airnz-flights

name	airnz-flights
description	Search public Air New Zealand fare snapshots and timetable fallback data through a lightweight no-login CLI. Use when the task involves Air NZ route/date fare snapshots, fare products, flight numbers, departure/arrival times, duration, stops, or machine-readable current flight data. Optional --browser mode uses CloakBrowser when installed and returns cloakbrowser_not_installed when unavailable. Read-only; no login, Airpoints, seat holds, booking, payment, manage-booking, or checkout actions.
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires Python 3.10+ and network access for live data
metadata	{"thecolab.category":"transport","thecolab.source_owner":"Air New Zealand","thecolab.source_type":"commercial","thecolab.auth":"none","thecolab.access_mode":"html-readonly","thecolab.data_class":"public","thecolab.writes":"false","thecolab.browser":"true","thecolab.risk":"medium","thecolab.cache_ttl":"24h","thecolab.schema_version":"1","thecolab.skill_type":"html-readonly","thecolab.pack":"nz-commercial-web","thecolab.source_url":"https://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/flight-schedules","thecolab.allowed_domains":"flightbookings.airnewzealand.co.nz,www.airnewzealand.co.nz","thecolab.last_verified":"2026-07-19","thecolab.health":"healthy","thecolab.maintainer":"@adam91holt"}

Air New Zealand Flights

Goal

Query live public Air New Zealand fare snapshots when the anonymous browser-style search is accepted, with a public timetable fallback when Air NZ returns request-auth/CAPTCHA.

Use this when

• A user asks to search current Air New Zealand flights by origin, destination, and date
• A user wants a public timetable snapshot for NZ domestic or Air NZ-served routes
• A workflow needs flight times, flight numbers, duration, stops, or booking-search handoff URLs
• An agent is comparing public airline availability without logging in or holding seats

Do not use this for

• Booking, payment, seat selection, fare holds, checkout, Airpoints login, manage-booking, refund/change actions, or passenger details
• Private/authenticated booking data
• High-volume scraping, fare-history warehousing, or bypassing Air NZ controls
• Claims about final payable totals; prices, when returned, are pre-checkout fare snapshots only

Preferred workflow

1. Ask for or infer IATA airport codes and a specific departure date.
2. Run scripts/cli.py ORIGIN DESTINATION YYYY-MM-DD with the narrowest useful query.
3. Prefer --browser on headless servers or anti-bot-sensitive workflows when CloakBrowser is installed; if it is not installed, the CLI returns cloakbrowser_not_installed so the agent can recommend installation.
4. Use --direct if only direct services are useful.
5. Use --limit for concise human output or --json for agent chaining.
6. Treat results as live snapshots: fares/schedules can change without notice.
7. If JSON includes fare_search_blocked: true, Air NZ returned request-auth/CAPTCHA and the CLI has fallen back to schedules only.
8. Send users to the returned booking search URL if they want to complete a booking themselves.

CLI

Run from the repository root:

python3 skills/airnz-flights/scripts/cli.py <origin> <destination> <date> [flags]

Examples:

python3 skills/airnz-flights/scripts/cli.py AKL WLG 2026-07-13 --limit 5
python3 skills/airnz-flights/scripts/cli.py AKL WLG 2026-07-13 --browser --limit 5
python3 skills/airnz-flights/scripts/cli.py AKL CHC 2026-07-13 --browser --json
python3 skills/airnz-flights/scripts/cli.py WLG ZQN 2026-08-04 --direct

Flags

• --direct — direct flights only
• --adults N — adult passenger count for the fare-search attempt
• --browser — use optional CloakBrowser headless mode; if unavailable, returns cloakbrowser_not_installed for agents to surface as an installation recommendation
• --limit N — max rows in human output
• --json — emit machine-readable JSON

Resources

• CLI entrypoint: scripts/cli.py
• Live smoke test: scripts/smoke_test.sh
• API/source notes: references/api-notes.md

Notes

• Python Playwright is required for the timetable fallback because Air NZ's same public timetable feed can return empty results to bare non-browser clients while returning the public schedule in a normal browser context.
• The CLI first attempts the browser-sniffed anonymous fare-search flow (/vbook/ajax/bui/flights/search → selectitinerary) and parses embedded legOptions prices when Air NZ accepts the request.
• If Air NZ returns request-auth/CAPTCHA, the CLI falls back to /feeds/flight-timetables and marks fare_search_blocked: true.
• --browser is optional, not mandatory. It imports CloakBrowser only when requested, so normal validation/smoke runs still work on clean hosts.
• If --browser --json is requested and CloakBrowser is missing, the CLI returns a machine-readable cloakbrowser_not_installed error plus an installation recommendation instead of pretending the browser path ran.
• The CLI deliberately stops before fare selection; it does not create a booking session, hold seats, or progress to checkout.
• Keep usage narrow and respectful.