How much is a Franz Josef helicopter tour?

Seats run from $232 for the eighteen-minute flight and the twenty-five-minute alpine landing, through $235 and $291 for the thirty and thirty-five minute flights, to $529 for a guided heli-hike and $911 for the full-day version with lunch. Those are per person and they are the same at every desk in the village.

Can you still walk onto Franz Josef Glacier?

Not onto the ice. The valley track was cut back after the terminal face retreated and became unstable, and it now ends at a viewpoint well short of the glacier. Guided access to the ice itself is by helicopter only, which is why the heli-hike exists as a product at all.

What is a heli-hike, and how is it different from a scenic flight?

A scenic flight puts you over the glacier and, on most options, down on the snowfield above it for ten minutes. A heli-hike flies you onto the ice, hands you boots and crampons, and a guide walks you through the crevasse field for two and a half hours or more before flying you out.

Do all the flights land?

No. The eighteen-minute flight stays in the air. The twenty-five, thirty and thirty-five minute flights all include a landing on the snow, usually ten minutes. If the landing is the reason you are booking, read the duration line before you pay.

How often are flights cancelled?

Often enough that it should change how you plan. This is one of the wettest inhabited places in New Zealand. Operators fly when the cloud base is above the tops, refund you when it is not, and cannot promise you a seat the next day. Book the first morning of a two-night stay.

Franz Josef or Fox Glacier — which flight is better?

They are twenty-five kilometres apart and most flights from Franz Josef cross both. Franz Josef has the steeper icefall and the bigger operation; Fox is quieter and the valley is longer. For a base, Franz Josef has more beds and more aircraft, which matters when the weather compresses everyone into one clear morning.

Is it worth it if I have already seen the glacier from the road?

The road viewpoint shows you the valley and the end of the ice from about a kilometre away. The flight shows you the icefall, the crevasse field and the névé, and puts you on top of them. They are not the same view of the same thing.

Who actually flies you

Franz Josef helicopter operators: who flies what, and what it means for you

Several operators share the pads at Franz Josef and Fox. They fly similar aircraft on similar routes at similar prices. Here is what actually differs, and what does not.

7 min read Checked September 2026

The helicopter flights office in Franz Josef village

Quick answer

The short answer. The operator matters less than the flight. Everyone flies the same class of aircraft — the Airbus AS350 Squirrel and similar — on the same routes, at fares that sit within a few dollars of each other. What differs is capacity on a busy clear morning, and which operator runs the guided heli-hikes.

What is the same everywhere

Aircraft type: AS350 classfour to six passengers
Route: Up the valley to the névéthe terrain decides, not the brand
Seat allocation: By weightthe pilot balances the machine
Fares: Within a few dollarsnobody discounts
Cancellation: Free to 24 hourson every flight listed here
What differs: Capacity and heli-hikesand how fast they rebook you

Why the operator is not the decision

The terrain is the same for everybody

There is one valley, one icefall and a small number of safe landing sites. Every operator flies broadly the same line up and the same line back, because that is where the glacier is. The aircraft are the same family, the pilots hold the same licences and the weather rules are the same for all of them.

So the choice that matters is which flight you book — eighteen minutes or twenty-five, landing or no landing, scenic or heli-hike — not whose logo is on the door.

Where it does matter

Capacity, and who runs the hikes

Capacity. After two grounded days, everyone in the village tries to fly at once. Operators with more machines on the pad clear that backlog faster. This is the practical argument for basing yourself in Franz Josef rather than Fox.

Heli-hikes. Guided walks on the ice are a separate operation from scenic flights: they need guides, gear, and a route maintained on a moving glacier. Not every helicopter operator runs them, and the listings say which flights are guided.

Rebooking. When a flight is cancelled the operator either refunds you or offers a slot. How quickly they can offer one depends on how many aircraft they have.

How we list them

Everything sold, not a shortlist

We list every helicopter flight and heli-hike sold at Franz Josef through GetYourGuide, not a selection. Nobody pays to appear here and nothing is ranked by commission.

Prices, ratings and review counts on this site are the operators' own figures, pulled from their listings and re-checked. We do not collect reviews of our own and we do not rewrite anyone else's.

Every flight, current fare

Every flight sold at Franz Josef

With the operators' own ratings and review counts.

