Which Franz Josef Helicopter Flight Should You Book?

Card comparing four types of Franz Josef helicopter flight by listed minutes and price

How the flights differ

Flights over Franz Josef Glacier (Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere) come in four groups. The short ones, 20 to 25 minutes, fly up the valley over the icefall and land once on snow high in the Southern Alps. Twin-glacier flights of 30 to 35 minutes add Fox Glacier, or the Tasman Glacier on one operator’s flexible route. Flights of 45 to 60 minutes cover three or four glaciers with views toward Aoraki/Mt Cook, and one of them lands twice. Heli-hikes use the helicopter for a transfer of a few minutes each way, then put you on the ice with a guide for up to 2.5 or 3 hours.

The listed minutes include the landing. On Glacier Country Helicopters’ 35-minute flight, a 10-minute snow landing leaves about 25 minutes in the air. Landing time itself depends on the operator: Glacier Country Helicopters says around 10 to 15 minutes including loading, Glacier Helicopters around 6 to 8 minutes, and The Helicopter Line about 10 minutes on its Fox Glacier flight. The operator matters as much as the number on the card.

The landing word varies too. Most operators say snow landing. INFLITE uses glacier landing for its touchdowns on the Tasman Glacier, and Glacier Country Helicopters’ 25-minute listing warns that in summer its snow landing may become an alpine landing if no snow is available. Snow landing vs alpine landing goes through the terms flight by flight.

Three questions that narrow the list

First, how many days do you have in the area? Flights are often rescheduled for weather, so every operator tells you to book your first day and keep spare days after it; Franz Josef Glacier Guides suggests at least two. The final call comes at check-in, 30 minutes before departure. On a short stay, flight length matters: Glacier Country Helicopters’ listing for its 25-minute flight says that flight has its highest cancellation rate, because it has one route and one landing site, while its longer flights have several.

Second, which village are you in? Most flights check in at Franz Josef, including four GetYourGuide listings filed under Fox Glacier. A few leave from Fox Glacier village, about 24 km and 25 minutes’ drive south, among them the Fox Glacier Guiding heli-hike. No operator offers hotel pickup, so a flight from the other village adds the drive. Franz Josef vs Fox Glacier lists every departure point.

Third, who is flying? Everyone is weighed at check-in and seated by weight and balance, so you cannot pick a window. Glacier Country Helicopters requires a Comfort Seat at half the fare for passengers of 120 kg or more, and INFLITE lists a 116 kg limit. Heli-hikes add a minimum age, weight and height, and a moderate level of fitness for walking on uneven ice. Children can join most scenic flights, with rules that differ by operator.

The flights side by side

Flight	Listed length	Landing	Glaciers named	Departs	From	Rating
HeliServices 20-minute snow landing	20 min	Snow landing	Franz Josef	Franz Josef	$204	4.9 (195)
Glacier Helicopters 20-minute flight	20 min	Snow landing	Franz Josef	Franz Josef	$223	4.9 (57)
Glacier Country 25-minute flight	25 min	10 min, snow or alpine	Franz Josef	Franz Josef	$223	4.8 (696)
Glacier Helicopters Fox Glacier flight	25 min	Snow landing	Fox	Fox Glacier	$223	4.6 (127)
INFLITE Tasman flight	30 min	Glacier landing on the Tasman	Franz Josef, Tasman	Franz Josef	$243	4.8 (93)
HeliServices twin glacier	30 min	10 min	Franz Josef, Fox	Franz Josef	$260	4.9 (154)
Glacier Helicopters twin glacier	35 min	Snow landing	Franz Josef, Fox	Franz Josef	$280	4.7 (410)
Glacier Country two glaciers	35 min	10 min	Franz Josef, Fox or Tasman	Franz Josef	$280	4.9 (535)
Helicopter Line Fox and Mt Cook	35 min	About 10 min	Fox	Fox Glacier	$280	4.5 (44)
Glacier Country three glaciers	45 min	15 min	Franz Josef, Fox, Tasman	Franz Josef	$393	4.8 (168)
INFLITE Grand Circle	60 min	Glacier landing on the Tasman	Franz Josef, Fox, La Perouse, Balfour, Tasman	Franz Josef	$395	4.3 (13)
Glacier Country four glaciers	60 min	Two snow landings	Franz Josef, Fox, Tasman, Shackleton	Franz Josef	$506	4.8 (30)
Fox Glacier heli-hike	4 hours	Up to 3 h on the ice	Fox	Fox Glacier	$480	4.9 (370)
Franz Josef heli-hike	About 4 h from check-in	Up to 2.5 h on the ice	Franz Josef	Franz Josef	$508	4.7 (404)

Landing minutes are the operator’s figure where one is published. Each name links to our breakdown of that flight.

Pick by what matters most

The cheapest way to stand on snow

Book HeliServices’ Franz Josef: Glacier Helicopter Ride with Snow Landing. At $204 per person it is the cheapest of the 15 tours with a page on this site, and it lists 20 minutes with a snow landing, rated 4.9 from 195 reviews. Glacier Helicopters’ 20-minute flight with a snow landing costs $19 more at $223, rated 4.9 from 57, and the operator puts its landings at around 6 to 8 minutes. Both leave from Franz Josef township. Check Tour Details

The first flight for most people

A 35-minute two-glacier flight costs $57 more than the 25-minute flights and gives you ten more listed minutes and a second glacier. Glacier Country Helicopters’ two-glacier flight, rated 4.9 from 535, includes a 10-minute landing, and its route can switch between Fox and Tasman with the weather. If $223 is your limit, the same operator’s Franz Josef Glacier: Helicopter Flight & Alpine Landing is the most-reviewed flight on this site (4.8 from 696) and still gives you about 10 minutes outside. Check Tour Details

Both glaciers on a set route

Book Glacier Helicopters’ twin-glacier flight when seeing Fox Glacier matters to you, because its listed route is Franz Josef and Fox, with a snow landing, from $280. HeliServices’ Twin Fox & Franz Josef Glaciers Helicopter Trip costs $260, lists 30 minutes with a 10-minute landing and is rated 4.9 from 154; GetYourGuide files it under Fox Glacier, but it departs Franz Josef. Glacier Helicopters’ own price list gives its twin flight as 30 minutes, while GetYourGuide lists 35, so plan on either. Twin glacier flights compares the three.

