Comprehensive Air New Zealand Domestic flights, lounge & Airpoints program
- Damien Chung
- Feb 4, 2020
- 26 min read
Updated: Oct 22, 2021
Air New Zealand is the dominant airline within the domestic routes. While Jetstar has tried flying to several regional routes, they have decided to pull out but maintain the key domestic routes within New Zealand.
In this blog, I will be talking you through how to score some of the best deal with Air New Zealand and making use of their Airpoints program.
Jump to section:
Flights:
25th November 2019
Auckland - Christchurch return:
NZ559 is my flight from Auckland to Christchurch, this is also the Koru Hour flight, which means you get extra perks with their inflight service. Shortly after takeoff, the announcement came on informing us of the beverages and snacks that will be available on this flight.
Alcoholic beverages are available during the evening Koru Hour, with the choices of Chardonnay, Merlot, Cider, Sauvignon Blanc or soft drinks. Two snack choices of cheese & crackers or chips.
The crew are mostly friendly however one of the crew didn't seem to be very happy. There was some drama during boarding where a group of passengers didn't want to store their bags further away since all the overhead bins are full around their row which caused a few minutes delay, however we still managed to arrive Christchurch just 3 minutes behind schedule.
On the return leg, a passenger was walking down the aisle 2 minutes prior to takeoff, the crew handled it professionally by guiding the passenger back to the seat and ensuring that they are strap in for takeoff. On the regular non Koru hour flight, you still get coffee or tea and Cookie Time Chocolate Biscuit or Corn chips.
I paid $19 (one way) for this flight, which is a steal given how much I am getting out of the food and beverages (especially during Koru Hour).
26th November 2019
Auckland - Christchurch return:
I am doing the same flight as yesterday, so I am expecting everything to be about the same. Lovely crew and the usual food and beverages offered on non Koru hour flight. After arriving in Christchurch, I have about 3.5 hours layover until I hop on the return flight, I took the opportunity to visit the Air NZ domestic lounge.
08th December 2019
Auckland - Nelson one way:
This is my first flight on Air New Zealand regional route. They operate both the ATR 72 and Bombardier Q300 for their regional routes. The way they serve on these flights is slightly different from how they do it on the domestic flights. Regional flights are less than 2 hours usually which is ample time for the passengers to enjoy their cup of tea/coffee before they need to come to collect those cups, comparing to narrow body domestic where the flight time is much shorter as the aircraft can fly faster so they crew would come to collect the trash as soon as they finish up serving tea/coffee (the drink hasn't even cooled down enough for me to start drinking at most times).
09th December 2019
Wellington - Auckland one way:
This may be one of the best flight crew I have encountered with my several flights with Air NZ. As soon as I step on board, the crew welcomed me and compliment my outfit, and seems to be very energetic towards all the passengers. This energy is felt on most of the other crew on board, it is a flight that I wish would be repeating on all the other flights. Even though Air NZ has been complemented by their outstanding crew, and noted that most of the crew are nice and friendly, I may have seen a very few not too friendly faces especially on the international routes, but overall they are nice but not amazing all the time.
11th December 2019
Auckland - Napier return:
After being called for boarding, we were waiting at the passenger walkway outside of the aircraft waiting to board, about 5 minutes past and a ground staff came and told us to go back to the terminal as the aircraft is having some issue and we would have to wait for them to rectify it. The delay was around 30 minutes, since my layover in Napier is about 1.5 hours, that gave me an hour to chill at the airport before taking my return flight. The cabin crew on the outbound flight are all international nationality, which is a little surprising given that is not something that happens with these flights.
14th December 2019
Wellington - Auckland one way:
As I was staying at the Rydges hotel in Wellington Airport, I spotted the Air NZ Star Alliance livery, thinking it's a pretty cool looking aircraft, didn't realise I will actually be on board today. This is a regional configuration, mostly flying to the Pacific Islands or Australia however for whatever reason they were being deployed for domestic routes.
