Pilot's Choice at Franz Josef: how the flexible route works
Pilot's Choice is a 35-minute Franz Josef flight over two glaciers, Fox or Tasman as the second, chosen with the weather. How it compares with fixed routes.
Pilot’s Choice is Glacier Country Helicopters’ 35-minute flight from Franz Josef that covers the Franz Josef Glacier (Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere) and then either the Fox Glacier or the Tasman Glacier, with a 10-minute snow landing in between. The second glacier depends on the weather on the day, and the operator does not publish how that choice is made, so book it if you are happy with either.
You can book the same flight on two marketplaces. On GetYourGuide it is the 35-Minute Helicopter Trip over Two Glaciers, rated 4.9 from 535 GetYourGuide reviews. Viator sells it under the operator’s own name, Pilot’s Choice: 2 Glaciers & Snow Landing, rated 4.8 from 401 Viator reviews and from $287 per person when checked in October 2026.
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What the 35 minutes include
The 35 minutes on the listing include the landing. With 10 minutes on the snow, you spend about 25 minutes in the air, climbing over the Franz Josef Glacier, crossing to the second glacier and returning to the hangar. The pilot gives live commentary through your headset.
The day starts at the Glacier Country Helicopters office on Main Road, where you check in 30 minutes before the flight, are weighed and sit through a safety briefing. A van then takes the group to the hangar. The operator asks you to allow an extra 45 minutes on top of the flight time for check-in, the van, loading and the return to the office, so plan on about an hour and 20 minutes in total.
Seats are allocated by weight and balance at check-in, and you cannot pick one. A front seat is a request made 24 hours ahead and confirmed only at check-in. Passengers weighing 120 kg or more at check-in must buy a Comfort Seat, priced at half the flight’s retail rate, and the seats are 40 cm wide. The helicopter has two high ladder-style steps, and the listing says the flight does not suit people with mobility impairments or wheelchair users; tell the operator about any injury or recent surgery, because it can change which helicopter you fly in.
On its own website the operator lists Pilot’s Choice at NZ$495 per person on a price list marked valid to 30 September 2026. Marketplace prices are in US dollars and change by date; the prices page sets the flight against every other option. For the full inclusions and rules, read our breakdown of the GetYourGuide listing.
How the second glacier gets chosen
The operator’s description is short. Its price page lists the route options as “Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers, or Franz Josef & Tasman Glaciers”, covering the Southern Alps, Mt Cook and Mt Tasman, and adds: “Our flight routes may vary due to weather conditions, our team will keep you up to date on the best route.” That is the whole published rule. The natural reading is that the pilot and the base team pick the route on the day, but Glacier Country Helicopters does not say when or how.
The two options are quite different flights. Fox Glacier (Te Moeka o Tuawe) lies on the same western side of the Alps as Franz Josef, about 24 km south by road. The Tasman Glacier, about 23 km long and New Zealand’s longest, lies east of the Main Divide in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, beside Aoraki/Mt Cook itself at 3,724 m. Seeing it means flying to or over the divide, so it needs clear weather on both sides of the range.
The flexibility is what makes the flight useful on a mixed day. The same operator’s 25-minute flight carries a warning in its GetYourGuide listing: it “has the highest rate of cancellation as it only has one flight route & landing site”, unlike the longer flights, which have several options when one route is weather-affected. Treat that as the operator’s comparison, since no cancellation rate is published.
Reviews show the other side. A few reviewers saw only Franz Josef, or one glacier that was not the one they had expected, when cloud closed the second route. Another found that not everyone in a full six-passenger helicopter had a window seat. If seeing the Tasman or Fox in particular matters to you, a fixed-route flight that names it is the better match, though every operator reserves the right to change routes for weather.
