The private jet journeys taking luxury travel to the farthest reaches of the Pacific

From New Zealand’s vineyards and alpine landscapes to Rapa Nui and one of the world’s smallest island nations, two new journeys reflect a luxury travel market increasingly interested in access as much as extravagance.

There was a time when luxury travel was largely measured by the hotel at the end of the journey. Increasingly, the journey itself has become part of what wealthy travellers are paying for.

Captain’s Choice is taking that idea considerably further with two new private aircraft itineraries for 2027, one crossing New Zealand and another linking some of the more remote islands of the South Pacific.

The distinction is access. The first journey uses a private plane to move 34 guests through New Zealand without repeatedly negotiating conventional commercial routes. The second is altogether more exclusive, carrying only 11 passengers aboard a Bombardier Global Express private jet between Sydney, New Caledonia, Samoa, Rapa Nui and Niue.

At £22,250 and £46,750 per person respectively, neither is an exercise in modest travel. Yet the itineraries offer an interesting picture of where the upper reaches of the tourism market are heading. Privacy and expensive hotels remain important, but so too does the ability to reach places that are difficult to combine within an ordinary holiday.

New Zealand from the air

The more extensive of the two journeys begins in Auckland on September 22, 2027 and spends 14 days travelling through both islands.

Rather than concentrating on one region, the route takes in Rotorua and Taupo, Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough, Kaikōura and Christchurch before ending among the mountains of Queenstown.

Some of New Zealand’s most recognisable landscapes provide the obvious attractions. There is a private sailing on Lake Taupo to see Māori rock carvings, a helicopter flight above Milford Sound and a light aircraft journey over Kaikōura in search of whales and dolphins.

But wine is given almost equal prominence. Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough provide two markedly different expressions of New Zealand’s winemaking industry, with visits to producers including Mahi Wines, Greystone Winery and Giants Estate.

The accommodation follows a similarly ambitious route. Guests move from the Park Hyatt Auckland to Huka Lodge on the Waikato River, Rosewood Cape Kidnappers, The Marlborough, Sudima Kaikōura and The George in Christchurch, before finishing at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown.

Golfers can add a £1,400 package covering five courses, including Cape Kidnappers, Jack’s Point and Te Arai Links, reached by helicopter.

It makes the itinerary less a conventional tour of New Zealand than an attempt to compress some of the country’s most established luxury experiences into a fortnight.

Eleven passengers and some very distant islands

Captain’s Choice’s second itinerary is smaller, shorter and considerably more expensive.

On July 13, 2027, 11 guests will leave Sydney aboard a Bombardier Global Express for a ten day journey through Nouméa, Samoa, Rapa Nui and Niue.

The £46,750 price reflects a form of travel in which the aircraft is central to the proposition. The group flies in business class style aboard the private jet, allowing the itinerary to connect destinations that would otherwise require more complicated commercial arrangements.

Nouméa coincides with Bastille Day, bringing the group into the French influenced capital of New Caledonia for its celebrations before travelling onwards to Samoa.

There, the itinerary moves through waterfalls, tropical swimming locations and the former home of Robert Louis Stevenson. The group then travels to Rapa Nui, better known internationally as Easter Island, where its monumental moai remain among the Pacific’s most recognisable archaeological sights.

The final destination is Niue, whose isolation is precisely part of the appeal. Guests stay overlooking the ocean at Scenic Matavai Resort during the period when migrating humpback whales may be seen in the surrounding waters.

Luxury tourism has spent years promising exclusivity. Private aviation changes what that word can mean. It is not simply a matter of removing other passengers from the cabin, but of constructing routes that would be inconvenient or impractical to reproduce independently.

For Captain’s Choice, that appears to be the greater luxury being sold: not simply better seats and better hotels, but fewer compromises over where it is possible to go.

Navigating New Zealand by Private Plane runs from September 22 to October 6, 2027 and is priced from £22,250 per person. The optional Golfer’s Package costs £1,400 per person. Remote Islands of the South Pacific by VIP Private Jet runs from July 13 to July 22, 2027 and is priced from £46,750 per person.