International flights could be especially pricey next year due to capacity problems, an aviation expert says.
Air New Zealand was struggling to meet demand and Hawaiian Airlines already announced it would suspend all flights during next year's winter season, aviation industry commentator Irene King said.
The airline, which normally flies three times a week to Honolulu, planned to suspend flights out of New Zealand from April next year, and not resume until November.
It was not unusual for airlines to temporarily suspend their services in and out of New Zealand, King told Checkpoint.
"New Zealand is a small market, geographically isolated from the world and that is always our biggest challenge. So we have to work really hard to attract airlines to come here because we need to feed off that other larger market," she told host Lisa Owen.
Next year would be a challenging time to travel, with fewer seats and much more expensive tickets, she said.
"Less capacity means higher prices. It's as simple as that," King said.
"Air New Zealand is having to pull back capacity... The demand is still very strong.
"My view is that it's going to become extraordinarily expensive."
Airlines around the world were facing similar problems, she said.
Demand for US-bound routes was being affected by the strong greenback.
"New Zealanders will look at the US destination and they will think twice… I think [New Zealand dollars to US dollars are] something like 58 cents today. And so, you know, there was a time when that was 80 cents and it is a totally different thing."
RNZ
