stick1

Well I'm dissapointed. I'm losing Elite in April so was foolishly hoping for a reprieve. Oh well. I never do short haul only domestic and long haul.

NZDavid

Expiry date not until 31-Dec-17.

Anyone unhappy I'd graciously accept all gifts 😁

NZbutterfly

You could take a holiday to Oz or the pacific islands and route via AKL. Domestic NZ flights aren't that long and you could use APD or wait for sale fares to get costs down.

Kiwi Flyer

Routing via AKL isn't always possible. Flights between AKL and Australia on 767 or 777 often don't connect with NZ domestic flights in at least one direction.

dadig

There are so many overnight stays at Novotel that one can handle

Ellice

Wow that's of virtually no use at all to WLG based elites. Air NZ elite gifts have been going down the drain for the last five years. Things must be getting tight at the cost control centre. Also shows a distinct lack of imagination on the part of whoever thought up this 'gift'. As everyone knows you don't have to spend a huge amount of money to make someone feel valued.

NZbutterfly

Given this forum is about flying surely we are capable of making the most of a freebie RU? Routing via AKL is well within our capabilities.

Ellice

Agreed you could fly TT via Auckland if based in Wellington but that's definitely not worth it just to use up a free short haul RU with the amount of time Wellington based elites spend in the air anyway. I believe the RU is very handy if you fly out of Auckland but definitely not if you live in Wellington.

sbiddle

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My thoughts exactly. Not to mention it costing at minimum of another $100 - $150 each way to fly via AKL. That hardly makes it a "free" upgrade.

NZbutterfly

Time wise those flights are short! NZ is small, it doesn't take long to get anywhere. Except maybe Invercargill.

You can get pricing better than that. Of course you have to pay to use your gift but we have to pay to get the complimentary meal from the entertainment book but we go out to eat anyway at times. Just like if you want to go to the islands or Oz to see an event, friends or holiday you would have to pay. You could even fly Oz direct back to WLG so you're only transiting AKL once.

If it's the same as other RUs then essentially 2yrs to use (as long as it's applied then it's still valid for the following year).

zoovet

My Elite Upgrade present states that the upgrade must be applied for by 28 February 2017.

sbiddle

~$100 - $150 is fairly typical for the difference between flying from WLG vs transiting via AKL. The only exceptions would be very busy days out of WLG where you might find the price similar due to the higher pricing out of WLG.

It's also not just about price - as much as I love flying on planes and sitting in BP quaffing champers spending 6 1/2 hours to get from WLG - SYD vs 3 1/2 flying direct won't stack up for most people.

Ellice

Totally.

This year's elite gift, for Wellingtonians, if you have to re route through Auckland to get it is like one of those complimentary vouchers for $50 worth of wine I got in the mail from Westpac credit cards - 'valid when spending over $200' - yeah right.
Obviously this year's elite gift was devised by some Auckland based bean counter at air New Zealand that thinks it's not a problem as he/she flies TT out of Auckland all the time and flyers from other centres won't mind at all the extra 2-3 hours connection time even though they are doing this all the time to fly long haul.

The entertainment book analogy isn't in the same category at all - a meal voucher from a discount book vs a supposed end of year gift for high expenditure with an airline are two totally different things.

poopbunny

I am not surprised with the "gift" as the airline seeks to improve the bottom line. TBH, I thought it was just a matter of time. I also guess APD or SP gift at some point in time.

There is only so many sick or "dead" rabbits one can pull out of the hat. One day, all we would get is an email to say "Thanks!" and will reminisce on the free RU.

Many airlines have or will do the same, its a race to the bottom.

Wait till the price of oil increases again, it will get ugly.

The value of the gifts has generally been declining over the years. I think there would be a lot more disappointment if this gift came after the ones we used to get in the "golden years".

If I had to guess, I would say the "bean counter" is exactly aware of this and is banking on a significant percentage of "gifts" not being redeemed. The percentage of un-redeemed parking / hotel / etc.. elite vouchers probably gave them a good clue.

Ellice

Agree with the 'race to the bottom' comments with the increased competition that Air NZ has now out of New Zealand. Just have to look at the share price which is down 27% since the beginning of the year.

I think there are a couple of points being made though throughout this thread:
A. that the value of the gifts is going down the gurgler, which is understandable with the revenue pressure Air NZ is under, but more importantly,
B. that the gift has some value to Auckland based elites and very little to Wellington based elites. Of course this is all a first world problem... As long as they keep granting me the long haul RUs I'll keep using them as my airline of choice out of New Zealand. If that were to change I'd definitely look at other airlines for my long haul travel.