The company is targeting Asian travellers as a way of lifting its growth, with the promise to steer some of the visitors to Queenstown through its shareholding in the resort town's airport company.
From the start of July, the country's biggest airport will cut the average international passenger fee by 58c, or 2.8%, to $21.55, and lift domestic charges $1.32, or 31%, to $5.55, it said in a statement.
As part of its pricing restructure, the airport will drop international terminal service charges and domestic terminal lease charges for passenger processing, and introduce an international transit and transfer charge.
Between 2014 and 2017, the airport will increase its annual charge at an annual 2% rate to keep in line with inflation.
"This gives us greater alignment with airlines on the risk and reward of passenger volume growth," outgoing chief executive Simon Moutter said. "If we didn't price appropriately, we risk not being able to keep up with growth in passenger numbers or the introduction of larger aircraft, which is absolutely essential for New Zealand's tourism and trade interests."
The higher domestic charges would go towards expanding capacity at the domestic terminal over the next 18 months to let it cope with bigger aircraft being used on local routes. The airport expected to spend $28 million on the upgrade, which would tide it over for a few extra years while it completed a plan for a new domestic terminal.
"The modifications will patch up the existing domestic terminal for a few more years while we finalise our longer-term plans for a new terminal," he said.
Forsyth Barr broker Peter Young said the charges remained flat overall in real terms. While there was some reclassifying of fees between domestic and international passengers, the overall outcome was slightly better than Forsyth Barr's expectations built into its medium-term to longer-term forecasts.
Auckland airport was still consulting the airlines regarding a new domestic terminal and was considering two locations for a new terminal, he said.
It would undertake refurbishment in the existing terminal to improve its ability to handle the increased passenger numbers during peak periods as a result of the larger A320s being deployed by Air New Zealand.
The likely staged development of a new terminal - $200 million to $300 million and outside the announced airport pricing structure - would start in 2014.
JetStar would move first, freeing up space for Air NZ in the existing terminal. Air NZ would then move into the new terminal towards the end of the decade.
The latest view on the timing of the second runway was in the decade beginning 2020, Mr Young said.
"We do not expect to make any significant initial changes to our forecasts and we remain with a positive investment view towards Auckland airport. It remains a strong and resilient business with the logical way for investors to get exposure to New Zealand's long-term tourism growth potential," he said.
Forsyth Barr has an accumulate on the shares and a valuation of $2.71.
The airport expected slightly faster growth in international passenger numbers, which it forecast to rise to 8.34 million by 2017 from 7.32 million in 2013.
Transit numbers would increase to 578,000 from 514,000 over the same period. Domestic passenger numbers were forecast to rise to 7.31 million from 6.44 million.
Including the annual 2% increase, that implies that revenue from international passenger fees will rise to $196 million by 2017 from $157.7 million in 2013 and domestic fee revenue will climb to $43.3 million from $35.7 million over the same period.
Aircraft landing charges will increase at a gradual pace over the period, with increased volumes forecast implying the airport will attract $98.2 million in fees by 2017 from a forecast $80.1 million in 2013.
