Mount Cook: Ski Plane or Helicopter?

Take the ski plane if you want to land on the Tasman Glacier itself; take the helicopter alone for the shortest and cheapest flight. INFLITE Mt Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters’ Ski Plane and Helicopter Glacier Combo Flight flies one way in each and lands on the upper snowfields of the Tasman Glacier, from US$277 a person (checked November 2026); on every date we read it was US$332.36. Its 25-minute helicopter flight, from US$194, makes an alpine landing on a mountain site that may have no snow in summer.

The calendar above is the combo flight’s. You can reserve now, pay later and cancel free until 24 hours before.

Alpine landing or glacier landing

This is the difference that matters. In INFLITE Mt Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters’ own definition, an alpine landing “takes place on unique mountain sites across Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, while a glacier landing is directly on the glacier itself and offers more guarantees all year-round to set foot on snow”.

A ski plane lands on snow, so its landings are glacier landings. A helicopter can land either way: the 25-minute flight from US$194 lands on a mountain site, and snow cannot be guaranteed there all year round because of a lack of snowfall in summer. Of its 350 most recent reviews, two, in March 2024 and April 2025, found no snow at all. Helicopter flights that land on the glacier itself, such as Glacier Highlights by helicopter, cost more.

The combo flight

The combo goes up the Tasman Valley over the glacier lake, past the Hochstetter Icefall and Aoraki / Mount Cook, and lands on the upper snowfields of the Tasman Glacier. You then swap aircraft for the flight back to Mount Cook Airport: 45 minutes in all, and on the way you also see Tasman Terminal Lake, the Grand Plateau and Plateau Hut. The aircraft shuts down on landing. Free parking and wi-fi at the airport are included.

Every passenger’s full name and weight are needed at booking, because weight and balance limits apply to all aircraft; if you are rebooked because of a weight limit, you are entitled to a full refund. No bags are allowed on board, only phones and cameras. Check-in closes 45 minutes before the flight.

Seats and weight

INFLITE Mt Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters flies Pilatus Porter ski planes with 9 seats and helicopters that seat 5 to 7 depending on weight. Its individual weight limit is generally 116 kg, and seats cannot be chosen or guaranteed (checked November 2026). A July 2026 reviewer of the combo flight was disappointed that passengers kept the same side on the way back, so the people who saw Aoraki on the way out saw it again on the return.

When wind and cloud get in the way

A ski plane needs to land on the glacier, and the weather does not always allow it. Weather cancellations of the combo flight are refundable, and INFLITE does its best to reschedule. Of the 350 most recent reviews, 38 mention weather or a cancellation. Some describe a change of plan rather than a cancellation: a combo flown as a ski plane only, without the landing, with a partial refund (May 2025); a 45-minute combo replaced by a 20-minute helicopter flight with a mountain landing (December 2023); a ski plane that could not land in strong wind, and a 25-minute helicopter flight instead (December 2023).

So book the combo for your first day at Aoraki / Mount Cook, and if the morning is windy, ask at check-in what will fly. Weather and cancellations covers every operator.

The ski plane on its own

INFLITE’s Glacier Highlights also sells as a ski plane flight both ways: Glacier Highlights by ski plane is 45 minutes from Mount Cook Airport, landing at the top of the Tasman Glacier, from US$397 (checked November 2026). A minimum of 4 people per flight applies before it will operate.

Which to book

Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026; Viator checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.