Mt Cook Flights from Franz Josef

For a flight that reaches Aoraki/Mt Cook from Franz Josef, book Glacier Country Helicopters’ 3-Glacier Helicopter Ride with Landing: 45 minutes over Franz Josef, Fox and Tasman glaciers with Mt Cook on the route and a 15-minute snow landing, from $393 per person, rated 4.8 from 168 GetYourGuide reviews. Its landing is on the west side of the mountains. To stand on the Tasman Glacier itself, INFLITE’s 30-min Flight Franz Josef & Tasman Glaciers crosses the Main Divide and lands there, from $243, rated 4.8 from 93 reviews. These routes need clear weather over the high peaks, so book the morning of your first full day in the area and keep a second day free.

Quick picks

• Most reviews and 15 minutes on the snow: Glacier Country Helicopters, 45 minutes, from $393. See our breakdown.
• Lowest price with a Tasman Glacier landing: INFLITE, 30 minutes, from $243. See our breakdown.
• The widest loop: INFLITE’s Grand Circle 60 Minute Scenic Flight, from $395, landing on the Tasman Glacier. It has 13 reviews (4.3).
• Staying in Fox Glacier village: The Helicopter Line’s Fox Glacier and Mount Cook Helicopter Flight, 35 minutes from $280, rated 4.5 from 44 reviews.
• Two landings: Glacier Country Helicopters’ 4-Glacier Helicopter Ride with 2 Landings, one hour from $506, rated 4.8 from 30 reviews.

Crossing the Main Divide

Aoraki/Mt Cook stands 3,724 meters high, after a 2013 University of Otago survey lowered it from 3,754 meters. It sits east of the Main Divide in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, with the Tasman Glacier, about 23 km long, below it. Franz Josef and Fox glaciers flow down the west side. So a flight from Franz Josef that lands on the Tasman Glacier has to cross the Divide and come back.

INFLITE’s listing describes that crossing: up Franz Josef Glacier, over the Divide at Centennial Hut, a landing on the Tasman Glacier with Mt Tasman and Aoraki/Mt Cook in view, then back over Climber Col to Franz Josef. The other flights here look across to the mountain without landing on the far side:

Which peaks you see depends on the route and the cloud on the day, and every operator keeps the final route at the pilot’s discretion. The flight times include the landing.

Tasman Glacier landings and the Grand Circle

INFLITE says it is the only West Coast operator landing on the Tasman Glacier. Glacier Country Helicopters’ 3-glacier and 4-glacier flights both name the Tasman, but they describe flying over it, and their listings do not place a landing there. INFLITE also draws a line between an alpine landing, on a mountain site that may be bare of snow in the warmer months, and a glacier landing directly on the glacier, where snow is more reliable all year. INFLITE returned to Franz Josef in February 2024 after about ten years without bookable flights there.

The Grand Circle is INFLITE’s 60-minute loop. It crosses the Divide past La Perouse and Balfour glaciers, Fox and Franz Josef glaciers and the peaks of Aoraki/Mt Cook and Mt Tasman, then lands on the Tasman Glacier. The listing says the helicopter shuts down completely after landing, so you hear the quiet of the snowfield. GetYourGuide files it under Fox Glacier, but it starts in Franz Josef. Its 13 reviews average 4.3, a small sample.

Both INFLITE listings set a passenger weight limit of 116 kg, and either flight can be rescheduled if the combined weight of the passengers reaches the aircraft’s limit. After you book, INFLITE emails your exact flight time, which may differ from the one you asked for. Weather cancellations are fully refunded.

Why these flights change in cloud

No operator publishes a cancellation rate. A Mt Cook route needs flying weather over the West Coast glaciers, at the Divide and around peaks above 3,000 meters, and Glacier Country Helicopters notes that the township and the Alps can have quite different weather. When cloud sits on the high peaks, pilots shorten the route, skip a glacier, move the landing or cancel.

The reviews show this. On the 3-glacier flight, a few reviewers lost the landing to weather but still flew over two glaciers, one missed the third glacier in strong wind, and another had the flight shortened. One reviewer of The Helicopter Line’s 40-minute flight had it cut to about 10 minutes and received a partial refund. That flight has a 3.9 rating from 13 reviews, the lowest of the flights on this page.

There is a flip side. Glacier Country Helicopters says its 25-minute flight cancels most often because it has one route and one landing site, while the longer flights have alternatives. So a long flight has more ways to go ahead in some form; the full Mt Cook route is the part that depends on clear peaks. Glacier Helicopters and HeliServices make their final weather call at check-in, 30 minutes before departure. If your flight is cancelled for weather, a GetYourGuide booking gets a reschedule or a full refund. Our weather guide covers the seasons.

Choosing your Mt Cook flight

Pick the 3-glacier flight if you want 15 minutes on the snow and the biggest review record, and INFLITE’s 30-minute flight if landing on the Tasman Glacier matters more and you want to pay $150 less. The Grand Circle suits you if the flight itself is the highlight and you accept a thin review record.

If you are staying in Fox Glacier village, The Helicopter Line’s Fox and Mount Cook flight leaves from its base on the main road in Fox, from $280. It lands on a snowfield at the top of Fox Glacier for about 10 minutes, then flies past Aoraki/Mt Cook. Our Fox Glacier page lists every Fox flight.

Longer flights without a page of their own include Glacier Country Helicopters’ Shackleton Glacier Whiskey Endurance Flight, 50 minutes from $450 with a 15-minute landing on Shackleton Glacier, and its Grand Adventure Helicopter Flight, 90 minutes from $846 with three snow landings. INFLITE’s private Picnic Amongst the Peaks costs $2,262 for a group of up to six. All three have two reviews or fewer.

For a shorter flight, the twin glacier flights cost from $260 and the 20 to 25-minute snow landings from $204. Our price guide lines up every flight.

Before you fly

Weight and seating rules differ by operator. Glacier Country Helicopters asks passengers of 120 kg or more, weighed at check-in, to buy a Comfort Seat at half the flight price, and allocates seats by weight and balance; a few reviewers in back or middle seats found the view restricted. INFLITE caps passengers at 116 kg, and its FAQ says an infant still takes a seat that is charged. Dress warmly: INFLITE puts its Mt Cook landing sites 1 to 3 degrees cooler than the airfield, HeliServices says the snow can be 5 to 10 degrees cooler than Franz Josef village, and sunglasses help with the glare. Every flight here has free cancellation up to 24 hours before. Compare the three main options in the table below, then check availability for the 3-glacier flight.