The aircraft comes with a personal IFE system (which is not available on domestic configuration), a double foldable tray table (instead of single fold like on most of Air NZ aircraft), very fluffy and comfortable seat padding (the domestic version is slightly less comfortable) and also there's the usual personal air vent and reading light. This is very unusual since the numerous domestic flights I have been with Air NZ are all on their domestic configuration. In saying that, they do deploy their B787-9 on domestic route (AKL-CHC) due to the ongoing engine issue. Check out my Business Premier seat on the B789 below.
16th December 2019
Auckland - Taupo return:
This is my first flight on the Q300, one of the smallest aircraft operating in the Air NZ fleet. Since this is only a 35 minutes flight, it makes sense that they use the smaller aircraft. Our flight weren't filled up as well, there are probably half a dozen seats empty and some people were asking for the crew to switch seats.
Because this is a very quick flight, they did not serve hot drinks. Water was offered, followed by cookies and then lollies. Since the system wouldn't let me book the same aircraft to fly back to Auckland, I ended up with a 9 hour layover here, which is no fun since I couldn't get out (unless I get a cab) and there's nothing on offer in such a small airport.
13th January 2020
Auckland - Christchurch one way:
This is my 3rd flight to Christchurch. I arrive at the airport 2.5 hours early to try out the Air NZ Domestic lounge in Auckland Airport. At 1720, 1.5 hours before departure, I got a notification that my flight has been delayed by an hour, then 15 minutes before the delayed departure time, a new delay message came on to extend an additional 30 minutes, which brings it to a total of 1.5 hour of delay and I'll need be spending over 4 hours in the lounge. This flight is a Koru Hour flight, which means alcoholic beverages will be served on board (even with the delay). Beverages including the tea & coffee, alcoholic beverages, cheese & crackers or chips. About 25 minutes while descending, the crew took the leftover cheese & crackers to offer them to passengers, I have had one so I didn't go for another round.
During the landing, the cabin lights weren't fully dimmed, it was very bright considering it was mostly dark outside. The cabin light was dimmed during takeoff while it was bright out so I wasn't sure why this wasn't the same case during landing, maybe the crew has forgotten given it was a short and busy flight but that is no excuse to compromise passenger's safety.
I am not sure if there's a specific brightness setting for night takeoff and landing but to me this is still too bright for a night flight. If this is a SOP for Air NZ, they should amend it to make it more appropriate and safer.
A customer relation staff from Air NZ responded and said my concern will be forwarded to the crew on duty. They have also mentioned that a Flight Service Manager has said that the light dimming is done automatically when they press a switch, so I am not sure if Airbus or Air NZ has pre-set this light brightness, but in saying that I have not come across another aircraft, both Airbus or Boeing that operate a takeoff and landing with lighting in this setting. This does happen with some airline with such policy or crew that did not switch off the lighting, but mostly a rare occassion. I have taken evening flight on Air NZ and I do not recall seeing such brightness setting, otherwise I wouldn't have address this with them.
15th January 2020
Christchurch - Auckland one way:
I am onboard the Air NZ B787-9 Business Premier. I have already known a lot about the product so most of the things didn’t surprise me that much in terms of the hard product itself.
On the seat is a plush pillow, given it is a short domestic hop, there’s no blanket. The crew was lovely and welcoming, after settling in on my seat, I got to check out some of the features that the seat has to offer. There was no time to use the flatbed since it is a short flight.
The screen is located on the right next to your head, which is a slightly awkward position to view in. It can be pulled out but only after takeoff. The ottoman is not very big and my feet were right at the tip of the ottoman which was bumping the crew walking past. I am only 181cm tall and many people are much taller than I am.
The seat has a small deep storage area, along with a universal power outlet. There’s also an armrest that was already up and it took a lot of effort to get it back down. A small tray table can be opened next to the monitor, instead of the main table.
After takeoff, I try the controls to get the seat to lie flat, but the controls right next to the seat don’t make the seat lie flat (for a reason I didn’t realise). There’s a seperate lie flat button on the very front so by pressing that my seat went into the takeoff position, then I felt the back of my seat coming down, which then I realise the bed is on the rear side of the seat (instead of the side you sit on)
While on recline mode, I could have a better overall view of the seat and I have found many dirt marks and dirty spots, a rather disappointing look on a top ranking airline.
