CNS - WLG
Find cheap flights from Cairns to Wellington
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1 adult
Economy
Fri 21/4
Fri 28/4
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When to book flights from Cairns to Wellington
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Top tips for finding a cheap flight out of Cairns
- Looking for a cheap flight? 25% of our users found flights on this route for $508 or less one-way.
- The cheapest flight from Cairns to Wellington was found, on average, 80 days before departure.
- Book at least 3 weeks before departure in order to get a below-average price.
- High season is considered to be November, December and January. The cheapest month to fly is March.
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Top airlines flying Cairns to Wellington
Scores according to KAYAK customer reviews7.9
Qantas AirwaysOverall score based on 4867 reviews
8.1Boarding
7.7Comfort
8.4Crew
7.9Entertainment
7.6Food
Vegetarian food.
Cons: "Qantas always gives great service"
Pros: "Good entertainment, tasty food, easy boarding and disembarking"
Cons: "nil"
Cons: "The flight from Cairns to JFK that I originally purchased was supposed to be 7 hours of travel time less than what I actually ended up with. The airline changed my flights 4 times after originally booking."
Pros: "All as expected."
Cons: "Crew could have been more pleasant."
Pros: "Good food and entertainment"
Cons: "Timely"
Cons: "They didn’t leave my food. They took it away."
Cons: "Have a choice of both sweet & savoury snacks onboard."
Cons: "No screaming children"
Pros: "Great flight. Efficient and great service."
Cons: "Seats very uncomfortable.. glad it was only a few hours."
Cons: "food was poor seat was too cramped the seat in front of me was broken and kept reclining"
Pros: "good privacy"
Cons: "business class bathroom queue in the morning was troublesome"
Pros: "all good"
Cons: "all good"
Cons: "Boarding is very haphazard, not according to seat numbers, no pre boarding for small babies. Flight attendant spilled juice on me, very unprofessional."
Pros: "The seats were comfy."
Cons: "I booked through Budget Air and was initially online able to confirm seats and meals for my husband and I online with Qantas easily. Months out my flight was cancelled and I was rebooked onto a later flight that would have made us miss all of our transfers to our honeymoon on Fitzroy Island. Because I had booked through 'a 3rd party' Qantas refused to assist me. I managed to convince budget air to change our flights. We were moved to a jetstar flight from Melbourne to cairns. I had to confirm that this had occurred and go through multiple people online to reallocate seats and food options for my husband and myself again. Only my luggage allowance was carried across to jetstar and neither of our meal allowances were. When it came to online check-in with jetstar I could not check my husband in online only myself. I spoke to multiple people online who all confirmed they didn't know why or there was no problem and we should just present ID and check in in person. When we got to the airport Qantas had not transferred the e-ticket code across for my husband's booking and this is why we could not check him in online. The jetstar staff had to try to get his original booking code from Qantas. As it turned out I had to original booking code through budget Air in my hand and had to assert this information to staff. Flying back we were able to check in online fine with Qantas. Our boarding passes printed different sizes but did not present a problem when we dropped off our luggage. When we sent to check in the staff member couldn't get the smaller pass to read and my husband had to assert that he also had it on his phone. Despite all of my online conversations the aisle seat was allocated to me and not my husband who required it because of a medical condition and the flight was 30min delayed. We won't be traveling with Qantas or jetstar, or booking through budget Air again."
Cons: "Flight attendant kept forgetting to turn the entertainment back on after an announcement. Flight attendant sounded unprofessional over PA Would like more snacks - savoury and sweet, instead of just savoury. Snack was not sufficient for a 3 hour flight landing at 9pm. Had to wait on plane while airbridge was brought to the plane so everyone could disembark - “they weren’t expecting the flight!!” Whole flight still waiting for luggage after 55 minutes of standing at carousel and only after 55 minutes an announcement to say handlers are tending to a departure and we have to wait another 10 minutes - a whole hour for luggage - take carry on only next time!!!! 4 flights collecting luggage from the one carousel!!"
Cons: "food wasn't good"
Cons: "In flight wifi and entertainment didnt work"
Pros: "Qantas staff unfailingly helpful and courteous."
Cons: "A more suitable lunch that could be eaten more easily , the quiche in a fidley box and nothing to w eat it on was trying."
Pros: "Flight attendants where quality in their delivery of service Food was good (Chicken salad)"
Cons: "Staff that maned the gate clearly a novice or untrained. His coworker seemingly not bothered if the job was done correctly or not. Resulting in multiple bags being lost. And not just mine, at least 4 people had baggage lost due to lack of care and attention Absolutely dier."