Aoraki/Mt Cook and the Tasman Glacier

From $243, INFLITE’s 30-min Flight Franz Josef & Tasman Glaciers climbs the Franz Josef Glacier, crosses the Main Divide at Centennial Hut and lands on the Tasman Glacier, New Zealand’s longest, with views of Mount Tasman and Aoraki/Mt Cook. It is rated 4.8 from 93 reviews. For more time among the peaks, Glacier Country Helicopters’ 3-Glacier Helicopter Ride with Landing runs 45 minutes over the Franz Josef, Fox and Tasman glaciers with a 15-minute landing, from $393 (4.8 from 168). How much of the summit you see depends on cloud on the day. Mount Cook flights sets out every option.

The longest flights compared here

Two flights with a page on this site run 60 minutes. Glacier Country Helicopters’ 4-Glacier Helicopter Ride with 2 Landings covers the Franz Josef, Fox, Tasman and Shackleton glaciers with two snow landings, from $506, rated 4.8 from 30. INFLITE’s Grand Circle 60 Minute Scenic Flight costs $395 and lands on the Tasman Glacier, though its 4.3 average comes from only 13 reviews so far. Glacier Country also lists a 90-minute Grand Adventure flight with three snow landings at $846, with a single review so far. Multi-glacier flights compares minutes and landings.

A guided walk on the ice

For crevasses and ice formations up close, book a heli-hike. Franz Josef Glacier Guides’ Franz Josef Glacier Heli-Hike with Helicopter Transfer spends up to 2.5 hours on the ice after a transfer of around 4 minutes each way, about 4 hours from check-in, from $508 (4.7 from 404). Fox Glacier Guiding’s Fox Glacier: Up to 3 Hours Hike with Helicopter Transfer costs $480, is rated 4.9 from 370 and departs Fox Glacier village. Franz Josef Glacier Guides needs a four-hour window of clear weather, and if the helicopter cannot fly, the hike does not run. Heli-hikes covers the age and weight rules.

A private helicopter

For a group of four to six, a private flight priced per helicopter can cost about the same per head as shared seats. Glacier Country Helicopters’ 25-minute private flight with landing on Viator starts from $866 per helicopter (one to three people). The up-to-six option is NZ$2,300, about US$1,330, which works out at roughly US$222 each for six, close to a shared seat on the 25-minute flight. Weight and balance rules still apply on a charter. Private flights lists the longer private routes.

Families with small children

Choose a short flight and check the operator’s child rules before you pay. Glacier Country Helicopters and Glacier Helicopters set no minimum age. On HeliServices’ 20-minute flight, infants aged 3 and under weighing less than 15 kg sit on an adult’s lap and must be declared at booking; HeliServices charges children half the adult fare, and Glacier Helicopters charges 70%. Glacier Country Helicopters suggests a dummy or bottle for an infant over the last 2 to 3 minutes of the descent, to help with ear pressure. Heli-hikes set a minimum age of 10 at Franz Josef and 9 at Fox. Flights with kids sets out each operator’s seating rules.

Travelers with only one night

Book the earliest flight on your first morning. Glacier Helicopters recommends an early flight because a weather-delayed flight then has a better chance of going later the same day. A scenic flight needs a much shorter break in the weather than a heli-hike, which needs four clear hours, so it is the safer plan for one night. Weather, cancellations and refunds explains your options if it does not fly.

Know before you book

No landing is guaranteed. Glacier Country Helicopters adjusts the price if your flight becomes an overflight with no landing.
You cannot choose your seat. Glacier Country Helicopters takes front-seat requests 24 hours ahead and confirms them at check-in.
Check in 30 minutes before departure, or 15 minutes for Franz Josef Glacier Guides. Glacier Country Helicopters says a missed check-in forfeits the fare.
Two of the flights in the table, and the Fox heli-hike, depart Fox Glacier village, not Franz Josef.
Nothing is lent on a scenic flight. Bring a warm layer, closed-toe shoes and sunglasses; what to wear has the operator lists.
GetYourGuide bookings cancel free up to 24 hours before, and weather cancellations are rescheduled or refunded.

Frequently asked questions

Which Franz Josef helicopter flight is best for a first visit?

A 35-minute two-glacier flight from $280 per person suits most first visits: Glacier Helicopters’ set Franz Josef and Fox route, or Glacier Country Helicopters’ flight that switches between Fox and Tasman with the weather. If your budget stops at $223, the 25-minute Glacier Country flight is the most-reviewed on this site.

What is the cheapest helicopter flight with a snow landing?

HeliServices’ 20-minute flight, from $204 per person on GetYourGuide, is the cheapest tour with a page on this site.

How long will I be in the air?

Less than the listed time, because the minutes include the landing. On a 35-minute flight with a 10-minute landing, you fly for about 25 minutes. Flight times compared works through each length.

Do I need to book ahead?

From November to March, yes: Glacier Helicopters calls it the busiest period and suggests booking a month ahead, two weeks ahead at other times. It also stops taking online bookings inside 24 hours of departure, so call or visit the base for a same-day seat.