Row 1 to 3 on the middle section doesn’t have any storage bins as they are installed with crew rest, so passengers will need to share the bin with the right side or the back of the cabin.
I had a chance to have a quick look at the lavatories, it is about as big as any other lavatories in economy, there isn’t anything special or amenities drawers, so the amenity kit during long haul may be the only thing you will be able to use.
The seat design wasn’t the best, the hard product wasn’t the most revolutionary either. There’s not much of a window view, the middle and right side of the cabin faces each other which means little to no privacy, the seat recline doesn’t continue to go flat not like many other products, making it difficult when wanting to transform it to a flat bed.
Air NZ will probably be rolling out a new Business Premier product when they have a new aircraft, but that’s in the next 5 years or so, which makes them with some of the most outdated Business Class product as a top rated airline, and their pricing is about as high as other airlines that offer much better Business Class product.
Air NZ does have a very friendly crew overall, but the value is of the product is not on par with many other airlines, for example Singapore Airlines (picture below) which is also a Star Alliance partner and offer world class product and service. Virgin Atlantic also installed the same product however their new aircraft now comes in a more private and spacious product. The seat product doesn't do the airline any favour as they have lost the ability to install an additional seat in the middle. Most seat product allows the aircraft to have a 1-2-1 configuration but this is only a 1-1-1 configuration, and yet it is less private (for the middle and right side of the cabin)
I paid NZD$30 extra to choose the Business Premier seat on a 1 hour flight, without any special extra amenities or lounge access (priority boarding is available). The reclining mode does make the journey more relaxing and comfortable, direct aisle access for every passenger means no jumping across your seat neighbour or having any seat neighbour for that matter. Air New Zealand operates the B789 on the domestic route regularly due to the ongoing engine issue which prevents it from being deployed on long haul routes. Do note however that check in and boarding time is much earlier due to the remote gate parking as it cannot be parked on a domestic gate. Auckland departure will cost NZD$50 for the Business Premier seat.
25th December 2020
Auckland-Christchurch one-way
Today begin my 8 days tour of the South Island. I took the very first flight since the beginning of the pandemic and also the very first flight of the day.
Covid-19 has definitely made some changes to how we travel. The government has introduced compulsory face covering on all flights, Air NZ does provide one if you did not bring your own.
The flight took off early and arrived 10 minutes earlier than scheduled. We got the regional version of the A320 today, which comes with a personal seat IFE. I got my seat assigned 48 hours prior to departure, which I assume is to comply with contact tracing.
The flight service is as per usual, except Koru hours will not be available between the 24th to early January, for reasons unknown. Nonetheless, cookie time or Mexicano chips and coffee/tea is served.
Cabin crew are friendly as per usual, the passenger in front of me reclined a little before we even left the gate but it wasn't picked up by the crew. While this is not too big of an issue as I am slim enough to get out in an emergency, but some crew does enforce this quite strictly.
An uneventful flight into rainy and cold Christchurch. Merry Christmas and I hope that 2021 will be a much better year.
1st January 2021
Christchurch - Auckland one way:
Happy New Year! Today I am flying back to Auckland after finishing my 8 days in the South Island. Today's flight will be the last flight of the day for this route, as they are running reduced service for the majority of the routes.
Today's service is running smoothly and without any issues as per usual. I have been assigned on seat 6A, which is the closest I have seated towards the front end of the aircraft. I am assuming they are assigning based on elite status. Row 1-6 (left) is also one of the most spacious offering 86cm of pitch, while Row 2-9 (right) offer 88cm pitch. The rest of the cabin will offer 76-78cm pitch.
One issue I have found is there's a stain on the wall, seems like someone spilled drinks over it. I am not sure how regularly they do their cleaning since they do turn around about within 60 minutes, might just be regular sanitisation on heavy touch areas.