Pros: "The food choices were lovely, plenty of bathrooms and touch screen entertainment (albeit with an outdated feeling and clunky interface.) The skycam was the best part of the entertainment interface options, giving you an outside view of the plane at all times from a camera at the top of the plane tail. Watching the plane during its descent and landing was very cool."
Cons: "I’ve flown in tight-spaced economy seats before, but the lack of space to even bend over to reach items on the floor was extreme on this plane and unacceptable for a 15+ hour flight. It truly felt like a straightjacket. Serious acrobatics were required to reach items on the floor. The tray table would also fly down on its own, the lever holding it would slide free while I was sleeping. There was no wifi at all, not even for using the qantas apps. My fiancé flew on Virgin the week before and was able to purchase wifi and stay in touch with me for $19 for the duration of the flight. Even my flight earlier this year with Qantas on the Dreamliner lacked usable wifi, but the experience of the Dreamliner plane itself was wonderful. In addition, the usb ports on the end of the armrests weren’t working. I feel it should be part of the safety briefing to point out where the usable power points are, given how vital charged phones are these days for boarding passes, reaching loved ones and entertainment when the wifi isn’t working. I didn’t realize there was a plug for laptops/ block plugs until I asked about the USB ports not working until the last 2 hours of the flight. The location of that was somewhere few would notice or look if not explicitly told. This will be the last time I ever book with Qantas when an a380 model is involved, unless great overhauls and updates are completed. Economy should not lack basic ergonomic comforts and while I’ve spent years touting my love for Qantas, having had wonderful experiences in the past, this one fell far below what I had come to expect from the Qantas name."
Pros: "Helpful staff, well informed"
Pros: "Nice crew"
Cons: "Delayed by an hour. Gate change to a gate too small to accommodate people. Food was pretty ordinary. Seats very cramped."
Cons: "Boarding is a gong show. Not very clear signage for premium line so there’s always a ton of people jamming up the queue"
Pros: "Watched movies to pass the time. Trip uneventful but 2 hours late"
Cons: "The announcements by cabin crew on board were hard to understand as English not first language"
Pros: "Food was a improvement luggage transfer to connecting flight great a"
Cons: "All good"
Pros: "Everything was great - arrived early. Excellent service."
Cons: "An hour late"
Cons: "I paid to select aisle seating but upon board found out my seating was the middle seat."
Pros: "Seats were fine, crew was cherry nice and professional. Enough toilets for the size of the plane."
Cons: "Airplane food is always what it is."
Pros: "Dreamliner plane"
Cons: "American Airlines cancelled a flight because of ‘weather’ from Msy to dfw, all other flights from Msy to Dallas operated on time but were sold out. We were re booked flying through San Francisco, missing out on flying on qantas, which is what I had paid for since they are a premium airline. We were booked on virgin America and then United for the international flight. United charged us each for 2 bags totalling $150 each, despite we booked a ticket with qantas which allows 2 bags each. Virgin America honoured our 2 bags, but united refused to. United also has service and aircraft which do not match the levels of qantas which I has specifically sought out. I could not eat some of the food because of the poor quality, and this is something I’ve never done before on an international flight. Additionally their were a lack of amenities on both flights, and no food vouchers despite our travel delay of over 5 hours. This whole ordeal has cost me money, worktime, and created a lot of stress to where I have had to cancel meeting on my arrival in Sydney."
Pros: "Temperature just right and pillows, blankets and better than average reclining seats"
Cons: "Food - too institutional. Bread over cooked, meats tough so couldn’t eat more than half of any meal."
Pros: "Customer service...very helpful and accommodating. Good food. Easy transfer from domestic to international. On one of our flights, a 39 minute one, they served a substantial snack (yogurt, breakfast biscuits, oj) and tea, coffee, etc. Amazing in that amount of time!"
Cons: "I tried to think of something but I couldn’t."
Pros: "Staff were friendly. Enjoyed getting a meal included in the ticket for everyone."
Cons: "Could be more of a range of movies to watch"
Pros: "Smooth flight, good breakfast options, easy check-in, flight was on time."
Cons: "I"
Pros: "In flight entertainment had a good selection"
Cons: "Delayed and missed connecting flight. As a result had to pay for a new one. Placed in the last row of economy so I could sit with my partner. Lied to by the check in counter. Disappointed by qantas yet again!"
Pros: "Chargers in all the seats, great movies, great food."
