Jetstar starts Christchurch–Perth flights with 37,000 seats, and Air NZ joins on 30 November

Jetstar's first nonstop flight from Perth to Christchurch was due to land on the evening of 27 October. Jetstar is now putting more than 37,000 seats on the route this summer. When the service was announced in March, the figure was more than 30,000, so the total is up by about a quarter.

On 30 November, Air New Zealand starts its own flights on the same route. B2B News estimates the two airlines will carry about 55,000 seats between them over the 2026–27 season. Last year the two cities had no direct flights at all.

These are the first direct flights between the cities since 2019. B2B News called this the "first-ever" direct link, which is wrong. Travel Radar reports that Air New Zealand ran seasonal Christchurch–Perth flights from 2013 to 2019. The Perth launch came one day after Jetstar restarted Sydney–Christchurch flights on Monday 26 October, which KarryOn and Chris Lynch Media both describe as a return after seven years away, not a new route.

Schedule and aircraft

According to KarryOn, flight JQ185 leaves Perth at 7.45am on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and arrives in Christchurch at 6.55pm. KarryOn and Chris Lynch Media both report that the return flight, JQ184, leaves Christchurch at 8.55pm on the same days and reaches Perth at 11.10pm. Go by the times on your booking, not on any news report, including this one.

Sources also disagree on when the season ends. B2B News says the flights run until 27 March 2027. KarryOn says they run "until April 2027". If you're planning travel late in the season, check which dates are actually on sale before you book anything else around the flight.

The aircraft is Jetstar's Perth-based Airbus A321LR, which Travel Radar says seats up to 232 passengers. It's a single-aisle plane on a long flight. Travel Radar gives about six hours 10 minutes eastbound and about seven hours 15 minutes back to Perth, with westerly winds making the return slower.

Jetstar has opened a cabin crew base in Perth for the route, which B2B News says created 90 jobs.

Fares

Jetstar's First Flight Sale offers one-way fares from A$315 for Perth to Christchurch, KarryOn reports. The sale ends at 11.59pm AEDT on Thursday 29 October, or earlier if seats sell out. It covers travel before 2 February 2027. Before launch, Travel Radar reported one-way fares from NZ$299 for Christchurch to Perth, a price that may no longer be available.

Air New Zealand's service

Christchurch Airport announced Air New Zealand's Perth route on 20 May. It was part of a deal that also covers Christchurch–Singapore from 28 October and Christchurch–Narita from 28 November. Perth starts on 30 November. Air NZ will fly three times a week until 7 May 2027 and add around 18,000 seats into Perth, according to B2B News.

With two airlines flying from December, travellers can compare fares on the same dates. Air NZ's season also runs about six weeks past B2B News's 27 March end date for Jetstar, which helps if you're travelling in April or early May.

Who the flights are for

Travel Radar, citing census figures, says about 70,000 New Zealanders live in Western Australia. According to B2B News, Western Australia's government says Jetstar's flights add 700 inbound seats a week from New Zealand. The government also linked the flights to the men's Test between Australia and New Zealand at Perth Stadium from 9 to 13 December. If you're going to the Test, those dates fall after Air NZ's start.

"Aviation is a key priority and these expanded air links reflect growing international demand for Western Australia," WA Premier Roger Cook said, as quoted by B2B News.

Christchurch wants the visitors coming the other way. Justin Watson, the airport's chief executive, told Chris Lynch Media that the seats were "great news for our tourism industry, particularly for the regional communities and businesses that benefit when visitors choose Christchurch and explore further afield."

From Perth, passengers can connect onto Qantas Group flights to Bali, London, Paris, Johannesburg, Delhi and Rome, Chris Lynch Media reports. That gives South Island travellers a westbound option that doesn't go through Auckland or the east coast of Australia. If you connect on separate tickets, allow for a late arrival into Perth.