1st April 2021
Auckland - Wellington one way
Today start the first of 4 days I will be spending in Wellington during the Easter long weekend. Weather was forecasted to be raining in Auckland but that got pushed to Wellington, I've never done bad weather flight within the domestic sector yet so this will be interesting, but it shouldn't be too bad since it's sitting around the border and there may be some light/moderate rain and moderate turbulence in the lower half of the North Island.
This is also a bad start to my trip, as I didn't realise that loose AA or any kind of battery must be in a protective pouch or tape the exposed area, so I have 30 bucks worth of rechargeable batteries confiscated by the security. I wonder what they do with all those items, it's such a waste but I hope someone is gonna get a good use out of it.
I have also read an article in the morning that Air NZ has swapped their well known Cookie Time baked cookies to shortbread, they said it is under rotation and they may offer a different variety of Cookie Time snacks over the next few months. I'm assuming they are testing out what customers feedback are in terms of offering something different every few weeks instead of the same old stuff. I'm not huge on snacks but I do like a munch on a Cookie Time cookie, I have not tried their other variants so I would be keen to check out what may be offered on this flight.
After an on time departure, there was a whole row of empty seats on the opposite side just 1 row behind, I got permission from the crew to switch as that was what they request people to do for "contact tracing purpose". The snack we received on this flight was as what was reported on the news, a shortbread Cookie Time or the Mexicano chips, I got the shortbread to try out and it's not as good as the traditional cookie that they serve but given it's an early flight I am just glad to have something to eat.
On my originally assigned seat, the tray table was full of crumbs which means they did not do a clean in between flights. While NZ has a low risk of Covid case, sanitisation should be mandatory and given it was such an early flight, I do not want to know what it will look like by the end of the day.
4th April 2021
Wellington - Auckland
As today was a windy day, I was already expecting some delays. Our aircraft didn't arrive until our boarding time, and after boarded, we were kept there for a further 10 minutes for reasons unknown. A total of 30 minutes delay by the time we arrive at the gate.
The seat I was assigned to was in the middle, I'm not a fan of being sandwiched so I approach the uninterested gate agent to see if I could change seats but he said the flight is full, middle seat is definitely not my favourite seat but luckily it was only less than an hour flight time so it wasn't exactly too bad.
As the flight was delayed, we somehow weren't served hot drinks either. We got offered water and snacks which I only got the shortbread as I bring my own bottle to reduce the large plastic usage on these flights.
Grabaseat:
This is probably the most exciting part for you bargain hunters, Air New Zealand has an alternate site from the main website where they sell discounted fares. Do note that most of the fares advertised on this site have very limited ticket availability and also date availability. Once or twice a week, they will push out $19 one way seat only fare across most of the domestic routes, at times you can also score $9 fare but that is only during a very special occasion.
Their $19 fare get snatched up very quickly, they will be released exactly at 9am NZT, however it may start showing up a minute or 2 earlier, you may have about 3 or 4 minutes before most of the dates or time that are in demand will be sold off, so it is wise to sign into your Airpoints account (which secure the ticket for you), click on book when you see anything that looks good and then you have 5 minutes to fill in the details and pay for the flight. If you are booking through the Air NZ website directly or not signing in on the Grabaseat website, the 5 minute reserve period does not apply, which mean anyone can buy that seat while you are filling in the details.
For their international airfares, the prices are not as competitive as other airlines. Sometimes you may be able to get a return airfare to the US for $800 return, but again the date will be very limited and you will need to be very flexible to be able to snatch a deal that's very cheap.
Be aware of the booking class of the airfare you are booking, if it is showing as N or G, you will not be earning any Airpoints or Status Points, all of the flights that I have booked through Grabaseat are F, which is the lowest booking class that still allows you to earn Status Points (no Airpoints) through their Airpoints program. You can read more about the Airpoints program below.
Post Covid does not seem to bring the same deal to customers. Many domestic/regional flights have wide availability on their lowest $49 one way fare, which is still considerably more expensive and earning points run will definitely cost more.
