Air New Zealand enhances flexibility for customers with new domestic seat options
From today, additional flexibility has been added to the airline's domestic fare products, along with two product name changes to improve clarity for our customers.
The new domestic options are:
- flexirefund - where customers have maximum flexibility to change the date, time, destination or origin right up until departure without incurring a change fee and receive a refund should they choose not to travel. No fare difference applies if the time of the flight is changed on the day of travel.
- flexichange - customers will have enhanced flexibility through the waiving of change fees for date, route and time of travel changes right up until departure. And if customers want to change the time of flight on the day of travel, they can do this for free with no fare difference.
- seat and seat+bag - these are the lowest cost options and most suited to customers who are sure of their travel plans. Enhanced flexibility will now allow customers to change the time or date of the flight on the day of travel with applicable fees, where previously these changes had to be made before the travel date.
Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty says flexibility is incredibly important to customers and these new changes make it really clear as to what they are purchasing.
"When we first introduced the fare options, flexibility and choice were some of the main drivers. Today, that's still important and with ongoing uncertainty due to COVID-19, we wanted to give customers the option to buy more flexibility should they want it.
"These changes provide greater flexibility, while also providing clear descriptions around what each fare type allows customers to do."
The airline's current domestic COVID-19 flexibility policy is in place for travel up until 31 October 2021, with its international flexibility policy extended to 28 February 2022.
"With normal fare rules for domestic travel due to resume from 1 November we wanted to ensure we had a long-term fare structure in place providing customers with more options when it comes to travel flexibility. Customers will still be able to opt-in to credit should their flight be impacted due to Alert Level changes."
Customers with existing bookings made through Air New Zealand under the old product names will automatically have these changed to reflect to the new flexibility options (flexitime will become flexichange and flexidate will become flexirefund). For those who have booked through a travel agent, the new flexibility options will apply to existing tickets and customers can continue to make changes through their agents.
In addition, the airline has significantly reduced its domestic at-airport pricing and there is now a single price for each additional piece. Eligible customers will continue be able to access discounted rates on up to two additional pieces by purchasing prepaid pieces ahead of time.
Domestic at-airport extra baggage pricing
| Current | New | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First bag | NZ$80 | NZ$45 | NZ$35 |
| Second bag | NZ$120 | NZ$45 | NZ$75 |
| Third bag | NZ$170 | NZ$45 | NZ$125 |
First bag
NZ$80
NZ$45
NZ$35
Second bag
NZ$120
NZ$45
NZ$75
Third bag
NZ$170
NZ$45
NZ$125
Air New Zealand's enhanced domestic offering:
- seat: Customers who choose this option will get a carry on bag of up to 7kgs, Airpoints Dollars™ and Status Points on every flight, along with the ability to change the time or date of their flight on the day of travel, with applicable fees.
- seat+bag: This seat option allows for one piece of checked baggage (up to 23kgs), a standard seat, higher Airpoints Dollars™ and Status Points on every flight, along with the ability to change the time or date of their flight up until the flight departure time, with applicable fees.
- flexichange: This seat option allows customers to change the time or date of the flight with no change fee. No fare difference applies if the time of the flight is changed on the day of travel. Customers receive a standard seat, seat select, one piece of checked luggage and a higher Airpoints Dollar™ and Status Points earn rate.
- flexirefund: A fully flexible and refundable fare that lets Air New Zealand customers change their flight day, time, destination or origin without incurring a fee. No fare difference applies if the time of the flight is changed on the day of travel. Customers receive a standard seat, seat select, two pieces of checked luggage and a higher Airpoints Dollar™ and Status Points earn rate.
Ends
Issued by Air New Zealand Communications.
Email: media@airnz.co.nz │ Twitter: @AirNZMedia
About 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 and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, THAI, Turkish Airlines, and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 19,000 daily flights to more than 1,250 airports in 195 countries. Further connecting flights are offered by Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines.
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