China Southern, which was trying to attract more New Zealand passengers with revamped food and wine, was also appealing on price, he said.
"I haven't seen prices that low."
Flight Centre will stage its annual travel expo in Auckland today and tomorrow and was expecting around 20,000 visitors lured by fares to Amsterdam for around $1,400.
"If you sit the pricing at a low level everyone else follows suit and that's why you have Emirates at below the $2,000 mark," said general manager for product at Flight Centre NZ Simon Mckearney.
Emirates is offering fares at under $2000 to Oslo, Budapest, Brussels and Barcelona as part of its "early bird" sale.
Mckearney said there was strong airline capacity throughout the Pacific, and Hawaiian Airlines was offering deals to Honolulu for $900 and there were "very good deals" on Air New Zealand to the United States.
"The revenue management teams in airlines want to mop up that capacity and close off aircraft as soon as possible so that's why they'll drop a good price," he said.
About 40 per cent of travel booking would be done by Flight Centre during the next three months.
Mckearney said he expected price competition to Hawaii to be intense between Hawaiian and Air NZ as both had substantial capacity and there could be a showdown.
Stella's Libeau did not necessarily expect airlines to pass on the benefits of savings on jet fuel, almost half of what it was a year ago.
"Long term airlines would not necessarily pass on significant savings on fuel but offer sharper tactical fares on certain routes with a lot more competitive pricing. I get their position, airlines have to a degree been struggling but if they can make a bit more of a profit they can survive and invest in product."
He did expect the falling value of the kiwi against the US currency to deter some travellers but not for some time.
The kiwi has fallen from a high of around 88c against the greenback around the middle of last year to around 73c last night.
"I think it will bite but not yet," said Libeau.
Avid traveller grabs bargain
They say the early bird catches the worm - in Chas Gray's case he's catching a luxury flight to North America instead.
The retired businessman cashed in on the new year flight sales to save almost $1,000 on a return fare to Los Angeles with Air New Zealand.
Normally, premium economy seats are up to $4,200, but Mr Gray paid $3,300 after shopping around and then taking the extra step of checking with his travel agent to ensure he was getting the best deal.
"I go online and have a look around ... in this case, I went to see Kylie Masters [House of Travel agent] and she advised me to hold off."
Patience paid off and now Mr Gray is happily looking forward to his 100-day sojourn in July, which will take in the USA and Canada. He's also taking a cruise to Alaska.
An avid traveller, Mr Gray said that even though he was available to afford business class when he needed to, he still wanted a good deal. "I take one or two trips a year ... but I don't want to waste money."
Last year, Mr Gray took in Europe on a bicycle. This year, he's swapping the bike for a cruise, and travelling with a friend.