*If you are using ads blocking apps on your browser, it may interfere with the website and may not always show the status points you will be able to earn.
Airpoints:
Air New Zealand frequent flyer program is also known as Airpoints. Their structure is very straight forward and easy to understand, however it is also not the best in terms of rewarding their status holders.
Let's start with their reward accumulation, Airpoints and status points.
Airpoints is the money earned that can be exchanged for services, flights or products. You can earn Airpoints through booking flights, through their Airpoints credit card program, purchases at Airpoints partner retailers across NZ, or the lesser know One Smart card, which is a travel debit card that allows you to load and store multiple currencies. Airpoints are shown in dollar value, 1 airpoint is equivalent to NZ$1, not complicated and shouldn't be confusing. Earning from friends and family can be shared and combined (fees may apply), or earning through Airpoints Business which allows an additional earning when you choose the option of earning for Business (only booking on Air NZ website and does not need to be a business trip, however you must have a NZBN number to register).
Status Points are the points you will need to upgrade to their higher status, you can earn these through flying with Air NZ, their partner airlines / star alliance flights or/and Airpoints branded credit cards. To get to Silver, you are required to earn at least 450 status points, half of which can be earned through credit cards. To put into perspective, a return flight to LA from Auckland would earn you around +-100 status points, so that would be around 5 economy return flights (assuming you have purchased it through the Air NZ website, with an Air NZ flight number on the issued ticket and also Air NZ operated aircraft). I will be talking more about the benefit of status holders below. You will be able to earn these points when flying/booking through other airline partners / star alliance partners, however the rate is not published and is calculated at the discretion of Air NZ.
For example, I have booked a codeshare flight on Air NZ flight through United Airlines (for a significantly lower price compared to Air NZ's website). The points credited to my account per the same order:
AKL- LAX | LAX - IAH | IAH - AKL
38 status points + A$14.50 | 25 status points + A$12 | 43 status points + A$16.50
As you can see, assuming that they are crediting the same amount for the return journey (38+38 status points), you will be getting 76 status points instead of around 90-110, with a price difference of $640 (price listed at the time of this research).
So to make it easier, I will be comparing the price per status point when booking through United vs. Air NZ. This calculation has taken into account of the Airpoints earning.
Air NZ: $14.40 per status point
United: $9.60 per status point
However of course the earning rate for the US domestic sector might be much better comparing to the international sector (which is the case for NZ domestic flight), giving the much lower dollar per status point earning rate. It is still a large contrast, and it is also a gamble when booking through partner/star alliance airlines as they do not advertise what rate you will be earning, they may be very different for each individual airline and booking class.
I am doing points flights within NZ as I am very close in achieving the Silver status. By booking discounted fare through Grabaseat, I could get
1 status point per $2.25-$5.63
with a fare of between $9-$45 (one way).
*A$ means airpoints dollars; $ means New Zealand Dollars.
Unfortunately I was 1 flight away from achieving Silver status before the Covid madness unleashes and I wasn't able to get the Silver status. I contacted them about it and they were kind enough to upgrade me to the Silver status. Along with their 12 months extension, I will be retaining the Silver status for 22 months (minus the first few months lost before I contact them).
Airpoints may also be changing. Read this article here to find out more.
Air New Zealand / Star Alliance Status:
There are 3 tiers on the Airpoints program, Silver, Gold and Elite. You will be starting out without any status and your first upgrade will be on the Silver tier.
So what do you get being a Silver member, well in comparison to other alliances/airline, not that much. You can get 1 recognition upgrade, which means you can request to be upgraded on any flight operated by Air NZ (you have to purchase the ticket through Air NZ and the flight number has to be Air NZ flight number as well as operated by Air NZ), from Economy to Premium Economy or Premium Economy to Business Class (or Economy to Business if the flight doesn't have any Premium Economy or is considered short haul), after they have sold the seats, and given to higher status holders. In another word, you will be the 2nd last of the list to be upgraded, assuming there are any seats left by then. You will be given priority over OneUp upgrade though, but as they process it from time to time you will have a better chance earlier instead of closer to departure date. Your upgrade is only valid for 12 months from the date of issue and if you have failed to get an upgrade, you lose that upgrade voucher if you are not flying again before the expiry date.