Cons: "9 hour delay and zero assistance rearranging car rentals, hotels, EXPENSIVE transfer between airport terminals"
Cons: "They did not have vegetarian food in spite of my request."
Pros: "Amazing crew and staff."
Cons: "No vegetetarian food option, seat 16f was soiled, fold down tray had sticky residue from previous flight(s)."
Pros: "They gave us loaner strollers to get the kids through the airport. So family friendly. Food was great too."
Cons: "No complaints."
Pros: "Loved the hot chocolate and chocolate."
Cons: "No choices available for dinner and other snacks not very good."
Cons: "Lost a bag Charged for bags Made us check in our overhead bags-No quality carrier does that."
Pros: "As I stated previously, I am blind and found the special assistance Qantas offers invaluable. Every crew member I interacted with was polite, thoughtful, warm, attentive, and extremely helpful."
Cons: "Hot food disgusting."
Pros: "I liked that they accommodated my dietary restrictions"
Cons: "I didn't like the seating. It was really cramped"
Pros: "The crew was attentive, the plane clean, snack bar"
Cons: "Not enough room to stretch a bit and stand on such a long flight."
Pros: "It was a Qantas flight not an Emirates flight for your correct information."
Cons: "I was hoping to be on board an Emirates plane notQantas msybe another time"
Pros: "I was able to make a connection without too much hassle"
Cons: "I had a economy plus flight booked and should have been on a Qantas from LA to JFK but due to delays I was put on an AA flight and downgraded to economy. I could have just as easily been upgraded to business - you chose not to do that."
Cons: "Airline lost our bags on way to Australia so we had to buy extra clothing and personal items while here. Then airline charges us $65 because our bags are overweight with the things we had to buy because of lost bags."
Pros: "Everything went smoothly"
Cons: "The overcharge for baggage being slightly over weight"
Pros: "Seating was tight. Very thin seats.. Little padding"
Cons: "Their online baggage fees could not be purchased with either my Mastercard or Visa. Had to resort to Paypal for baggage payment. Flight was also over an hour late departing from Cairns. Crew said that was due to an ;onboard medical emergency' on the inbound flight."
Pros: "The seats are big"
Cons: "You have to pay for food and drinks- nothing for free Boarding was chaos- no organization- just everyone pushing their way on. Worried about security as no one at any point checked my ID or passport Line up for baggage drop off took half an hour- they need more staff working"
Cons: "My luggage didn't make it to Wellington, which was disappointing since they now want to charge to have it sent from Auckland."
Pros: "The crew were very friendly and professional Didn’t appreciate having to pay for a cup of coffee."
Cons: "The loading process was a bit unorganized. The only organization was the front 12 rows load from the front and back rows loaded from the back of the plane by walking across the tarmac. Would be more efficient if they loaded more like Southwest Airlines."
Pros: "The crew and flight were ok."
Cons: "The checked baggage policy is lacking"
Pros: "The plane got us to Darwin."
Cons: "$60 per checked bag, even at 30 per bag its still more expensive than other carriers, so if you have a bag to check, skip Jetstar"
Cons: "Charged $60 for checking a bag. After which not loading the bag on plan which they charged. Even coffee cost money on this flight. I would not recommend this nor I would fly again without this airline."
Pros: "I liked that we left on-time this time. The previous flight a week ago was delayed by 1 hour."
Cons: "That they made us dump out our coffee and didn't let us bring it onboard. But, then they didn't offer complimentary coffee or tea or offer water. Providing those refreshments to Guests would cost very little and offering those kinds of amenities goes a long way."
Pros: "There was a flight attendant named Linda who was exceeded assisting us with getting to our connection."
Cons: "Staff in airport was very rude and only seemed to want to get more money out of people not willing to assist with any kind of resolution to issues. Couldn’t understand paging due to it echoing. I would never recommend using jet star to anyone."
Cons: "didnt answer baggage questions ahead of time and wasn't clear on website, ended up costing over $100 *extra* to check bags than anticipated due to this - long lines, poor customer service"
Pros: "Exit row seating with lots of leg room."
Cons: "Paid $30 upfront for a 15kg checked bag, was told at counter I could carry on, but unable to refund money. At the gate, was told it was over the 7kg carry on max (was 9.2kg) and required to check... for an additional $60. The $30 I paid previously would not be applied. Complete scam. Friend I was traveling with also paid for a 15kg checked bag upfront, but was only charged $21. I was also concerned about checking as I needed to transfer terminals from domestic to international with a tight connection and since the plane was delayed, had even less time to grab bag, catch train and go thru customs. No consistency. No customer service."
