Shipping Large(ish) Items UK to NZ

Kia Ora,

I recently got my resident visa for NZ and booked my flight to NZ.

The flight I booked would charge $2000 NZD for an extra 30kg suitcase to NZ.

Obviously this is too high a premium to pay, there must be a way to ship belongings over.

I'm hoping people may have experience of shipping belongings to NZ when emigrating? Any suggestions, good companies?

No cars, furniture or need for a shipping container - just need to send some heavy-ish but small items i.e. kitchen equipment, books, e.t.c. roughly would fill a large suitcase and weigh 20-30kg.

Any advice/suggestions appreciated (thanks in advance).

I will ask my son who he has used (and it turned out well), and get back to you.

Shipping big stuff by sea can be surprisingly cheap. Back in 2008 we shipped a 1m³ crate on a pallet from Southampton to Chch (NZ) and the entire UK bill (shipping, handling etc.) was less than £200. Another few hundred NZ$ to pay on arrival for handling, customs, MAF, tax etc.

I know this was a long time ago (2008) But we flew Air New Zealand and we were allowed an extra suitcase each because we were emmigrating and all we had to do was show the airline proof that we had our correct visas and were emmigrating , hence we had an extra case each at no extra charge. I am fully aware that thiings change over time

Thanks for assistance/advice.

We booked through Air NZ although it’s a code-share with Cathay Pacific who are our first flight - price is $45 USD per kg + $60 USD base rate for the suitcase itself unfilled. No direct Air NZ flights, all shared with Cathay, Singapore and Virgin and similar story we rang around.

Do people buy part of a container? Just need to send books and some home ornaments over - even though the price seems good might be a bit overkill for the amount we’re looking to send.

Definitely, there's no need to get a part-container. Sorry - i haven't yet got an answer from my son about this, but will do shortly. He packed some stuff in what had been the travel case for an electric piano, and sent that independently through a specialist shipping company, and that worked out as the most economical method.

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Originally Posted by JandM

Definitely, there's no need to get a part-container. Sorry - i haven't yet got an answer from my son about this, but will do shortly. He packed some stuff in what had been the travel case for an electric piano, and sent that independently through a specialist shipping company, and that worked out as the most economical method.

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Sounds like exactly what I need to do! Brilliant thank you

My son says that the firm he used doesn't seem to be in business any longer, but he found it by Googling "UK - NZ freight", and it also came under "International shipping companies." He got in touch with various ones and described what it was he needed to send, then picked what seemed to be the best quote. Good luck!

Another option is to upgrade your flight to premium economy you might effectively double your baggage allowance and at least some of the extra money would go towards your own comfort.