Another perk of being a Silver member is 2 lounge passes, which can be redeemed when you scan your boarding pass (if it is linked to your Airpoints account) or use your Airpoints card. Be aware that you can only use the lounge if you have purchased a flight that is operated by Air NZ and is in Air NZ flight number (not purchased through codeshare partners such as Qantas, United, etc...).
There are many rules around how you can use the perks, and it is definitely not worth pursuing especially for someone who doesn't fly with Air New Zealand often enough to take advantage of it. If you do want to pursue it though, the best tip I can give is to make use of the Grabaseat $19 ticket, fly to domestic airports (not regional), and you can earn 8 status points each way, that's the 2nd best dollar per status points you will get on the entire Air NZ network. If you can get the $9 ticket, that's the best dollar per point earning but it is rare to get the opportunity to grab the $9 ticket.
Just a comparison to my Silver Tier with Delta Airlines, I can get unlimited upgrades, that is after upgrading higher status holder and paid customers, I can also take advantage of several perks on other Sky Team alliance airlines since their Silver tier is part of the SkyTeam elite status. The most common would be an extra checked luggage for free and also priority check in/bag drop, keeping in mind that I am not even flying Delta Airlines to be able to take advantage of my Silver Status. Air NZ on the other hand, doesn't offer any of these perks when flying with their own airline, getting 1 business class upgrade may seem like a good value given their prices are usually on the high side but that is only if there are spare seats, otherwise you will have to keep flying with them and try to get an upgrade (marketing stunt?). Granted that the Star Alliance network has some of the best airlines though, such as Singapore Airlines.
To really take advantage of perks that come with the status, you will need to be pursuing the Gold status (or Elite), which gives you unlimited access to the Air NZ lounge, complimentary seat selection (which they charge for when you select a seat), 2x recognition upgrade, 1 short haul recognition upgrade (Elite), 1 extra carry on and checked baggage, Star Alliance network lounge access, priority check in, extra luggage, priority boarding, hotel voucher, car rental voucher, valet parking (Elite) and Status Point rollover (Elite).
The only advantage of the Airpoints program is the way the points are calculated, many airlines adopt the calendar year, which wipes out all of your points in the new year, if you start earning mid to end of the year, you will end up starting over again in the new year, not a very practical way for someone pursuing a status. Airpoints however uses monthly calculation, every month your airpoints dollars and status points will be reviewed, this essentially allows you to pre-plan and top up any points in the short future to pursue the status. This of course has some disadvantages as well, which I have learnt the hard way when Covid-19 hit, I was 5 points away from achieving my Silver status before it was too much of a risk to fly and I ended up abandoning and not able to achieve the 5 points, the following 2 months saw a loss of over 60 points, equivalent of 4 return domestic flights. I did however got upgraded after appealing to Air NZ and you can read more about it on my other post.
Status Extension due to Covid-19:
If you are holding a Silver, Gold or Elite status with Air NZ, you may have received an email or seen the news about the status extension by an additional 12 months if you have gained it prior to 20 March 2020. This has been extended the 3rd time, starting from 31st January 2022. You will be given an additional year of status unless you have upgraded to a higher tier or are able to retain the current tier, which then you will be able to redeem this extension up to 31 March 2023. In the event that you are not able to retain your status year by 31 March 2023, you will get this free extension applied to your account. If you can continuously retain a status or upgrade to a higher status, then this free extension will expire on 31 March 2023.
Here are some of the questions I've enquired about directly with the Air NZ team back in 2020.
Q: If I have earned enough points by the requalification date to retain my tier, does the extension still apply for me when I do not earn enough points to retain for the following year (2022-2023)?
A: Yes, if you earn enough to retain your tier before your requalification date, the extension will sit behind the scenes for the following year. If you haven't earned enough to retain your tier, the extension will kick in and retain you to 2023 (2024 with the additional extension). If not used it will expire as it is to get you through not being able to earn due to Covid19.
