Air New Zealand London Airfares in 1982

 

London Fares Guide - class descriptions

London Fares Guide 1982

1982 was the year Air New Zealand started flying its own aircraft, under its own crew, from Auckland to London, via Papeete and Los Angeles (Boeing 747-200 aircraft did not have the range to fly non-stop from Auckland to the United States). However, Air New Zealand sold airfares to London not just via Los Angeles, but also via Tokyo and Singapore.  Air fares were agreed by the Government, so the cheapest fares available, in economy class (which at the time was arguably more spacious than today, with a 34" seat pitch and 10 abreast seating on a 747 much more spacious than today's 31" or 32" in 10 abreast on the narrower 777 or even 9-abreast on the even narrower 787). was $1884 in 1982 dollars from Auckland to London.  That is $8,372 in 2023 prices.

To achieve a comparable fare under similar conditions, a search on the Air NZ website for a return trip from February until March 2024 of $2,768, indicating that in real terms long haul airfares have reduced by around two thirds. (Of course Air New Zealand no longer flies all the way to London, so the fare below is codeshared with Singapore Airlines via Singapore, the fares below also include codeshares with Virgin Atlantic via Los Angeles)

For those wanting a bit more space, Pacific Class was Air New Zealand's first business class, and essentially consisted of a bit more legroom, empty middle seats, lounge access and better catering.  A lot of parallels with today's premium economy, except with less legroom and recline (although lounge access is not available with premium economy on Air New Zealand). 

Pacific Class cost $4,816 in 1982 dollars, which today is equivalent to $21,400!  Premium economy today is around $6,680 (choosing the cheapest option through Singapore and cheapest via Los Angeles).  That's a drop in price of around 69%.

First Class described in this leaflet, was $7,166 in 1982 which today is equivalent to $31,845!  The description in the leaflet shows seating that is not even up to today's business class, with recliners in pairs, rather than flat beds, with little privacy.  The soft product with catering and drink was undoubtedly superior, but that's about it.  Compared to Business Class today at $14,655.  This is a drop of around 54%, but the options are wider today.  By simply flying via Singapore, that fare drops to $9,812 return, a 70% drop if you don't need to fly via Los Angeles.

 

So what if you DO want to fly first class today?  Of course Air New Zealand abolished first class in 2004 with the introduction of Business Premier, which is a slightly older version of the same seat used today. 

However, First Class IS available on Emirates (and was available on Singapore Airlines), albeit to a standard that exceeds Air New Zealand in 1982. This means private suite seats, showers on A380s, your own minibar and an actual bar to visit on the plane (which business class also has access to). At that point the fare is $16,637, which is still cheaper in real terms than business class in 1982.

The conclusion of this is that in 40 years long-haul airfares (between New Zealand and London) have dropped to levels between 20 and 33% of what they were in 1982 in real terms.  That reflects the removal of government restrictions on airfares in the mid to late 1980s, but also the vast liberalisation of the airline industry in that time, with competition by airline, by route and hub, and the enormous efficiencies achieved across the industry.