HighFlyingKiwi

I usually tend to Fastbag, but I got stopped at WLG the other day when flying to TIU. They checked my boarding pass and said I was not permitted to use the Fast Bag facility. I challenged him as I had the right tag prominent on my bag, and my BP listed my status. They said it was because I was travelling on a Seat only fare, and your fare must have a baggage allowance to use the Fast Bag service.

In truth they are right (only after I had a look at the website), but it does seem a little nit picky... I've done it for ages and never had any problems. And with baggage fares going up the Fast Bag service is brilliant.

I'm guessing I missed something. A while back Air NZ announced that Seat+Bag fares would increase by $5 to $15 on all domestic jet flights, and also on flights between WLG-CHC and I think maybe a few other route pairs.

it seems now that provincial flights have the increased baggage charges :/ I mean it's not the end of the world, but $5 will soon add up with all the travel I do over a year..

After a bit of tooing and froing they were not going to budge, so I lumbered my bag up into the plane. The FA stopped me and said she would arrange for my bag to be stowed in the hold if I liked. I laughed and and told her what happened. She got out a Green Tag and said we would have the last laugh and then took the bag down to the Trolley.

sbiddle

Fast bag has always only been a seat+bag entitlement but enforcement of this has been minimal in recent years. I've probably only been asked on a couple of occasions.

On a few occasions where I've flown seat only but had 2 carry on bags and seen the flight has chokka I've asked if I could use fast bag and they've had no issue.

NZ_Flyer

They police Fast Bag randomly. I’ve only had it in CHC once in many regional flights. It is a bit nit picky as I use Fast Bag when I have carry on only as the ATR overhead bins are smaller.

CHCflyer

If you sit in the last row of the ATR there is no locker space for passengers. It is particularly poor on the older ATR's, where both sides are reserved for crew stuff, refuse bags, pillows and suchlike. I invariably end up using my foot space for my small rucksack. I would be very disappointed if they strictly policed fast bag as they have cut the regional status and airpoint earning to inconsequential levels. I would have to take 150 flights (around $12,000 of spend) to earn a one-way fare on my usual route. And I would be nowhere near getting gold status. The loyalty thing is becoming very one-way.

codyc1515

Just adding onto this it seems to be the case that most of the delay caused when deplaning is actually as a result of stairs needing to be pulled alongside but more commonly it is the Fast Bag. This is particularly frustrating for flights where there is maybe only one or two fast bags (which seem to be most flights I go on) as it can take quite some time for them to get the fast bag trolley, open the baggage hold and finally put them on the trolley. The benefit is even more useless at Hokitika and perhaps Nelson where you save perhaps a minute tops by using Fast Bags at the expense of everyone else waiting for your special fast bag.

Wrijo

Interesting timing on this one.
I haven’t flown in aTR for a couple of years and was boarding ZQN-CHC today. I’ve always understood this to be a Seat+Bag benefit, but have chances it once or twoce in the past on a Seat only ticket.
Upon crossing the tarmac this afternoon there were several AirNz staff standing by the FB trolley weighing and checking off bags. Decided against it this time around. Lucky I had an aisle to myself with a laptop bag and a medium The North Face Base a camp duffel (slightly oversized when fully crammed, but within measurements when there’s some space inside).
I echo the sentiment that it seems very nit picky given the lack of overhead space in some of the smaller planes.

nzkarit

I personally haven't seen that. Last few flights (ATR72s) I have seen people waiting where the trolley would be, as they hadn't got the bags yet.

sbiddle

I don't see it as nit picking.

It's always been a requirement to have a baggage allowance to use it, but this has been pretty loosely enforced. Like enforcement of carry on baggage allowances in general every so often these need to be enforced to keep people in line.

nzkarit

It is one of those things I want it applied to everyone else particularly when there is no space for my bag, when they need help to lift their bag up, or the people who attempt to wheel their bag down the aisle and get the bag caught on every row. Though I don't want anyone to actually weigh my bag.........

ottiehund

Different experience here, but I cannot help but wonder if it is related.

Returning TT on a paid PE ticket (with a regional centre origination) I put my bag with correct tag on the FB cart when boarding the ATR at CHC, but it never appeared after arrival and had instead been placed with the other hold luggage going to the conveyor. I wonder if some ‘helpful’ individual with an outsized view of their own importance in CHC had decided I had no entitlement and unilaterally did this?

nzkarit

Did you remove the printed baggage tag from the first leg? As if it still had a baggage tag on it guess the unloader just assumed it was a normal bag and not a FB, so didn't put it on the cart?

kiwicyclo

sbiddle

Fastbags are all weighted anyway (as is all hold baggage). If your bag is overweight putting it on the Fastbag trolley is not the best thing to do!

macdo

Maybe I've used it differently over the years. Some bags, I have one, which are within the carry-on specifications simply don't fit the lockers in the ATRs. They are pretty tight and as someone said not avaliable at all seats. So I have used fastbag as a substitute for trying to squeeze stuff in. Not sure whether I have always had seat+bag, quite likely if an overnight stay expected. Routinely seen them being weighed.

ottiehund