Air New Zealand Air Points - Northern Lights sale

On the Air NZ .co.nz home page, "Huge savings to the UK, Europe and North America. Bonus 50% Airpoints Dollars™ on sale airfares and the airfare component of Holidays packages. Conditions apply."

Northern lights sale (http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/airfares_offers/hotdeals/hot_deals_fares/northern_lights_bonus50_airpoints.htm).

Yeah, and wouldn't you know, I just booked a few weeks ago a non-refundable itinerary for early next year! :mad:

The 50% Airbucks bonus is a nice idea...now if I could just get my timing better...

For a moment I thought there was a sale on Northern Lights, which would certainly be illegal in most jurisdictions. :p

Grr. Very confusingly named! Especially since I saw the Northern Lights in Alaska earlier this month.

Yeah, and wouldn't you know, I just booked a few weeks ago a non-refundable itinerary for early next yearI just got a quote NSN-AKL-LAX-DEN [open jaw]LAX-AKL-NSN, in Y domestically but Y+ trans-Pacific, in April 2008, for $3,107 incl, which seems like a fabulous deal.

For a moment I thought there was a sale on Northern Lights, which would certainly be illegal in most jurisdictionsI can do you a good deal on London Bridge too! ;)

Very confusingly named!True, and no details on what the fare structure is either unless you go surfing through itineraries. A weird marketing approach.

When other airlines are constantly giving away double even triple miles, the best I have seen so far from NZ is 50%.

All fares expire 15 December 2007.
Special return domestic add-ons available for travel from New Zealand provincial points for $100.
50 % Bonus APD on Air New Zealand fares booked between 15Oct-15Dec07 for travel commenced between 1Mar-30Nov08. Bonus offer is only applicable for travel on Air New Zealand operated long-haul flights ticketed on Air New Zealand (086) ticket stock.

All fares in NZD, and exclude taxes blah blah blah.
J as the first letter of the fare basis is Business Premier . O & E is for Pacific Premium, pbooks down to Q domestic NZ; and down to T, S or W on UA, G/T on AS, E/K/U on US (depending)].

[B]EuropeFROM: AKL/WLG/CHC
TO: Amsterdam(AMS), Aarhus(AAR), Aalborg(AAL), Athens(ATH), Barcelona(BCN), Basle(BSL), Belgrade(BEG), Bergen(BGO),
Berlin(BER), Berne (BRN), Bilbao(BIO), Billund(BLL), Birmingham(BHX), Bologna(BLQ), Bordeaux(BOD), Bremen(BRE), Brussels(BRU),
Budapest(BUD), Cologne(CGN), Copenhagen(CPH), Dortmund(DTM), Dresden(DRS), Dublin(DUB), Dusseldorf(DUS), Edinburgh(EDI),
Florence(FLR), Frankfurt(FRA), Gdansk(GDN), Geneva(GVA), Genoa(GOA), Gothenburg(GOT), Graz(GRZ), Hamburg(HAM), Hanover(HAJ), Helsinki(HEL), Innsbruck(INN), Istanbul(IST), Katowice(KTW), Kiev(IEV), Krakow(KRK), Leipzig(LEJ), Lisbon(LIS), London(LON), Luxembourg(LUX), Lyon(LYS), Madrid(MAD), Malaga(AGP), Manchester(MAN), Marseille(MRS), Milan(MIL), Moscow(MOW), Munich(MUC), Munster(FMO), Naples(NAP), Nice(NCE), Nuremberg(NUE), Oslo(OSL), Paris(PAR), Pisa(PSA), Porto(OPO) ,Prague (PRG), Rome(ROM), Salzburg(SZG), Sarajevo(SJJ), Stavanger(SVG), Stockholm(STO), Stuttgart(STR), St Petersburg(LED), Tampere(TMP), Toulouse(TLS), Trieste(TRS), Turin(TRN), Turku(TKU), Vaasa(VAA), Venice(VCE), Verona(VRN), Vienna(VIE), Warsaw(WAW), Wroclaw(WRO), Zagreb(ZAG), Zurich(ZRH)

