AKL - CNS

Find cheap flights from Auckland to Cairns

1 adult
1 adult, Economy

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

Cheap Flights from Auckland to Cairns (AKL-CNS)

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Auckland 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.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from Auckland to Cairns

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AKL-CNS
2247 mimulti-stop
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CNS-AKL
2247 mimulti-stop
Multiple Airlines
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Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for Auckland to Cairns flights

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

What is the cheapest month to fly from Auckland to Cairns?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from Auckland 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 from Auckland to Cairns is February, where tickets cost $513 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and January, where the average cost of round-trip tickets is $669 and $608 respectively.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from Auckland to Cairns?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

Yes, flying with a layover may cost you more time, but you can also save money on the route, with a 1 stop layover the cheapest option at $662 on average.

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

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from Auckland 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 on the flight from Auckland to Cairns, you should book around 3 weeks before departure, which saves you about 35% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 22 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonJanuary
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 4% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 8% lower on average.

When to book flights from Auckland to Cairns

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Auckland to Cairns based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated round-trip price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or round-trips with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from Auckland to Cairns

  • Do I need a passport to fly between Auckland and Cairns?

    Yes

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Auckland to Cairns?

    The Airbus A321neo is the aircraft model that flies most regularly on the Auckland to Cairns flight route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Auckland to Cairns?

    Star Alliance is the only airline alliance operating flights between Auckland and Cairns.

  • On which days can I fly direct from Auckland to Cairns?

    You can catch a nonstop flight from Auckland to Cairns on on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Auckland 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 from Auckland to Cairns.

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

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

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Auckland 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 to Auckland with another airline. Booking your flights between Auckland and CNS can sometimes prove cheaper using this method.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Auckland 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 from Auckland up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Prefer to fly direct from Auckland to Cairns?

 
Direct data is based off flight results for the next 60 days. Find direct flights from all airlines flying direct from Auckland Intl to Cairns.
Find which airlines fly direct from Auckland Intl Airport to Cairns Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

Auckland Intl to Cairns

Monday

Air China, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, +1 more

Air China, Air New Zealand, +2 more

Tuesday

Air China, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, +1 more

Air China, Air New Zealand, +2 more

Thursday

Air China, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, +1 more

Air China, Air New Zealand, +2 more

Saturday

Air China, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, +1 more

Air China, Air New Zealand, +2 more

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Cairns to Auckland Intl

Monday

Air China, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, +1 more

Air China, Air New Zealand, +2 more

Tuesday

Air China, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, +1 more

Air China, Air New Zealand, +2 more

Thursday

Air China, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, +1 more

Air China, Air New Zealand, +2 more

Saturday

Air China, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, +1 more

Air China, Air New Zealand, +2 more

See more direct flights

Reviews of the top 3 airlines serving from Auckland to Cairns

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Auckland to Cairns. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Auckland 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.
8.0
Air New ZealandOverall score based on 504 reviews
8.2Boarding
7.4Entertainment
8.0Comfort
8.5Crew
7.3Food
Airline reviews

Not a comfortable trip, the seats are not good, and they look old.

4.0 OkayAnonymous, Jul 2025AKL - SFO
Read more Air New Zealand reviews

Not a comfortable trip, the seats are not good, and they look old.

Not entirely positive. It’s frustrating that everything is done through the united app. One of our flight attendants on our trip from San Francisco to MSP continually had trouble hearing people so she flipped her hair into people’s faces

I flew United from San Francisco to Auckland. My connecting flight from Auckland to Christchurch was canceled with no explanation. I was finally told the cancellation was due to fog. Even though it was clear when we landed. I am from San Francisco, I know what fog is! And I didn't see any fog. I was told the next available flight was 7 hours later. Unacceptable, they should have had a flight ready to go as soon as it was deemed safe to take off.

Our original flight was cancelled from SFO to AKL on 6/16/25. So we had to stay overnight at a hotel after a 12-hour layover plus 3-hour delay before the cancellation. Then had to fly to LA and then to AKL the following day losing an entire day of our vacation in NZ, that we can never get back.

