CNS

$278 Find Cheap Flights to Cairns

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight to Cairns departing on 8/4. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to Cairns

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to Cairns, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to Cairns, as well as popular online travel agencies
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Cheap Flight Deals to Cairns

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for return flights to Cairns that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.

Recent return flight deals to Cairns

KAYAK's recommended return flight deals from the most popular airlines that fly to Cairns.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.
Choose your dates
07:05 - 10:40CHC-CNS
5h 35mdirect
22:55 - 05:50CNS-CHC
4h 55mdirect
$428Jetstar
Find Deal
Mon, 12 May - Tue, 20 May
08:05 - 10:40CHC-CNS
5h 35mdirect
22:55 - 05:50CNS-CHC
4h 55mdirect
$501Jetstar
Find Deal
Fri, 4 Apr - Sun, 4 May
06:15 - 20:40WLG-CNS
16h 25m1 stop
19:00 - 14:45CNS-WLG
17h 45m1 stop
$876Qantas Airways
Find Deal
Mon, 5 May - Mon, 12 May
06:10 - 23:05AKL-CNS
18h 55m1 stop
06:00 - 23:55CNS-AKL
15h 55m1 stop
$883Qantas Airways
Find Deal
Tue, 24 Jun - Tue, 1 Jul
18:00 - 09:40ZQN-CNS
17h 40m1 stop
06:00 - 15:40CNS-ZQN
7h 40m1 stop
$894Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Sun, 24 Aug - Sun, 31 Aug
18:00 - 11:25ZQN-CNS
19h 25m2 stops
06:00 - 15:40CNS-ZQN
7h 40m1 stop
$916Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Sun, 24 Aug - Sun, 31 Aug
21:00 - 10:45CHC-CNS
15h 45m1 stop
15:35 - 07:25CNS-CHC
13h 50m2 stops
$1,005Air New Zealand
Find Deal
Mon, 25 Aug - Sun, 31 Aug
07:10 - 10:45AKL-CNS
5h 35mdirect
11:55 - 18:35CNS-AKL
4h 40mdirect
$1,025Air New Zealand
Find Deal
Sat, 17 May - Sat, 24 May
06:10 - 17:50AKL-CNS
13h 40m1 stop
17:35 - 13:20CNS-AKL
16h 45m1 stop
$1,047Emirates
Find Deal
Sun, 14 Sep - Mon, 29 Sep
15:55 - 22:50AKL-CNS
8h 55m1 stop
17:35 - 13:20CNS-AKL
16h 45m1 stop
$1,056Emirates
Find Deal
Wed, 10 Sep - Mon, 29 Sep

KAYAK's insights & trends for flights to Cairns

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights to Cairns to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest flight to Cairns?

These are the best round-trip prices found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
In the last 3 days, the cheapest flight deal to Cairns was found on the route from Auckland, at $745 return. The most popular connection is from Christchurch to Cairns and KAYAK users have found return deals for as low as $428 in the last 3 days.

How much is a flight to Cairns?

The average and cheapest price for all round-trip flights to Cairns from each origin found by users searching on KAYAK in the last month.
A flight to Cairns costs $616 on average. The cheapest price found on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks cost $214 and departed from Christchurch. The most popular routes on KAYAK are Christchurch to Cairns which costs $556 on average, and Auckland to Cairns, which costs $1,016 on average.
See prices from:

What is the cheapest day to fly to Cairns?

The average price of all round-trip flights to Cairns clicked on KAYAK for each day over the last 12 months.
Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to Cairns is Wednesday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $806. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Thursday, where round-trip prices are $1,180 on average.

What is the cheapest month to fly to Cairns?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights to Cairns, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.
The cheapest month for flights to Cairns is August, where tickets cost $812 on average for return flights. On the other hand, the most expensive months are December and October, where the average cost of tickets from New Zealand is $1,171 and $1,087 respectively. For one-way flights, the best month to travel is August with an average price of $812.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to Cairns?

The average price for all round-trip flights to Cairns depending on the time of departure, clicked by users on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.
The cheapest time of day to fly to Cairns is generally at night, when round-trip flights cost $479 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to Cairns is generally in the morning, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $629.

What is a good deal for flights to Cairns?

If you’re looking for cheap airfare to Cairns, 25% of our users found tickets to Cairns for the following prices or less: From Christchurch $533 return, from Auckland $967 return.

How far in advance should I book a flight to Cairns?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights to Cairns, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.
To get a below average price, you should book around 3 weeks before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 6 weeks before departure.

Good to know – Book Cheap Cairns Plane Tickets

Low season

January

High season

July

Cheapest flight

$278
Best time to beat the crowds but there is an average 13% increase in price.
Most popular time to fly (2% more expensive on average)
Flight from Auckland to Cairns

When to book flights to Cairns

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel to Cairns based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated return price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or returns with a duration up to 40 days. The information is for flights to Cairns based on your location. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs - booking Cairns flights

  • What is the cheapest flight to Cairns?

    In the last 3 days, the cheapest flight deal to Cairns was found on the route from Auckland, at $745 return. The most popular connection is from Christchurch to Cairns and KAYAK users have found return deals for as low as $428 in the last 3 days.