FOR TRAVEL COMMENCED
1MAR-30NOV08 LEUBIRD 2249
1MAR-30NOV08 TEUBIRD 2399
1MAR-30NOV08 WEUBIRD 2549
1MAR-30NOV08 VEUBIRD 2749
1MAR-30NOV08 QEUBIRD 2899

FOR TRAVEL COMMENCED
1APR-30NOV08 JEUBIRD 7969
1APR-30NOV08 ZEUBIRD 8969

FROM: AKL/WLG/CHC
TO: Copenhagen (CPH), London(LON)
FOR TRAVEL COMMENCED
1APR-30NOV08 OEUBIRD 4099
1APR-30NOV08 EEUBIRD 4799USA
FROM: AKL/WLG/CHC
TO:
ZONE 1 – San Francisco (SFO)
ZONE 2 – Los Angeles (LAX)
ZONE 3 – Las Vegas (LAS), Pheonix (PHX), Reno (RNO), San Diego (SAN), San Jose (SJC)
ZONE 4 – Denver (DEN), Portland (PDX), Seattle (SEA), Salt Lake City (SLC)
ZONE 5 – Chicago (CHI), Dallas (DFW), Detroit (DTT), Minneapolis (MSP), New Orleans (MSY)
ZONE 6 – Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Miami (MIA), New York (NYC), Orlando (ORL), Philadelphia (PHL), Pittsburg (PIT), St Louis (STL),
Washington (WAS)

FOR TRAVEL COMMENCED
ZONE 1 ZONE 2 ZONE 3 ZONE 4 ZONE 5 ZONE 6
13MAR-30NOV08 SAMBIRD 1649 n/a 1799 1899 1949 2049
12MAY-30NOV08 SAMBIRD n/a 1649 n/a n/a n/a n/a
13MAR-30NOV08 LAMBIRD 1749 n/a 1899 1999 2049 2149
13-28MAR08;
4MAY-30NOV08 LAMBIRD n/a 1749 n/a n/a n/a n/a
13MAR-30NOV08 TAMBIRD 1899 1899 2049 2149 2199 2299FROM: AKL/WLG/CHC
TO:
ZONE 1 – Los Angeles (LAX)
ZONE 2 – San Francisco (SFO), Las Vegas (LAS), Pheonix (PHX), Reno (RNO), San Diego (SAN), San Jose (SJC)
ZONE 3 – Denver (DEN), Portland (PDX), Seattle (SEA), Salt Lake City (SLC)
ZONE 4 – Chicago (CHI), Dallas (DFW), Detroit (DTT), Minneapolis (MSP), New Orleans (MSY)
ZONE 5 – Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Miami (MIA), New York (NYC), Orlando (ORL), Philadelphia (PHL), Pittsburg (PIT), St Louis (STL),
Washington (WAS)
FOR TRAVEL COMMENCED
ZONE 1 ZONE 2 ZONE 3 ZONE 4 ZONE 5
14MAR-30NOV08 OAMBIRD 2459 2609 2709 2759 2859
14APR-30NOV08 JAMBIRD 6899 7699 8299 8699 8899CanadaFROM: AKL/WLG/CHC
TO:
ZONE 1 – Vancouver (YVR)
ZONE 2 – Calgary (YYC), Edmonton (YEA)
ZONE 3 – Toronto (YTO), Montreal (YMQ), Ottawa (YOW)
FOR TRAVEL COMMENCED
ZONE 1 ZONE 2 ZONE 3
13MAR-30NOV08 SCABIRD 1799 1949 2049
13MAR-30NOV08 LCABIRD 1899 2049 2149
13MAR-30NOV08 TCABIRD 2049 2199 2299

All fares in NZD, and exclude taxes blah blah blah.
J as the first letter of the fare basis is Business Premier [but books into F on AS; Z or A on UA; D, C or Z on US depending on route: ie F domestic US]. O & E is for Pacific Premium, pbooks down to Q domestic NZ; and down to T, S or W on UA, G/T on AS, E/K/U on US (depending)].Wonderful post ntddevsys , accurate, informative, uncluttered, but...

(OT) Kevin07? what happened to the other 6 Kevins?