Pilot’s Choice and the fixed-route flights compared
These are the two-glacier flights from Franz Josef that a Pilot’s Choice booker usually weighs up. Prices are per person on a real date, checked in October 2026.
| Flight | Operator | Listed | Second glacier | Landing | Departs | Rating | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35-Minute Trip over Two Glaciers (GetYourGuide) | Glacier Country Helicopters | 35 min | Fox or Tasman, set by weather | Snow landing, 10 min | Franz Josef | 4.9 (535) | $280 |
| Pilot’s Choice: 2 Glaciers & Snow Landing (Viator) | Glacier Country Helicopters | 35 min | Fox or Tasman, set by weather | Snow landing, about 10 min | Franz Josef | 4.8 (401) | $287 |
| Franz Josef & Fox Glaciers Flight & Snow Landing | Glacier Helicopters | 35 min | Fox | Snow landing, about 6-8 min (operator) | Franz Josef | 4.7 (410) | $280 |
| Twin Fox & Franz Josef Glaciers Trip | HeliServices | 30 min | Fox | Snow landing, 10 min | Franz Josef | 4.9 (154) | $260 |
| Twin Glacier Flight and Snow Landing | The Helicopter Line | 35 min | Fox | Snow landing, about 10 min | Franz Josef | 4.8 (12) | $280 |
| 30-min Flight Franz Josef & Tasman Glaciers | INFLITE | 30 min | Tasman, crossing the Main Divide | Glacier landing on the Tasman | Franz Josef | 4.8 (93) | $243 |
A few notes on the rows. The HeliServices and The Helicopter Line twins are filed under Fox Glacier on GetYourGuide but depart from Franz Josef, per their own listings. Glacier Helicopters’ twin is listed at 35 minutes on GetYourGuide, which includes a “30-minute scenic helicopter flight”, while the group’s own price page calls the same twin a 30-minute flight; check the total time on the listing you book. The Helicopter Line twin has only 12 reviews so far.
“Fixed” describes the advertised route. The Glacier Helicopters listing still says flights, landings and routes “may vary due to weather and at the pilot’s discretion”, and the other operators reserve the same right.
Which two-glacier flight to book
Book Pilot’s Choice if you would like a chance of the Tasman side and will be happy with Fox instead. It has the deepest review record of these flights, 535 reviews on GetYourGuide and 401 on Viator, and the route flexibility gives the pilot options when one valley clouds over. Our twin glacier flights page puts it next to the fixed-route twins with dates and booking.
Book the INFLITE Tasman flight if the Tasman Glacier is the one you want. Its listing names the route: up the Franz Josef Glacier, over the Main Divide at Centennial Hut, a landing on the Tasman Glacier and back over Climber Col. It is listed at 30 minutes, INFLITE applies a 116 kg passenger weight limit, and it confirms your exact flight time by email after booking. For more of the Mt Cook side, see the Mount Cook flights page.
Book the Glacier Helicopters or HeliServices twin if you want Fox named on the ticket. The HeliServices flight is the lowest-priced of the Fox twins in the table, with a 10-minute landing; the Glacier Helicopters flight has more reviews and GetYourGuide marks it as wheelchair accessible.
Choosing between GetYourGuide and Viator for Pilot’s Choice comes down to price on your date and the booking terms. On GetYourGuide you can cancel free up to 24 hours before, and a weather cancellation is rescheduled or refunded in full through GetYourGuide. The Viator listing also shows free cancellation, with refunds handled by Viator; it adds that Glacier Country Helicopters has only one base, at Franz Josef, and will not refund a late cancellation made because someone booked the wrong location. The weather and cancellations guide explains both channels.
Whichever you pick, book it for your first day in the area and leave a spare day, which every operator recommends because weather calls are made at check-in.
Questions about Pilot’s Choice
What is Pilot’s Choice?
Glacier Country Helicopters’ 35-minute flight from Franz Josef over the Franz Josef Glacier and then the Fox or the Tasman Glacier, with a 10-minute snow landing. On GetYourGuide it is sold as the 35-minute trip over two glaciers.
Who decides the route on the Pilot’s Choice flight?
The operator says only that routes may vary with the weather and that its team will keep you updated on the best route. It does not publish who makes the choice or when, so expect to hear at check-in or on the flight.
Does Pilot’s Choice include a landing?
Yes, a snow landing of about 10 minutes when the weather allows. Like every landing at Franz Josef it is not guaranteed, and Glacier Country Helicopters reprices a flight that becomes an overflight.
Is the Viator Pilot’s Choice the same as the GetYourGuide two-glacier flight?
Yes. Both are the same Glacier Country Helicopters 35-minute flight with the same route options and landing; the price and the booking terms are what differ.
Related reading:
Pick a Morning Above the Glacier
Flights run on the weather. Book early in your stay so a cancelled slot can move to the next day.
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