Two hours was not enough time to transition from the international to domestic terminal. You have to go through customs, a biological hazard check, gather your luggage, take a bus to the domestic terminal and recheck your luggage. The bus was slow and crowded and the lines to recheck your bags were very long. We missed our connecting flight. Initially, the Air New Zealand officials were not helpful at all in helping to get us on another flight. Told us we would have to buy another ticket for a flight 11 hours later. Found another agent that was more helpful. He helped arrange to get us on standby for another flight three hours later. Had to ride in jump seats next to the flight attendants, but at least we eventually got to out destination.

Great! Flight was delayed by 30 mins but all was great. Thanks.

The 10hr flight was a comfortable as it could be in row 57. The food was just very bad….bland and soggy!

The business class upgrade meant a good sleep on the way home after a long week away. Excellent service, great food, and comfortable seat/bed for the journey.

I love the “boarding from the back” idea - it’s so much better than the “Zones” idea that many others use. Also, the inflight wifi was a first for me! Very nice to have on a 13-hour flight!

Again, Air New Zealand was great. They kept bathrooms clean, food was actually very good, New Zealand wines a big hit

One of the best Qantas business flights I've had. Quality product

Business class points redemption - good value for points paid, dubious value if out of your own pocket, domestic class business product okay for this length of flight. The flight left and arrived on time, crew were good, aircraft was a bit old and tired, but still miles ahead of their competitors in Virgin and Jetstar.

Airline running better than post Covid, proper boarding process now implemented, some aircraft feeling a bit old and tired, crew fine, online experience better.

Five hour flight instead of four hours due to westerly headwinds which wasn’t the fault of Qantas !

The wifi was out. Otherwise it was great flight. Richard, as CSM, was excellent.

Was bumped to a later flight because of inefficiency on part of the airline.

The Emerits/Qantas flight was cancelled to Wellington. We need a refund. Had to buy another airline ticket. How do we get the refund. Still not in Wellington.

Delayed QF59 flight once again, Qantas doesn't fail in maintaining there delayed departures and arrivals. USB points do not work nor do the power point sockets on the plane, Qantas staff admitted that on the flight. Don't expect to your charge devices. Saving grace, was the ice cream. Bottom line, if you expect to fly to HND and make it on time avoid Qantas and if you're interested in ice cream - visit 7/11.

Pretty excellent. I don’t know what the pilot could have done better with the bumping ( there was a storm) nor what happened to my ears coming down into bendigo. It doesn’t happen coming down into Sydney just the return flight. I wonder why?

Loved the staff. The economy seats could have been bigger.

no announcement about why we where delayed which is very poor

It was better than I expected. Thought $5 for a small cup of tea was a bit much!

Overall good trip I find seats a bit hard. We were waiting on board for about an hour for 2 passengers with some document issue. This main our arrival late for our pickup person.

15kg allowance is outrageous. Change of time a few days before departure and more than 2 hours of delay in the end. The worse we’ve taken so far in Oceania.

They added the weight of my back to the carryon luggage and charged me NZ$75 for being over 7 kg.

stuck in the aircraft for over three hours due to engineering work, significantly delayed and made a lot of passengers missed the connecting transport, no mention any compensation

Very quiet plane!! One of the quietest planes we have been on.

Jetsatar refused to take my foldable stroller in the plane, despite following all the rules on dimensions and packaging. Similar thing happened on our previous fight. However, at that instance, they offered to check in the stroller. At this fight, the staff was rude, trying to rush us to board the flight. They made excuses that the stroller was not allowed and even offer to leave it behind and ship it back at our own cost. Fortunately, we had someone else attending. Since the flight was about to take off, they left it behind and send it back to us on the next available flight.

Overall, it was good. The only concern was that I couldn't charge my phone because the USB port didn't work after we took off. One of the crew members tried to restart it but never came back to me with an update.

Comfortable seats, boarding was easy and staff were very nice.

Everything you need to know for your flight from Auckland to Cairns

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