Pros: "The women sitting next to us had on enough perfume to gag anyone. My wife doesn't swell to well, and it nearly made her vomit."
Cons: "The women sitting next to us had on enough perfume to gag anyone. My wife doesn't swell to well, and it nearly made her vomit. Now in flight service provided except water on request."
Pros: "Boarding"
Cons: "Entertaiment was paid. Previous jetstar flights was free. I tried to purchase the machine did not read none of my credit cards. Bad experience overall."
Pros: "I got there"
Cons: "They charged extra for our bags if I would have known that up front I probably would have used another airline"
Pros: "Ticket price was cheap."
Cons: "$60 to check a bag and you need to if it is over 7kg. They have scales at check in and boarding gate. Was not allowed to take coffee on board and when they offered some it turns out it's $4 per paper cup of it, tea is the same. No seat back pockets to put things in. Seats so thin you can feel everybody's knees from 3 rows behind you. I will never fly with Jet Star again. I will spend more on the ticket to not feel like I'm being robbed blind on the plane."
Pros: "The on time arrival"
Cons: "Everything else: boarding cattle call, $190 in baggage charges for 2 bags, knees in my back for 3 hours, etc etc etc"
Cons: "All food and drink service needed to be purchased. Had an issue with a lost wallet left on the plane, and limited help in retrieving it."
Pros: "Nice crew"
Cons: "The plane was freezing, and there were no TVs for entertainment or blankets to help mitigate the cold"
Pros: "For the amount of time on a flight, it was as good as it gets"
Pros: "Extremely friendly staff. Smoothe flight!"
Cons: "Seats were quite crammed resulting in an uncomfortable 5 hour flight with no entertainment. There were no complimentary snacks or drinks like on most flights. Everything had a price tag. I had to ask for a complimentary glass of water."
Pros: "Friendly Staff"
Cons: "There was a huge delay, all the flights I bypassed with Virgin because they didn't leave early enough left long before us. While we were waiting they didn't even post anything at the gate. Once on the plane the seats were among the tightest I have ever experienced. They even charge for coffee. I won't use them again if I have an option."
Cons: "Hit with $100 extra baggage charges for carry-ons that were judged to be too heavy despite ample room in overhead and under seat compartments."
Pros: "We boarded and left on time. Crew was very pleasant."
Cons: "They only allow 7kg carry on which forced us to check 2 bags @ $30 each. It's just to extract money. It looked like a reasonable fare but by the time we paid fees, seats and luggage, another airline would be a better choice. They chatged us a $60 "third party" between Queenstown and Cairns. Ridiculous...I won't fly with them again."
Pros: "The check in team was very cordial. The pilot did a great job in landing the airplane in difficult weather conditions."
Pros: "Fairly efficient, cheaper price."
Cons: "Had employee going down boarding line with a scale charging extra $50 if you were over their ridiculously low weight limit for a carry on bag. Had no problem with same bag on numerous other airlines."
Cons: "We flew from Sydney to Cairns with a carry on suitcase and a personal item (backpack/purse) with no problem. On the way back, we were charged AUD$50 and were forced to check our bags. It was clearly not due to a space limitation but rather just a way to make money as not everyone was forced to check bags."
Pros: "Soo friendly and the discount flight, with a review f the luggage rules, I. Advance, led to a great experience."
Cons: "All good for a cheap flight"
Cons: "Extra fees for everything! Didn't expect to have to pay so much for luggage. Next time I won't be fooled by the low airfare."
Pros: "Inflight infrastructure Warm crew"
Cons: "Water size for sales was too small"
Pros: "Nothing."
Cons: "Plane was an hour late..baggage fees were $344 AUS for two bags, never again, very poor airline."
Pros: "I have taken 2 Jetstar flights this week and both departed over an hour late ! Frustrating!"
Cons: "Not understanding that online baggage allowance was for checked bags; then having to pay, at the counter, $50/bag and $15 for extra weight over 15 kg. was unreasonably exorbitant. Especially, as there was a notice stating the extra weight was for anything over 20 kgs."
Pros: "Good cabin crew. Clean modern aircraft."
Cons: "When purchasing ticket through an outside website you are not advised that luggage is a $320 option when purchased at the airport. Use Jetstar website only."
Pros: "At least the checkin staff member moved me to an earlier flight"
Cons: "One crew member in particulat chatted loudly for much of the flight - it was annoying. The same person was also unfriendly to passengers for some reason. A big overweight fellow with a piercing nasal voice. Also I was charged an extra $50 for a checked bag - seemed very unfair when if you google 'Jetstar cabin baggage allowance' it says 10 kg!"