  • How far is Cairns Airport from central Cairns?

    You’ll need to travel 4 km to reach the Cairns city centre from Cairns Airport.

  • What is the name of Cairns’s airport?

    When flying to Cairns, you'll arrive at Cairns Airport (CNS). The airport is also known as Cairns or Cairns Intl.

  • How much is a flight to Cairns?

    On average, a flight to Cairns costs $616. The cheapest price found on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks cost $214 and departed from Christchurch Airport.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights to Cairns?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights to Cairns.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket to Cairns?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to Cairns is likely to change within 7 days, so travellers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights to Cairns?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to Cairns with an airline and back with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight to Cairns?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to Cairns up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • How many direct flights to Cairns are there each week?

    Each week there are around 5 direct flights from within New Zealand to Cairns. The most common day for departures is Friday, with 20% of flights taking off on this day.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to Cairns

  • Looking for cheap airfare to Cairns? 25% of our users found return tickets to Cairns for the following prices or less: From Christchurch $396, from Auckland $692
  • Enter your preferred departure airport and travel dates into the search form above to unlock the latest Cairns flight deals.

Prefer to fly direct to Cairns?

Find which airlines fly direct to Cairns Airport, which days they fly and book direct flights.

Direct departures

New Zealand to Cairns

Monday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +26 more

ANA, Air Canada, +27 more

Tuesday

ANA, Air Canada, Air China, +27 more

ANA, Air Canada, +28 more

Wednesday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +27 more

ANA, Air Canada, +28 more

Thursday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +27 more

ANA, Air Canada, +28 more

Friday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +27 more

ANA, Air Canada, +28 more

Saturday

ANA, Air Canada, Air China, +26 more

ANA, Air Canada, +27 more

Sunday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +27 more

ANA, Air Canada, +28 more

See more direct flights

Direct returns

Cairns to New Zealand

Monday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +26 more

ANA, Air Canada, +27 more

Tuesday

ANA, Air Canada, Air China, +27 more

ANA, Air Canada, +28 more

Wednesday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +27 more

ANA, Air Canada, +28 more

Thursday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +27 more

ANA, Air Canada, +28 more

Friday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +27 more

ANA, Air Canada, +28 more

Saturday

ANA, Air Canada, Air China, +26 more

ANA, Air Canada, +27 more

Sunday

ANA, Air Canada, Air France, +27 more

ANA, Air Canada, +28 more

See more direct flights
See more direct flights

Top 5 airlines flying to Cairns

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying to Cairns. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline from New Zealand to Cairns. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with to Cairns? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.0
EmiratesOverall score based on 3190 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.1Boarding
7.8Food
8.3Crew
8.2Entertainment
Airline reviews

The best ever, friendly and attentive cabin crew, amazing captains who utilised their expertise for less turbulence, just overall amazing

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Mar 2025DXB - MIA
Read more Emirates reviews

The best ever, friendly and attentive cabin crew, amazing captains who utilised their expertise for less turbulence, just overall amazing

First time and very memorable, the finest flying experience ive ever had

Boarding for business class passengers can be improved. Also, when debarking the aircraft, Economy passengers are let off first due the way the configuration of the cabin upstairs.

no problem with Emirates it was the underpricer subcontractor Who was ridiculous

Excellent comfort and entertainment. Service poor..Food average with little choice.

Flight left on time. Bags came quickly. Crew was nice. But internet never worked and the food was awful.

Boarding, seats, entertainment and service were all great. The food was great except for the fact that there were too many sweet items.

Very bad groud crew taking bags less than 7kg Bad food Old plane

Better boarding process at Hyderabad airport Better time management by air hostesses in providing the meals

Flight attendants were great. Comfort of seat and lie down bed pretty good. Food was very mediocre. Wine was good (red French wine) although I should have taken advantage of having more! :-) it was too late on the flight From znz—I was tired…then too early from Dubai. Woman sitting behind me dropped a full bag of garbage on my head while I was sleeping…orange peels, wet partially eaten food and very smelly food garbage which I literally had to pick out of my hair, off my face and away from my pillow. Not the airlines fault but still a very unpleasant experience.

Economy was much nicer on the Air New Zealand planes.

At Coolangatta International it is difficult to hear voice boarding announcements when away from screen announcements.

Flew premium economy, well worth the extra. Much better seat size & space. Meals & snacks were lovely. Crew really pleasant. Internet is not great, not really useful for anything. Couldn't even send messages.

Everything was fine. Wish the wifi was free and included in the ticket price.

Nothing special short flight - all good - difference between 1 fudge and 2 fudge is obligation and thankfulness

The flight we had booked was cancelled due to bad weather conditions, but we were lucky to arrive at the airport quite early and got a seat on an earlier flight. The flight was mostly nice, but there were some hefty turbulences towards Queenstown. One of the passengers behaved hysterically. It would have been great if the crew had done something to calm her.

