Locals snap up cheap US flights

HEADING OFF: Locals are snapping up cheap airfares to the US.

Rotorua people are among those taking advantage of new flights and cheap airfares to travel to the United States.

Galaxy Travel Rotorua owner Joanna Corbett said there had been a huge increase in people going to the US in the last year.

A new flight to Houston had been particularly popular. Air New Zealand and Hawaiian Airlines had also offered sales on fares to Hawaii.

Ms Corbett said Air New Zealand would soon start flying direct to Vietnam and Emirates direct to Dubai.

Those flights were expected to be popular among Rotorua people due to service, prices and frequency.

Ms Corbett said recent airfares were some of the cheapest she'd seen.

Low fuel prices and competition were expected to keep the fares low.

Grabaseat this week offered return flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco for $788, to Houston for $848 and to Shanghai for $798.

Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon said lower fuel costs, an expanded fleet and increased competition would pull down domestic and international prices.

Ms Corbett said travel agents didn't have access to Grabaseat deals, but those deals stimulated the market.

"[It's] very exciting for the traveller to be able to travel at that price."

An Air New Zealand spokesperson said 640 seats or 320 return trips across Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Tokyo and Shanghai were made available on its Grabaseat website on Wednesday morning.

More than 200 trips had been snapped up by late Wednesday afternoon.