pbl22

Why is it that NZ has such appalling communications around every change? We have to have pages of posts to all understand the change and its implications.

robbau

Just tried a dummy booking on a TT 772 works fare.

A seat in PE section with "104cm" pitch is $10.

A seat in 54 or 55 or 65 with 81cm pitch is also $10.

Am I missing something?

johnnyfive

More confusion and inconsistencies.

Dummy booking:

Outbound
Nelson to Wellington
Fri 14 Dec 2012, 7:00 am
1 flight 35mins
Preffered seat 3B on a Q300 costs $10

Inbound
Wellington to Nelson
Fri 21 Dec 2012, 7:30 am
1 flight 35mins
Preffered seat 3B on a Q300 costs $5

Same seat, same plane, different dates, opposite direction = different prices.

PacificTwo

The holy grail of market/customer segmentation strategy! [tongue in cheek]

pbl22

Demand? NZ expect more business travellers to head to WLG from NSN in the early morning than the other way around and hence are more likely to pay an extra $5 for seat 3B? (Not really sure why you would want to pay $5 in the first place for row 3 on a Q300, anyway.)

PacificTwo

Certainly possible, and perhaps it's something they have implemented with a focus on other markets. You'd think if NZ were overly concerned over a difference of $5 they could simply raise fares...or is the competition on WLG-NSN really that cutthroat?

brenrox

When booking a 733 off peak flight I am able to pre-select space+ seats^ (even as a lowly NZS). Rows 1-3 are blacked out for me

Edit: PE AKL-LAX $75 to pre-select a front row space seat

MattNZ

Hmm the TT options are borderline ridiculous. FYI I am Koru.

On AKL-SYD on a 772 on a Seat+Bag fare, I can choose a PE seat as a 'preferred' product for $20. the same as it costs for the very last two rows of economy (those with only 2 on each side), which are also preferred seats! I think I know which I'd rather...

On the 773 on the way back it's even more ridiculous. On a works fare I can choose seats in the new PE, some for free, some cost $20. it seems like they have just randomly chosen which are preferred and which are not. It is again a $20 surcharge for the last rows in economy.

wish I was smart enough to attach a screenshot.

I'm sure this product / service / bun-fight will go through a few iterations quite quickly.

ASJOHNSTONE

Looking at some future bookings I have. I have a trip to Aus 2nd - 7th Dec. i can select a seat on the way out; no option on the way back.

I'm also out 9th - 14th; No options to select seats.

Previously I would have been able to. The idea that there are no changes to G and GE doesn't appear to be true.

bce1

I have the same problems - 5 bookings today and they want to charge me for all seat selections!!

Call centre very helpful - GE/gold seating hasn't changed - they even read me the email the call centre staff had been sent. But there is a technical problem and they currently have a team dealing specifically with premium seating problems - all my flights sorted for free and my usual favourite seats across domestic and one long haul

Rotodavid123

What a have

Just checked some of my remaining NZ bookings. Seems that any other seat that I could select would cost me money.

One example is AKL-SFO, where if I want to swap to the seat immediately across the aisle, it would cost me $75.

Also in spite of previously selecting seats on my return LAX-AKL, which were clearly there last time I checked two weeks ago, are now not showing and seat select is telling me its not available for this flight

craver

The pre LCC Air NZ would have had someone on here explaining and reassuring.

FullyIntoNewZealand

Yes, i am defiantly finding this new system weird. eg.

Hamilton - Auckland
Monday 24th December 2012
11.00am-11.30am
30mins
Beechcraft 1900D

All the rows back to row 5A&F are blacked out to me, even Gold Status. Although, apparently seat 2F is a prefered seat and another $10 thankyou. 2F doesn't even have a window.......

Auckland - Palmerston North
Monday 24th December 2012
1.25pm-2.30pm
1.05hr
ATR72

The closest i can get to the back (my preferred seating preference on the ATR) is seat 15A, all the rows back from there are 'preferred seats', and another $10.....

FullyIntoNewZealand

Yep you are dead right. Definately affecting me!!! Bet you by the time the 48hr mark comes around. All the seats i would usually pick as a Gold Status Member, will be taken up by people that have paid a few extra bucks!!!!

spintwin

I think it's still a glitch in the system - I'm NZ Gold and have a (AKL-ZQN) flight this Saturday morning - so within 48 hours - and everything at the front of the cabin is still blacked out. It does read as the options all costing $0, but I can only actually select down the back although I'm in the 4th row from selecting weeks ago (and can't see my seat as already selected on the actual map).

This seems like a terrible change to me - I spoke to a few people about it today (terribly unrepresentative sample, but they were a range of fliers, from rare to GE) and nobody had a single positive thing to say about it. I don't see the benefit at all. I don't see how enough people will take it up for it to be a genuine revenue gatherer for NZ, while it's obviously a bad blood generator.