This is an interesting sale just as i am considering options to go to the UK next june. I was going to book a great escapade RTW (v. soon!) exclusively on NZ metal in J. but i am guessing that they would not attract the 50% bonus as there are not booked through the offer (booked through HKG NZ desk, ex-HKG but with AKL-LAX-LON sector within itin). Would i be (unfortunately) thinking right?
dj

This is an interesting sale just as i am considering options to go to the UK next june. I was going to book a great escapade RTW (v. soon!) exclusively on NZ metal in J. but i am guessing that they would not attract the 50% bonus as there are not booked through the offer (booked through HKG NZ desk, ex-HKG but with AKL-LAX-LON sector within itin). Would i be (unfortunately) thinking right?
djIt is possible it fits within the rules - 50 % Bonus APD on Air New Zealand fares booked between 15Oct-15Dec07 for travel commenced between 1Mar-30Nov08. Bonus offer is only applicable for travel on Air New Zealand operated long-haul flights ticketed on Air New Zealand (086) ticket stock.The airpoints website adds this clarification -
Airpoints bonus applies to Air New Zealand ticketed fares on Air New Zealand operated services only. Airpoints bonus only applies to Air New Zealand airfares to the UK, Europe or North America and the airfare component of sale Holidays packages.

I think the best thing to do would be to email air nz for a definitive written response.

i will email them and see what response i get. Noted in a paper advert for this promotion that you weren't allowed a stopover en-route to Europe in order to claim the 50% bonus to europe.

Northern Lights sale starts 18 October 2008. I bet the fares are much higher than last year's sale :(

Do you think they will offer the 150% airpoints dollars bonus again?

A request to ntddevsys in advance? :)

Your post last year with the fare structure in it was a real eye-opener for me, not least because I was being sold into a fare to DEN when for not much more I realised I could get all the way to MIA! So if Kiwi Flyer is correct (and I have no reason to doubt him at all) and the sale is released on Saturday, any chance you could repeat that style of post specifically?

A request to ntddevsys in advance? :)

Your post last year with the fare structure in it was a real eye-opener for me, not least because I was being sold into a fare to DEN when for not much more I realised I could get all the way to MIA! So if Kiwi Flyer is correct (and I have no reason to doubt him at all) and the sale is released on Saturday, any chance you could repeat that style of post specifically?I wasn't aware that anyone read these posts, let alone found them useful. :cool:

It is very rare that you find a NZ longhaul fare that represents a good deal.

That can probably be managed.

starts OCt 18th

cant find any details on wing tips as yet to post.

doesnt flash with airpoints bonuses or anything so glam as yet!

Please see existing thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=749408) ;)

The 2008 version of the sale was also raised in the old thread (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=749408) by Kiwi Flyer, so I wonder this new thread could be closed in lieu of keeping that one running?

I should have know better eh Kiwi Flyer? :)

I should have know better eh Kiwi Flyer? :)

my apologies i will learn!!!

This just came in
ISSUE 1276

USA

SHORTLIFE FARES TO LOS ANGELES & SAN FRANCISCO

Air New Zealand is pleased to release new Shortlife Pacific Economy fares from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to Los Angeles and San Francisco for sales until 18 Nov 08.

Los Angeles / San Francisco

Fares: $2,000 (SAM10) plus govt & airport costs of $135. Valid for departures between 18 Oct - 11 Dec 08 and 22 Jan – 27 Feb 09

$2,750 (VAM10) plus govt & airport costs of $135. Valid for departures between12 – 31 Dec 08 and 12 – 20 Jan 09

Min/Max Stay: Nil / 12 months

Booking Class: International – S/V class. Exception: Book Q class within New Zealand

Restrictions: Capacity is strictly limited.

For full details please refer to attached fare sheet. Your CRS and www.airnzagent.co.nz will be updated in due course.

<<USA_ECONOMY-_AM10-17OCT08.pdf>>

UK/EUROPE

NEW SHORTLIFE FARE TO LONDON

Air New Zealand is pleased to release a new shortlife Pacific Economy fare for travel to London via Los Angeles for sales until 07 November 2008.

