Fly a plane with Richie McCaw... Go rally driving with Sarah Ulmer and Hamish Carter... Meet with Prime Minister Helen Clark and National Party Leader John Key...
Air New Zealand has launched this year's biggest online charity auction to raise money for three children's charities - Make-A-Wish New Zealand, StarJam and Starship Foundation.
The airline has put up more than 60 items for bidding, including travel across its entire network and once-in-a-lifetime experiences such as flying an aircraft simulator with All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, rally driving with Sarah Ulmer and Hamish Carter, spending a day on the water with Barbara Kendall, receiving a personally-designed meal by Peter Gordon at his London-based restaurant The Providores, and having morning tea with Prime Minister Helen Clark and lunch with Leader of the Opposition John Key.
Air New Zealand's own Chief Executive, Rob Fyfe, is also throwing in his hat, offering to mow lawns for the highest bidder.
"Supporting organisations that focus on the needs of children and youth has been a cornerstone of Air New Zealand's community efforts for many years. This Christmas we thought we'd give the nation the opportunity to make a contribution too in return for some fabulous experiences," Mr Fyfe said.
"We've got more than 60 lots ranging in value from $50 to $50,000, and with $1 reserve on each one there's a good chance of picking up a bargain."
Proceeds from the auction will be divided equally between the three charities.
"We've got something for everyone from travel to fashion and sports to wine. I encourage the public to get involved and have a bit of fun."
Among the highest valued items is a three-month pass to travel anywhere on Air New Zealand's network flying, where available, the airline's new Pacific Premium Economy class. The airline is also offering a Business Premier round-the-world ticket for two people, flying Auckland to Los Angeles, Hong Kong and London.
"But it's not all high value. We've also got a range of affordable items including domestic travel passes, and family holidays across the Tasman and the Pacific Islands," said Mr Fyfe.
"I'm not really sure how much people would bid to get me to mow their lawns but I will do it the old-fashioned way with a manual push mower….unless of course, the section is larger than an acre in which case I may resort to using the ride-on types!"
Starting today, the charity auction will close at 7.00pm on Tuesday 19 December.
To check out the auction go to www.airnewzealand.co.nz/ and click on the Christmas Charity Auction tile.
The auction is being kindly hosted by auction site www.zillion.co.nz/.
ENDS
Issued by Air New Zealand Public Affairs, contact Pam Wong 09 336 3144 or 021 717 836
NOTE: The content of all Air New Zealand media releases are accurate at the time of issue, as stated at the top of each release. For updates on any changes, please contact Air New Zealand.
Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award, Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, bmi, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Aegean Airlines, Air India, Brussels Airlines and TAM have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers 19,500 daily flights to 1,071 airports in 171 countries.
For more information about Air New Zealand visit www.airnewzealand.com and for more information about Star Alliance visit www.staralliance.com.