Flight	Time in the air	Price	Lands on the ice	Cost per minute	Rating
18-Minute Twin GlacierFranz Josef and Fox, no landing	18 min	$232	None	$12.89	New
25-Minute Alpine LandingIcefall, then a landing on the snow	25 min	$232	One	$9.28	4.8 · 693
30-Minute Franz Josef & TasmanFranz Josef and Tasman, with a landing	30 min	$235	One	$7.83	4.8 · 84
35-Minute Two GlaciersTwo glaciers plus Aoraki / Mount Cook	35 min	$291	One	$8.31	4.9 · 527
Shackleton 50-Minute EnduranceFranz Josef, Tasman and Shackleton	50 min	$468	One	$9.36	5.0 · 2
Heli-Hike, 2.5 Hours on IceGuided walk on the ice	4–8 h	$529	Two (in and out)	$3.53	4.8 · 398
Extended Heli-Hike with LunchThe full day on the glacier	8 h	$911	Two (in and out)	$2.76	5.0 · 1

How the booking actually works →

Book direct

Everything on the pad

A helicopter flying low over the snowfield above Franz Josef

18-Minute Twin Glacier

Eighteen minutes over two glaciers
Franz Josef and Fox in one flight
The shortest flight on offer
Free cancellation

$232$12.89 / min

Check availability→

A blue helicopter parked on the snowfield above Franz Josef Glacier

25-Minute Alpine Landing

★ 4.8 · 693 reviews

Ice pinnacles and crevasses from above
Alpine landing in the Southern Alps
The cheapest flight that lands
Free cancellation

$232$9.28 / min

Check availability→

The long tongue of the Tasman Glacier from the air

30-Minute Franz Josef & Tasman

★ 4.8 · 84 reviews

Franz Josef and Tasman in one flight
Thirty minutes in the air
Glacier landing included
Free cancellation

$235$7.83 / min

Check availability→

Two glacier tongues seen from a helicopter over the Southern Alps

35-Minute Two Glaciers

★ 4.9 · 527 reviews

Franz Josef plus Fox or Tasman
Flies past Aoraki / Mount Cook
Ten-minute snow landing
Free cancellation

$291$8.31 / min

Check availability→

A single helicopter alone on a wide alpine snowfield

Shackleton 50-Minute Endurance

★ 5.0 · 2 reviews

Franz Josef, Tasman and Shackleton
The Shackleton expedition story
A taste of his whisky on the ice
Fifty minutes, the longest flight

$468$9.36 / min

Check availability→

Walkers on the ice below a helicopter on Franz Josef Glacier

Heli-Hike, 2.5 Hours on Ice

★ 4.8 · 398 reviews

Two and a half hours on the ice
Helicopter transfer both ways
Guided, with boots and crampons
The only way onto this glacier

$529$3.53 / min

Check availability→

Two walkers sitting on the snow beside a helicopter

Extended Heli-Hike with Lunch

★ 5.0 · 1 reviews

Up to 5.5 hours on the ice
Small group guiding
Glacier picnic lunch
The longest day on the glacier

$911$2.76 / min

Check availability→

Common questions

Operator questions

Which helicopter operator is best at Franz Josef?

The operator matters less than the flight. All fly the same class of aircraft on the same routes at similar fares. Choose the duration and whether it lands; the rest is much the same.

What helicopters do they fly?

Mostly the Airbus AS350 Squirrel and similar types, carrying four to six passengers plus the pilot.

Can I choose my seat?

No. Everyone is weighed at check-in and the pilot allocates seats to balance the aircraft. This is not negotiable on any shared flight.

Do different operators charge different prices?

Fares sit within a few dollars of each other for comparable flights, and nobody discounts. Price is not a useful way to choose between them.

Who runs the heli-hikes?

Guided glacier walks are a separate operation from scenic flights and not every helicopter company runs them. The listing states whether a flight is a guided hike.

Does this site rank operators by commission?

No. Every flight sold at Franz Josef is listed, nobody pays to be featured, and the ratings shown are the operators' own.

Go deeper

Franz Josef helicopter operators: who flies what, and what it means for you

What is the same everywhere

The terrain is the same for everybody

Capacity, and who runs the hikes

Everything sold, not a shortlist

Every flight sold at Franz Josef