Sitting in an aisle seat equals getting hit by food cart and spilled on multiple times Food: gross and minimalistic Crew: frumpy and kurt Sound on multiple entertainment platforms poor Not an earplug problem, system soundboard poor

Major hassle with the weight of carryon luggage Having to repack bags at airport Not an issue in most of world Ridiculous issue considering the 400 pound gentleman sitting behind us

Overall experience was poor. In general crew was polite in speaking but that was all about it. I am vegetarian so I always carry a cup noodle box with me just in case. So I pressed "CALL" button for hot water for my cup noodle on my seat and waited for 10-15 minutes but nobody came. I personally took the box and went all the way to back of the plane. When I requested stewardess to put hot water in my cup noodle she refused as it was a "safety" hazard. I told her that you always serve coffee and tea these are also hot. But she still refused. I went back to my seat and from the seat I ordered hot water and it was brought to me without any problem. I poured THAT hot water in my cup noodle and ate. I was sitting in seat 36A, which was 2nd row in economy class. After eating my noodle I took the box and went 2 rows in the front where there was a kitchen to throw it. Again the stewardess there told me she didn't have a waste bin there and asked me to go back of the plane and throw it there. Tell me if above experiences are 'ok' for your airline??

Everything very good except the sofa couch not as comfortable as expected.

I liked the service, the menu, and the comfort of the seats! Even tho we were seated by the bathrooms, the reclining seats and movie selection was very good, my husband and I didn’t mind at all

Very good as always, stand out airline. The passengers whom choose to stuff baggage that otherwise should be checked-in is a real bother but that's not the airlines doing. A real frustration that passengers just don't want to check-in luggage. This is a pet hate unfortunately.

It’s a two prop flight so I had problems with my ears on re- entering ! But otherwise fine

I love flying with Qantas. There was no onscreen entertaining on this flight, and only a snack provided (not a meal) but still better than Jetstar or Virgin (in my opinion) so still happy.

The food was terrible. And the flight attendants were very rude. One flight attendant wouldn’t help a passenger lift their carry-on. Another flight attendant wouldn’t give a man an extra blanket. And they walked by not even looking at the passengers to see if they needed a glass of water.

Wheelchair assistance to move through the terminals and to/from the plane door was excellent. No vegan snack on the flight, only something with salami and cheese in it.

I have flown Qantas multiple times in the past it seemed this flight the plane had less seat room or the seats were way less comfortable than before. Everything else was about the same. Thanks

The old Plane had not been cleaned properly in a long time.

I got upgraded from economy to business, and the experience was outstanding

Boarding was over 3 hrs late and we didn’t land until almost 1:30am

Very good… seems the virgin staff particularly in the lounge and in flight exceeded expectations.

I liked everything about the experience but would have liked some free snacks!

Crew was great but flight was delayed almost three hours due to a technical issue and we had to go back to the terminal and wait for another one.

Being told why we delayed three hours and not even given an apology by someone. Not a word. Not my airline of choice ever.

Checked Baggage line up was long but moved quickly, rest of the process, boarding, crew was excellent

Virgin has always provided a smooth and comfortable flight. This one was no different. Seats are comfortable. Staff are great. This is my favourite airline.

Virgin changed the flight to an Alliance flight. Smaller plane, tea coffee and water the only refreshments available and not sure what happened to the extra money I paid to sit in a selected seat with extra leg room. This is obviously a regular switch as it happened on our flight there and back. Do not recommend.

Late boarding, late departure due to weather and slow boarding, packed 5+hour flight, only 2 toilets for main cabin, tight leg room, no free food except tea, coffee, and water, arrived 75 minutes late.

Cramped, crowded flight, with no complimentary food except coffee, tea, or water.

Check-in was good and efficient, Boarding was quick and easy. Didn't like the entertainment side of things requiring your phone to connect for a screen, my eyes are bad enough to use my phone more than I already do. Trip was comfortable and baggage claim was good. If coffee and tea were free, then why not a soda or juice as well, its not like its an alcoholic drink.

Overall, it was good. The only concern was that I couldn't charge my phone because the USB port didn't work after we took off. One of the crew members tried to restart it but never came back to me with an update.

Comfortable seats, boarding was easy and staff were very nice.

Flight was fine but a domestic flight was called by Jetstar international. This meant going through immigration and custom scanning twice. Long queues were experienced which were frustrating. We were using a wheelchair and exit at Perth needed a scissor lift as no air bridge provided. No fast lane at Perth for wheelchair. The staff were helpful but this system is poor.

The crew were great. The seat was older than an old Holden with a big metal bar sticking right into my back. The passenger next to me complained that hers was the same. The pre purchase system for food was disappointing as the pie/quiche took 20 mins to warm up, arrived too hot and with no utensils. It was one of the most uncomfortable flights I've ever been on.

Not very good, no food and not drink ( caffe or tea). Never ever fly with jet star.

Fabulous I have no issues with JetStar great service always use them to fly

Flight was as expected - we got what we paid for which was a base fare

Hardly we had overweight and we were asked to pay $75. We were checked by a female and weight was alright

Unaware of charge for carry on until i got to gate

I got what I paid for - flight was clean, staff were friendly

Travelling to a place near Cairns?

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Trinity Beach
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Everything you need to know for your flight to Cairns

Information on the airport you'll fly into in Cairns

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