Q: Do I get all the benefits that come with the tier during the new year when the extension kicks in?
A: You will get all your full benefits.
So basically you will still get the extension up to 2024 depending on whether you have enough points to upgrade, however if you do still earn sufficient status points to retain/upgrade your tier for 2022, 2023 and 2024, then the extension will not apply to you. Benefits such as lounge pass and upgrade vouchers will still be applied, so you are basically getting 3 free years of status! Do note that any existing vouchers and tier benefits given previously will expire as stated.
Koru:
Koru is a paid membership program offered by Air NZ, you are entitled to a lot of benefits similarly offered to Elite status holders (the highest category).
Koru members can access to all Air NZ lounges and partner lounges (overseas), priority check in and boarding, additional baggage allowance, complimentary seat selection and fast bag service on regional flights.
Koru member is offered with a discounted international multi-trip insurance policy on an annual basis (same with Gold and Elite status holder). The cost is not disclosed.
Now let's talk about the membership fee, if you are an Airpoints credit card holder, the joining fee would be waived (on most credit cards but check with Air NZ), the joining fee is $255 for individual and senior, $155 for corporate. The annual membership fee (on top of the joining fee) would be $465 for senior, $570 for corporate and $629 for an individual. They offer 1 year, 2 years or 5 years membership, the longer you buy the cheaper it would be. Partner Koru membership is also available for $420 a year without the need to pay for joining fee. *Partner membership does not have the full benefit.
So is it worth splashing out over 600 dollars for a membership, assuming you have their credit card and have the joining fee waived, well it definitely depends on how often you travel with Air NZ, the status you currently hold with Star Alliance/Air NZ, and whether those benefits would benefit you.
Assuming that you fly with Air NZ once a month, using their full benefits, you will be paying around $52 per flight on lounge access, additional luggage and seat selection. Of course the more you fly, the lesser the cost per flight. If you are only after lounge access, there are other programs that offer lounge passes, such as Priority Pass or Dragon Pass (but they are mostly on the international terminal, Koru however allow you to access Air NZ regional, domestic and international lounges and other partner lounges on some overseas airport)
Upgrades:
There are only 3 ways you can score an upgrade on the Air NZ network, unfortunately none of which consist of sweet talking to the ground staff into giving you an upgrade.
Recognition Upgrade: This is a complimentary voucher that is given out to elite members of the Airpoints program. Silver tier member gets 1 voucher per membership year; Gold gets 2 vouchers; Elite get 2 vouchers + 1 short haul upgrade. I am assuming that short haul consists of the east coast Australian airports. You can use 2 vouchers to upgrade from Economy to Business, or 1 voucher for each leg. Each voucher will allow you to upgrade 1 class on widebody aircraft (Economy to Premium Economy or Premium Economy to Business) except for East Coast Australia & NZ which will allow you to upgrade directly from Economy to Business with 1 voucher. Upgrade will start with Elite members, then Gold before opening to Silver members. Elite members can get the confirmation up to 1 year prior to departure, while Gold and Silver will only have 7 days notice (but based on the information provided they do process the upgrade from time to time so doing it early will allow a better chance of getting it while there are many seats available). You will only earn points based on your original ticket fare and this upgrade will generally be prioritised over OneUp bidding (if there are any seats available).
OneUp: This is a bidding system that you can access once you book your ticket. While the suggested bidding price listed will generally be about the same as the original ticket price not accounting for the ticket you have paid for, the lowest will be $100 bid which you must agree to pay if they accept that offer (or whichever amount you have placed). You will not earn any additional points for successful upgrade.
Check In: You can also get an upgrade during check in, but it is not a free upgrade. You can get a price from the staff and if you think it is reasonable, then you can pay for the upgrade. Be mindful that the price will generally be about the same as if you book it through the normal system but you will lose the benefit of earning points.
