new plane. Excellent tv catalogue. Good food. Good communication and service from all friend Australian crew. Good communication from captain. Best travel experience in years.

Very good overall. However, your choices of free movies was limited and there was no music Channel???

I couldn't hear all of the announcements. It was nice when they put them on the screen.

This was the worst flight I’ve been on. Getting on the plane where is was 30 degrees outside was hotter on board cabin must’ve been 33 degrees. This is a health hazard. They cannot be doing this to save on fuel. People could die from this!!. Fans and a/c was, off entertainment was off. Poor excuse given. Crew made the excuse that the system didn’t have enough power. They basically were operating on one engine to save on jet fuel till 3 hours later on cruising altitude and they then started the second engine. And finally the cabin was cooled. On a 7hour red eye flight this made it so uncomfortable and impossible to sleep.

My experience was great overall. Tanya was particularly friendly and helpful the entire trip. I was very pleased with her customer service skills. The plane was an older aircraft but the entire way was comfortable with barely any turbulence at all. Qantas should speed up its fleet renovation. Totally recommend using this airline.

Qantas is always subpar beyond comfy chairs for a domestic flight

The Ryanair of Australia. Not impressed. Forced me to gate check my bag as it was over their weight limit. Charged me $125 for the privilege. Then said plane hold was locked and it would have to go out in the next flight, which was the following day. Explained that I was on a cruise the next day and the plane would not arrive until after the ship left, and that it would be impossible to catch up with the cruise at any point. Lady at the gate unimpressed. So to sum up they were ready to charge me $125 to lose a bag. Finally got it resolved by appealing to management, but the whole episode was not good for the blood pressure. The gate lady said they followed the Ryanair business model which means first time passengers get penalized for doing things that other airlines routinely allow.

Delayed 50 mins. Check in was excellent, boarding was good, everything else was OK and perfectly acceptable for a budget airline. Price was excellent. I noticed this airline had two other flights to our destination cancelled so not very reliable.

Horrible. The people that get this flights are very sick, dangerous and unhygienic

Great. Seats are a little cramped with only a very small recline. Service was great. Food was fine.

The flights got us to our destination. The seats on the planes were uncomfortable.

The smells on this plane were disgusting. So many sweaty and unhygienic people i couldn't stand it. I dream of being anywhere else in the world when I am on a JetStar flight they suck.

One of the better flights I’ve had w Jetstar. Smooth boarding, early take off, on time landing, very courteous crew, clean plane.

local frequent travellers know that Jetstar’s flights between MEL and LST are turnaround flights so those in the morning tend to run on time and become delayed increasingly through the day. We observed how the staff at check in and boarding try to assist, guide and facilitate travellers - they were courteous, efficient, amiable while enforcing Jetstar’s baggage requirements. They try to speed up boarding by having passengers board from both front and back. We would take Jetstar again.

The issue was a 4 hour delay to takeoff with very sketchy information provided about the available of the flights delay. Passengers were not informed of gate changes and how long the delay might be. It ended with a late night 2 hour drive to our home which was not ideal for elderly people.

Flight was fine with boarding starting a few minutes early. Not a fan of the crew pushing political messaging regarding indigenous naming of Brisbane city… really pushed it like I haven’t heard on Jetstar before.

Travelling to a place near Cairns?

Book flights to Cairns if you plan to visit one of these locations
Mission Beach
Trinity Beach

Everything you need to know for your flight to Cairns

Information on the airport you'll fly into in Cairns