Dunedin to Beijing return for $1070; Timaru to Vancouver return, $2010; sound like pretty good deals, don't they? Oh, and I forgot to tell you, those return fares are for two people, not one.
Internet-savvy travellers have long kept an eye on Air New Zealand's grabaseat website, where limited numbers of bargain fares are posted daily and quickly snapped up by the fortunate.
Dunedin doesn't feature every day, though it's worth checking nonetheless.
But there's more to grabaseat than the odd $3 flight from Auckland to Wellington.
The real excitement comes on a Thursday, with the 24-hour-long $1 reserve auction of international air fares from main and provincial centres around the country to destinations around the world.
To take best advantage of these you must be able to leave at the drop of a hat, because the dates of travel are not negotiable.
Last week, the deals included Blenheim to London for two, leaving May 6 and back on May 18, Gisborne to Honolulu for two, leaving June 6 and back on June 14 (went for $2410); and Auckland to San Francisco (for three people) leaving October 23 and back on November 1.
However, the Dunedin to Beijing travellers had to be able to go five days after the auction closed - nigh on impossible for anyone without a Chinese passport or an existing visa to visit China.
It might be technically feasible to courier a passport from Dunedin to Wellington and get it back again in four days (including a weekend).
But if it has to go to an embassy for visa processing (even urgent, paid-through-the-nose processing), the chances aren't good.
Still, if your passport's up to date and you are flexible about destinations (and your boss is understanding about an urgent need for time off when your bid is successful), there are great bargains to be had.
And it definitely gives you something to daydream about.
