Originally Posted by
sbiddle
I think it's a message Air NZ have always struggled with.
QF advertise that every flight includes a meal, baggage allowance and IFE. I see and hear comments from people regularly about how "I had to pay extra for a meal on Air NZ so I may as well fly Qantas next time so I can get it for free" which ignores the fact that that fares aren't aligned.
I would never pay for a meal TT because I see absolutely no point when there is far better food in the lounge at both ends.
At least when I've needed to book TT, QF is typically the same price with the meal/bag inclusions, and often cheaper.
This is similar to the problem with Smart Saver fares of the past (no airbucks/status points) that pushed me to start flying QF to begin with: weekly TT travel, price was identical between NZ/QF, but QF would credit miles/SCs and NZ wouldn't. Guess which NZ*E that didn't even have a QF account started flying QF (and then kept flying QF)?
NZ's S2S functionality is about increasing revenue (much like UA's), not about "giving customers choice" or reducing fares -- which is why they have issues marketing it, and why people are beginning to see through it.