Air New Zealand Domestic Lounge:
Christchurch:
Since I have about 3.5 hours until my flight departs to Auckland, I have decided to make use of my complimentary lounge access pass given through my Platinum Airpoints Credit Card. This lounge is crowded when I walked in, luckily I managed to find a seat on the far end of the lounge overlooking the tarmac and runway.
The lounge has self service buffet hot food, salad bar, soup, wine fridge and hot drink and tea making facility. A coffee bar with a barista is also available for anyone who wants a fresh brew coffee (if you use the Air NZ app, it will notify you that you can pre-order your drink through the app and you will be notified once it's ready for collection).
Lounge usage is available up to 4 hours before departure, simply scan your boarding pass (if linked with your Airpoints) or show your Airpoints card.
The only complaint I have about the lounge is that the staff doesn't collect finish plates and cups which ended up occupying valuable space. I only see the staff pass through once every 20 to 30 minutes which is also too long given how busy the lounge is.
My second time in this lounge is during the pandemic. The lounge is less busy but it was half full towards the middle of my time there, as there were several flights leaving at that time.
The food is slightly more his disappointing time around. While they are still serving the same amount and variety, the food quality is another topic. Since the only vegetarian choice is the fried noodles and some vegetables, the noodles are dry, hard and pretty uneatable. I would have assumed that they would cook more quality food for a lounge that is only open to the top elite members.
I've also pre-ordered drinks on the Air New Zealand app, which will show up after you have checked in to the lounge. There are about a good dozen choices with several types of milk. Once you have placed your order, you will have to wait about 5 minutes and once it is ready, you will get a notification. I would wish they have time to collect option, so that you can pick it up right before leaving the lounge. The last time I remember it closing before my flight, so I had to order it much earlier just in case.
Auckland:
Upon entering the lounge, I could see a fleet of staff standing at the reception area chatting among each other and other passengers, however when I was walking through to scan my boarding pass at the machine, I did not get any welcome, the staff did not even bat an eye, like I am non-existant, a stark contrast from my other Air NZ lounges experience.
The lounge is very busy, with many passengers walking around, getting their food and drinks
before getting on board. The lounge size is not massive, roughly around 100 people or more capacity. It looks a little outdated, dark and not much of a view.
There were a few spare seats spread across the lounge, I went to the low long table where people have their laptops out and also power ports (something that seems to be lacking on other parts of the lounge with more comfortable couches/seats).
The self service buffet is not the best, the soup option is the parsnip, carrot & roast garlic soup. The first course I went for is the Cranberry and Orange Scone with a little whipped cream (and a cheeky glass of Pinot Gris). The scone wasn't heated so it was hard as a rock.
The second course, which is the hot food that came out about 30 minutes after I came into the lounge. They have 4 options to choose from, roast vegies with preserved lemon, Tuscan potatoes with parmesan & herbs, rosemary chicken with tomato and capers and pumpkin and penne pasta with capers.
I have decided to move to a more comfortable seat where there's an odd power plug right at the back of the seat. A lot of people have left for the rush hour and there are more free seats available, however at the same time a trail of filthy seats and carpet can be seen.
The Auckland lounge is being renovated as of January 2020, part of their expansion on some of their lounges. It will run on reduced capacity but the final expansion will see an additional 10% increase in capacity.
Wellington:
This lounge was renovated and opened in December 2019, so basically a month old. This is part of Air NZ expansion on some of their lounges.
The lounge looks new and modern, a new design that they are carrying throughout their lounges. Upon entering, the lounge wasn't busy at all, directly ahead is a bar zone where you can get alcohol and fresh coffee, on the right side is where they have all of their self service buffet and drinks.
They have 4 hot food options here for breakfast, Spanish beans with spinach, Roast Gourmet Potatoes, Sumac and Pursley, Krinsky Sausages with mustard and Scrambled eggs. The other side of the buffet is pastry, smoothie, pumpkin soup and muffin. The pastry is moved to the dining table and they cleared out all the breakfast menu by 10am.
The lounge is quiet and has plenty of lounging and dining space, which is what most lounges should be like to make the experience better and also much more relax.
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