Ex AKL/WLG/CHC

Fare: $2,600 (LLON11) per person return plus airport & govt costs from $231

Travel: To be commenced between 18 January – 25 February 2009

Booking Class: NZ International book L class. NZ within New Zealand book Q class.

Min/Max Stay: Nil/12months

Restrictions: Permitted routing WLG/CHC-(NZ)-AKL-(NZ)-LAX-(NZ)-LON and v.v.

Capacity is strictly limited. Please refer to the attached fare sheet for full details.

Air New Zealand is pleased to announce the release of our Northern Lights Sale with special shortlife airfares to USA, Hawaii, Canada, UK & Europe for sales until 7 December 2008.

Domestic Flights to Auckland included for no additional charge.
ie FROM: AKL/WLG/CHC/HLZ/WRE/TRG/KAT/KKE/ROT/WHK/TUO/NPL/WAG/PMR/GIS/MRO/NPE/NSN/DUD/BHE/HKK/WSZ/
OAM/TIU/IVC/WKA/ZQN

J fares book in Y domestically.

No seasonal surcharges, valid for travel commenced between 1 March – 15 November 2009.

Free side trip within Europe - choose from flights within Europe or Eurostar journey between London & Paris.

Choose to fly direct or add on a stopover holiday on the way.

ALL FARES ARE IN NZD and EXCLUDE AIRPORT & GOVT COSTS

UK/Europe Fares

SEUBIRD 2500
LEUBIRD 2650
TEUBIRD 2800
JEUBIRD 9750
To - Amsterdam(AMS), Aarhus(AAR), Aalborg(AAL), Athens(ATH), Barcelona(BCN), Basle(BSL), Belgrade(BEG), Bergen(BGO),
Berlin(BER), Berne (BRN), Bilbao(BIO), Billund(BLL), Birmingham(BHX), Bologna(BLQ), Bordeaux(BOD), Bremen(BRE), Brussels(BRU), Budapest(BUD), Cologne(CGN), Copenhagen(CPH), Dortmund(DTM), Dresden(DRS), Dublin(DUB), Dusseldorf(DUS), Edinburgh(EDI), Florence(FLR), Frankfurt(FRA), Gdansk(GDN), Geneva(GVA), Genoa(GOA), Gothenburg(GOT), Graz(GRZ), Hamburg(HAM), Hanover(HAJ), Helsinki(HEL), Innsbruck(INN), Istanbul(IST), Katowice(KTW), Kiev(IEV), Krakow(KRK), Leipzig(LEJ), Lisbon(LIS), London(LON), Luxembourg(LUX), Lyon(LYS), Madrid(MAD), Malaga(AGP), Manchester(MAN), Marseille(MRS), Milan(MIL), Moscow(MOW), Munich(MUC), Munster(FMO), Naples(NAP), Nice(NCE), Nuremberg(NUE), Oslo(OSL), Paris(PAR), Pisa(PSA), Porto(OPO) ,Prague (PRG), Rome(ROM), Salzburg(SZG), Sarajevo(SJJ), Stavanger(SVG), Stockholm(STO), Stuttgart(STR), St Petersburg(LED), Tampere(TMP), Toulouse(TLS), Trieste(TRS), Turin(TRN), Turku(TKU), Venice(VCE), Verona(VRN), Vienna(VIE), Warsaw(WAW), Wroclaw(WRO), Zagreb(ZAG), Zurich(ZRH)
Booking Class Exceptions for S (L/T) fare:
NZ within New Zealand Q
NZ3700-3999 S/T/V
NZ4500-4699 L/T/W
NZ4850-4899 T (T/W)
NZ9800-9899 T/W/V
NZ9000-9799, 9900-9999 S/T/W
9F Q/N
AZ N (L/N)
AZ (TYO-MIL/ROM) L (L/N)
BA Q
CA T
KL V (V/Q)
LH S/W
LX W
MU N
OS S/W
SK T/L/K
SU Q
TK (HKG-IST) Q
TK (SHA-IST) S
UA (within Area 1) T/S/W
UA (between Area 1 and 2) T/S
US (within Area 1) E/U/K
VS X


Booking Class Exceptions for J fare:
9F Z
AZ I
BA D
CA Z
KL Z
LH Z
LX Z
MU J
OS J
SK D
SU D
TK J
TN D
UA Z
VS Z


