flying chef

Flying AKL-IAH. Does Air New Zealand offer the purchase of upgrades during online check in? Sitting in Y, but am interested in SkyCouch, PE or B. FYI, flying on an Aeroplan reward ticket

sbiddle

During online check-in, no. At physical check-in you can upgrade for the fare difference on a paid fare.

The fact you're on a reward ticket means you will have no option to upgrade.

dadig

Award tickets can not be upgraded, so you are out of luck for this

codyc1515

Out of interest, how does one calculate the "fare difference"? i.e. if you have purchased an S Economy fare.

kyanar

I have called the contact centre before, and it appears the answer is "with a calculator" (as I heard a lot of "and that's $447 paid, carry the one ... that'll be $2108")

I jest slightly. You'd have to dig out your original e-Ticket receipt which will have the cost per leg on it.

codyc1515

What I'm getting at is, it's a set price? i.e. a S class fare costs $400 while a J class fare costs $1000, you would pay $600 in fare difference. How do we find out the booking class that would be used for the upgrade (i.e. is it always J)?

Kiwi Flyer

Essentially yes, but there are some complexities. New booking class will depend on what is available to be use (as well as fare rule restrictions).

johnnyfive

They also offer last minute discounted cash upgrades at check-in/lounge if you ask. But these don't Issue you a new fare class, which means you dont earn extra points. So make sure to ask.

cavemanzk

Anyone else noticed that it doesn't seem possible to upgrade Tasman fare your self to PE? e.g. they let you upgrade to Works Deluxe, but don't give you the option for PE.

Anyone had luck with getting the service fee waived via the call centre for the Seat Only to PE on the Tasman? due to the lack of there websites ability todo it

sbiddle

It's not possible (and never has been) to change fare classes online. The online portal is only to change the fare basis of a S2S economy fare.

Historically I've had the call centre fee waived on a fare upgrade, but getting the call centre fee waived now simply because something can't be done online does seem increasingly difficult.

NZbutterfly

It's been awhile since I've done this but I don't recall any fees when upgrading TT. Thought it was free.

Kamadan

From NZ's FAQ on Tasman S2S Fares (https://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/tasm...-smart-saver):


The way I see it, while any booking change fee is waived when upgrading to PE or J, Service fee (i.e. getting the call centre to change your booking) is not exempt, as you can see in their wording... unless you do it online.

It is possible to upgrade a TT S2S fare to PE/J online... click on the "Change this booking" button/link under "Manage this booking" on your flight.

HOWEVER, it seems there are restrictions/odd conditions when this option is available. Looking at my bookings, I can do this on my -BNE and -OOL flights >week out, however on my -MEL flight next week, that option isn't available.

Also if I remember, flights NOT booked directly on Air NZ's website won't have "Change this booking" option available.

cavemanzk

Thanks for that just found you could do it that way, although seems cheaper to pay the service fee via the call centre?

Would be an whole lot simplier if you we're able to change it the same way you can do for Seat to the Works.

kyanar

If I recall correctly, Works Deluxe isn't offered on flights where there is a Premium Economy cabin, which might explain why you can upgrade to Works Deluxe but not Premium Economy, as there is no Premium Economy to upgrade to - you'd have to change routing or scheduling.

Check the aircraft type. If it's a B777 or B787, you'll have PE but Works Deluxe will be "unavailable on this flight". If it's an A320 or B767, you'll have Works Deluxe but Premium Economy will be "unavailable on this flight".

cavemanzk

Both are 77W/789 flights, so Works Deluxe is blocked off. Yet if its an A320 they allow it, why can't they just add Premium Economy to the seats to suits product upgrade options?