Parents can save hundreds of dollars by travelling outside the school holidays. File photo. Photo: 123rf.com
Parents say airlines need to stop sending prices sky-high during the school holidays so they do not have to take their kids out of school to nab the cheaper fares.
It is the first week of the school holidays, and thousands more people are travelling around the country - and across the border - but many timed their flights during the school term.
Associate Education minister David Seymour says not enough people are taking education seriously and the school holidays gives families enough spare time for travel.
But parents at Silo Park on Auckland's waterfront say time is not the problem - it is the cost.
Wellington mother Rachel saved a couple of hundred dollars flying her family to Auckland before the school holidays kicked in.
"We did come earlier than the school holidays. Part of the reason was the airfares are more expensive in the school holidays and we thought it was timely to come up a little bit earlier to make use of those better deals."
Auckland mother Christine said she booked travel to the islands during school term because fares were half the price, compared to the flights during school holidays.
Parents taking kids out of school to get cheaper airfares
"We definitely take them out of school to travel, it's the only really affordable way with a big family. We find it so much cheaper and the accommodation is a lot better as well. We don't find that we have a problem with the school, they tend to be really accommodating which is great."
Auckland father Abi said there was a bit to weigh up, taking his two primary school-aged kids out of school.
'It's probably important that you're looking at how your kids are tracking at school if you're looking at a conscious decision to take them out, that they are not missing out and not falling behind... we make sure that what we take them to is also a learning experience."
Air New Zealand domestic general manager Scott Carr said its pricing changed on demand, meaning the first seats sold were the cheapest, then prices rose from there.
"Simply put, it is supply and demand. Demand for travel during the school holidays is high, and there were some big events over the first weekend of the school holidays, including the All Blacks test and the World of Wearable Art Show in Wellington," he said.
"With the increased demand over this period, we also added thousands of additional seats to our domestic schedule to help Kiwis get to where they need to be. As always, we encourage our customers to book in advance to secure the best fares."
Carr said the airline added 25,000 extra seats to its domestic flights for the school holidays.
Principals Federation president Leanne Otene said every day at school counted and the primary years were just as important as later years.
"It's school holiday time and so the prices skyrocket, I do understand why parents are [taking their kids out of school] but I do feel that they need to be well aware that just because their children are primary age doesn't mean that a couple of days here and there is okay."
She said travelling could be educational, but the days could add up over the course of a year.
"You take two days at the beginning of the term, your child gets sick during the term, you have a tangi or a funeral during the term, those 15 days are soon going to clock up. What we need to make sure is that the school is well aware of each of those circumstances, because I don't believe if there are funerals in the family, if there's sickness in the family, that our families (should) be fined."
Consumer NZ was due to release the results of a study into airline pricing next month. Research and advocacy head Gemma Rasmussen said they get complaints about flights surge pricing during the school holidays.
"We have a sense that Air New Zealand could be charging more than Qantas and what we would say is even though Air NZ is a well loved and respected airline with great services, the best thing you can do is vote with your dollars, don't be loyal."
She said Air NZ had a majority share of the local market.
"We would love to see more competition in the aviation sector. We would love to see more transparency from Air New Zealand about the way in which they set their pricing."
Air New Zealand is reminding people to allow extra time to check in if they are travelling with the kids.