Christmas WiFi Special
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 367
Christmas WiFi Special
Currently on NZ29 ex Houston - went to connect to WiFi and received a nice surprise - I got a Christmas WIFI special FREE for whole flight. On NZ28 on 28Dec I noticed a two hour gap in coverage and I note that today’s signup page states that if there are any dips in service they should be short-lived and to refresh, reload and reconnect. I cynically wonder whether there may be quality issues which may mean its easier to make it free than get complaints requiring refunds. Or perhaps it’s just a goodwill Christmas present.
#2
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: New Zealand
Programs: NZ Elite, QF Platinum (LTS), VA Platinum
Posts: 1,672
My wifi was utter crap on one of my flights and I wasn't the only one having issues. After that I figured I should only take the $9/hr option. At least I wouldn't be as angry for the price paid. $40 is a lot when the coverage was awful and barely functioned.
#4
Join Date: Feb 2007
Programs: NZ Koru
Posts: 6,415
Looks like they are promo it too https://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/wifi
Hope they have increased there bandwith.
When you fly with Air New Zealand, you're never too old to be on the nice list. Which is why you'll enjoy free inflight Wi-Fi on all our Wi-Fi enabled aircraft until 28 Feb 2019.
#7
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Christchurch, NZ
Programs: NZ *E, QF Gold, Hertz President’s Circle, Accor Gold, PanPacific Platinum
Posts: 754
#8
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: New Zealand (most of the time)
Programs: Air NZ Elite *G, Honors Gold, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 6,119
It seems a very interesting decision to make. Ignoring the cost aspect, the fact is there are plenty of technical reasons why it's not necessarily a great idea. I hope for their sake it doesn't result in a similar situation as Koru with the service imploding and ending up pretty much unusable due to high uptake.
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 367
It seems a very interesting decision to make. Ignoring the cost aspect, the fact is there are plenty of technical reasons why it's not necessarily a great idea. I hope for their sake it doesn't result in a similar situation as Koru with the service imploding and ending up pretty much unusable due to high uptake.
#10
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: New Zealand (most of the time)
Programs: Air NZ Elite *G, Honors Gold, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 6,119
The 64 figure isn't exceptionally high - paying passenger numbers on 777 flights at the $40 price point saw upwards of 30-40 customers on average, some flights with then more.
There are lots of things Air NZ do that puzzle me. This tops that list at present.
There are lots of things Air NZ do that puzzle me. This tops that list at present.
#11
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: AKL, YUL
Programs: NZ*GE, UA*G
Posts: 323
UA has a nearly-automatic wifi refund service since they've had so many issues with wifi on domestic US flights in the last few years. I've used it a bunch of times when wifi didn't work at all, or worked at too slow a pace to get work done, or worked intermittently.... etc. It's a reasonable thing to do given that they charge quite a bit for short flights.
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WLG/BKK
Programs: TG*G, NZ*GE, QF G, Accor Gold
Posts: 10,207
I understand your point, but I suspect quite a few passengers might not have an Airpoints number, or even a frequent flyer number in a partner program.
#13
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: New Zealand
Programs: NZ*S plus various hotel programs
Posts: 945