Premium Economy to LHR
OEUBIRD 5000 (H class within New Zealand)

Sector Surcharges available at a charge
- From Pacific Economy to Premium Economy or Business Premier
- From Premium Economy to Business Premier

USA Fares
To - LAX/SFO
JAMBIRD 8500


ZONE 1 – Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO),
ZONE 2 – Las Vegas (LAS), Phoenix (PHX), Reno (RNO), San Diego (SAN), Sacramento (SAC)
ZONE 3 – Denver (DEN), Portland (PDX), Seattle (SEA), Salt Lake City (SLC)
ZONE 4 – Chicago (CHI), Dallas (DFW), Minneapolis (MSP), New Orleans (MSY)
ZONE 5 – Boston (BOS), Miami (MIA), New York (NYC), Orlando (ORL), Philadelphia (PHL), Pittsburg (PIT), Washington (WAS)

GAMBIRD 1800 1950 2050 2100 2200
SAMBIRD 2000 2150 2250 2300 2400
LAMBIRD 2150 2300 2400 2450 2550
OAMBIRD 3200 3350 3450 3500 3600


Booking Class Exceptions for G, S, L fares:
NZ within New Zealand Q
NZ flights 3700-3999, 9000-9799, 9900-9999 L/T
AA Q
AS G/T
UA T/S
US K
US (LAX/SFO-LAX/PHX) E/U
US (LAX/SFO-PHL/PIT) E/K

Booking Class Exceptions for O fare
NZ within New Zealand H
NZ flights 3700-3999, 9000-9799, 9900-9999 L/T
AA Q
AS G/T
UA T/S
US K
US (LAX/SFO-LAX/PHX) E/U
US (LAX/SFO-PHL/PIT) E/K


Hawaii Fares
ZONE 1 – Honolulu (HNL)
ZONE 2 – Kahului (OGG), Hilo (ITO), Kailua Kona (KOA), Lihue (LIH)

Zone 1 fares
GHWBIRD 1300
SHWBIRD 1400
LHWBIRD 1500
JHWBIRD 4500

Zone 2 fares
GHWBIRD 1450
SHWBIRD 1550
LHWBIRD 1650
No Business Fare.

Routing on HA from HNL in 'M'

Canada Fares
ZONE 1 – Vancouver (YVR)
ZONE 2 – Victoria (YYJ)
ZONE 3 – Calgary (YYC), Edmonton (YEA)
ZONE 4 – Toronto (YTO), Montreal (YMQ), Ottawa (YOW)

Fare Basis / Zone 1 / Zone 2 / Zone 3 / Zone 4
GCABIRD 1900 2000 2050 2150
SCABIRD 2100 2200 2250 2350
LCABIRD 2300 2400 2450 2550
OCABIRD 3750 3850 3900 4000 (Domestic in H class)
JCABIRD 9000 nil nil nil nil

Booking Class Exceptions for G, S, L, O class fares
NZ within New Zealand Q
NZ 4700-4849 T
NZ 9000-9799, 9900-9999 L/T
AC L
AS G/T
NW K
UA T/S

Booking Class Exceptions for J fare:
NZ 4700-4849 Z
AC C
AS F
UA A

Northern Lights sale starts 18 October 2008. I bet the fares are much higher than last year's sale :(Economy is only a few hundred dollars more. The big rises you see on Premium -

J to Europe up about $1800; the US $1600. Premium Economy to the US up $700.

Economy is only a few hundred dollars more. The big rises you see on Premium -

J to Europe up about $1800; the US $1600. Premium Economy to the US up $700.


My question is are there fares really "good deals" in todays market???

My question is are there fares really "good deals" in todays market???

I don't think so. I've noticed that the sale fares for PE travel are mainly for 777 operated flights. Extra $400 to take 747 flights in PE (eg: AKL-HKG-LHR now operated by 777 is $2500 one way, AKL-LAX-LHR operated by 747 is $2900 one way). We all know the status quo with 777 hard product being worse than 747 hard product. I suspect NZ know about this and charge a premium for better premium economy seats these days.