Pros: "I liked that we arrived safely and on time."
Cons: "Where to begin? Paying for baggage checked, paying for carry-on, paying to reserve a seat, no seat back pocket at any seat, paying for anything you want to eat or drink, even a cup of water is not provided-/you must pay. It would not surprise me if oxygen masks were needed that there would be a charge. I basically despise being nickled and dimed at every turn."
Pros: "Easy boarding from front and rear of plane."
Cons: "Extra fees for baggage, very high $$."
Pros: "Very disappointed in Jetstar airlines!"
Cons: "Upon arriving at Cairns Airport, my sister and I arrived at the gate 2 hours early to our JQ16 flight to Sydney! We had accommodations already set up in Sydney through AirBnB on Coogee Beach. As we anticipated a quick 3 hour flight, we were sadly disappointed to hear the flight would be delayed due to crew scheduling. I understand sometimes thing don't always go as planned and some delays are unforeseen! However, when delays are due to the airlines incompetence of scheduling a crew it is quite frustrating! The 7:35am flight went from being delayed a few hours, to being delayed over 10 hours! Very little information was given to us about the flight and the airline was very unhelpful trying to accommodate us to a different flight to Sydney! We were told that we could be refunded for our flight and book another flight to Sydney.. This was absurd considering a one-way flight to Sydney last minute would run us around $500 and up each! We were offered a $15 food voucher, which basically covered a cup of coffee! After finally boarding the plane and it seemed the airlines incompetence continued! We waited to be taxied out because they didn't have a tug-cart to take us out.. Finally, around 6pm we took off! We arrived at Sydney right around 9pm.. Upon arriving, once again we had to wait for a tug-cart! Finally we got off the plane around 9:15pm! After finally getting through customs and out of the airport, it was now after 10pm and we had lost our booming for our Airbnb booking! We called the airline only to find they were unable to accommodate us for our lost Airbnb accommodation! They were very unhelpful and told us we could book another hotel and if we were lucky, the "may" reimburse us but there is no guarantee! We were now again stuck in the airport for another 12 hours as we waited for our international flight! After my experience with Jetstar, I will never recommend anyone to fly this airline, and discourage them to to so! Very disappointed in their service!"
Pros: "Flights were on time and check in was very efficient. Flights attendants and check in desk personnel were courteous and helpful"
Cons: "We had nearly 3 hours return light from Sydney to Cairns, Australia, and back. No complement beverages, even soft drink or water, was served. Water and soft drinks were unreasonably expensive to purchase."
Cons: "Overpriced excess of luggage. Classic trick only used by the cheapest airline companies."
Cons: "- They had poor food provisions for flight meals. By they time they had reached the middle section, only the vegetarian meal was available. You didn't have any choice (other than not eating a salad...) - The aircraft required some updates to its facilities. The chairs, audio jacks, and TV monitor weren't functioning properly at all for the 16 hour flight"
Cons: "The seats and lack of refreshments"
Cons: "The listed price did not include luggage and they gouged me for almost additional $300 USD to fly from Cairnes to Sydney. Yes my two bags were heavier but I was not charged additional fees on either Hong Kong Airlines, Quantas or JAL."
Cons: "No grace. No food. No drink. No leg room. Seat backs that make you lean forward. Fees made flight cost more than Quantas."
Pros: "I do believe that you get what you pay for, so I didn't mind the minimal level of service. The flight was on time. Check in was easy and efficient. The crew was pleasant and helpful."
Cons: "This is a problem not confined to Jetstar, but which affects the industry as a whole. Why do the board sick passengers? There was a man seated two rows behind us who coughed and wheezed the whole way from Cairns to Melbourne. He couldn't clear his lungs. He had no business on a plane infecting the rest of us."
Pros: "It took off and landed safely"
Cons: "Everything else"
Cons: "Every review regarding baggage is true - they will getcha. Make sure to weigh your carry on as well as your checked. My friend ended up having to check her luggage cause they weighed her backpack! The flight is cheap but if you don't pay up front for the extra weight you will be screwed on the day of."
Cons: "We had a 4 hour layover in Melbourne and had to pick up our bags and recheck them but we couldn't check them in until 2 hours before our flight and there was a 145aud charge for excess weight they only a!low 15 kg virgin allows 23 and tiger air allows 20. I will not book on them again! They did not even offer water to me the attendants were too busy making sure everyone who had preorder got their order."
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23h 45mCNS-WLG
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