Looking for a friend (who is meeting/flying on with a Kiwi friend from AKL) .... on the Oz site a simple SYD-LAX rtn for next June is AUD$2446...

By using the ex AKL Northern Lights deal (NZD$1934 ai) and the very good TT deals for that period ( base fares of AUD$55 and $128 booked as one ways) it can be done for AUD $2100ish...

Decent saving there... but I can't say whether it is a "good deal" or not!!:D... the only other fares at that level for that period currently "up" are on FJ..... which says something I'd imagine!!;)

I don't think so. I've noticed that the sale fares for PE travel are mainly for 777 operated flights. Extra $400 to take 747 flights in PE (eg: AKL-HKG-LHR now operated by 777 is $2500 one way, AKL-LAX-LHR operated by 747 is $2900 one way). We all know the status quo with 777 hard product being worse than 747 hard product. I suspect NZ know about this and charge a premium for better premium economy seats these days.

so this leads to a another point doesnt it why the hell are they putting more crappy PE seats in 777 and saying in the media, people think its great and are prepared to pay for it etc. i certainly hope the new PE product in a couple of years justifys the extra price , IMHO we are back to y C and F nearly and will be in the next gen of aircraft.

and i look at these fares and look at my NOv trip booked on expedia for 6900 plus tax which travels c class nz to sfo and C LH to FRA and back to yvr and then c class NZ yvr akl and shake my head and when i raised this fare with my lady at NZ BD she shook her head so me i dont really understand all this. Should we scour expedia in future ....

and i look at these fares and look at my NOv trip booked on expedia for 6900 plus tax which travels c class nz to sfo and C LH to FRA and back to yvr and then c class NZ yvr akl and shake my head and when i raised this fare with my lady at NZ BD she shook her head so me i dont really understand all this. Should we scour expedia in future ....

You must be lucky. The only ticket I've ever found on Expedia that was cheaper than going through the airline direct was QF. AKL-CNS was $1080 return on Expedia and $1300 with QF. But a few days later QF had amended their direct prices so they were $1080 as well. Never managed to find cheaper NZ tickets unfortunately.

Well no these are not "good deals" but whoever said they were rich5011?

...with my lady at NZ BD she shook her head so me i dont really understand all this.One would expect them to only sell ticket ticketed on their stock - which of course means $$

I booked one of these fares when the 2008 deal was on, the OAMBIRD5 for $3,600 to Orlando in May 2009, which was quite reasonable then given the small-ish premium to get the domestic US flights on the same ticket as the Y+ 747 sectors. Though I was disappointed at a restriction that denied me a stop en-route in Denver, instead being required to go direct LAX-DEN-MCO for an arrival at 1am or something like it. Not ideal but I took it anyway.

But today found out that the UA LAX-DEN flight has been brought forward far enough to breach the MCT rules, so now I can stop in Denver after all by taking a later flight from LAX. I have absolutely no idea why that wasn't possible in the first place. Has anyone experienced anything similar?

Also found out during that process that NZ6 had swapped from 747 and 777, which is of course a huge step backwards. So they moved me to NZ2 for a LAX arrival 2 or 3 hours later than NZ6, and are setting me up with a connection to DEN on Frontier. Frontier? What kind of affiliation do they have with NZ? I presume I'll lose miles earning capability on that sector because they aren't a NZ (or, in my case AC) partner?

In the case of involuntary changes (where airlines change schedules after booking) some fare rules can be broken. Some savvy folk plan their bookings around this (ie deliberately choose flights that are unlikely to remain intact in order to get around some fare rules), but it is not easy or without risk.

If you end up flying on Frontier then you'll need to claim original routing credit with your FFP as points will not post automatically. If crediting to AC they will check with NZ to confirm.

OK, thanks Kiwi Flyer, that makes sense.

So with respect to the aircraft change AKL-LAX, the UA LAX-DEN re-schedule probably did me a favour? i.e. Without the fare rule break having been involuntary, I probably couldn't have re-scheduled the 777 without a fee?

But hey, even if that's true, who am I to say so now? There are still 3+ months to go and the 777 that went to a 747 will probably go back before then! :eek:

right