flexitime vs flexidate fares
Aug 7, 20, 6:02 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2011
Location: South Island, NZ
Programs: IHG Ambassador, Air NZ lowly Jade now, Emirates
Posts: 555
flexitime vs flexidate fares
I'm more inclined to book flexitime or flexidate nowadays. If I book flexidate I can cancel and get a refund. Can I also change my flight time on the day if I wish without charge as you can do currently with flexitime?
Aug 7, 20, 6:40 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WLG/BKK
Programs: TG*G, NZ*GE, QF G, Accor Gold
Posts: 8,775
Originally Posted by Susiew237
I'm more inclined to book flexitime or flexidate nowadays. If I book flexidate I can cancel and get a refund. Can I also change my flight time on the day if I wish without charge as you can do currently with flexitime?
Jan 8, 21, 10:31 am
#4
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: New Zealand (most of the time)
Programs: Air NZ Elite *G, Honors Gold, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 5,524
Originally Posted by ps107
With Flexitime, can I just no-show and get a later flight (subject to availability)?
Whether you can fly later will also depend on how nice you are to the staff member who will have to manually untangle the mess caused by a no show.
My simple suggestion would be to read the very clear fare rules on the Air NZ website if you want to understand more about the products and how they differ.
Jan 8, 21, 12:23 pm
#5
Join Date: Feb 2007
Programs: NZ Koru
Posts: 6,279
Also worth noting allot of the flights are departing 100% full (even off peak) at the moment.
The chances of being able to get onto an later flight, if you miss your original one is allot slower than it use to be.
They are also using the 168 ZK-OJ* a320s allot at the moment on the main trunk. Which makes things even tighter with spare seats over the ZK-OX* a320s with 171 seats.
The chances of being able to get onto an later flight, if you miss your original one is allot slower than it use to be.
They are also using the 168 ZK-OJ* a320s allot at the moment on the main trunk. Which makes things even tighter with spare seats over the ZK-OX* a320s with 171 seats.
Jan 8, 21, 8:41 pm
#6
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WLG/BKK
Programs: TG*G, NZ*GE, QF G, Accor Gold
Posts: 8,775
Understanding the fare rules can be tricky for infrequent flyers. And even savvy fliers can be caught out with the 'no availability' on alternate flights when on FlexiTime and FlexiDate fares.
Last edited by Thai-Kiwi; Jan 8, 21 at 8:52 pm
Jan 9, 21, 4:48 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: AKL
Posts: 443
Originally Posted by sbiddle
The answer to that is "depends". You should never do a no show, and if you do you won't be eligible for a full refund.
Whether you can fly later will also depend on how nice you are to the staff member who will have to manually untangle the mess caused by a no show.
My simple suggestion would be to read the very clear fare rules on the Air NZ website if you want to understand more about the products and how they differ.
Whether you can fly later will also depend on how nice you are to the staff member who will have to manually untangle the mess caused by a no show.
My simple suggestion would be to read the very clear fare rules on the Air NZ website if you want to understand more about the products and how they differ.
Jan 9, 21, 11:53 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: WLG/BKK
Programs: TG*G, NZ*GE, QF G, Accor Gold
Posts: 8,775
Originally Posted by ps107
So is it kind of frowned upon even though it says "permitted"? Is there a better (online?) way of changing it on the day of departure?
Yes, on the day of travel options for the free flight change are shown on the app, or on the Manage My Booking, or on your NZ Airpoints account. Selecting this brings up a window that shows all flights with availability for the ‘free’ change.
Once you have selected the replacement flight, it is all processed and a new eticket emailed and the app is updated. Very quick and simple.
No Shows do cause NZ staff inconvenience when compared to you making a proactive change.
Last edited by Thai-Kiwi; Jan 9, 21 at 12:01 pm
Jan 9, 21, 1:28 pm
#9
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: New Zealand (most of the time)
Programs: Air NZ Elite *G, Honors Gold, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 5,524
It takes 20-30 seconds to change a flight from the app which is what 99% of people would do.
If you don't show for a flight it's assumed you've given up the ticket so you'll need to get Air NZ to manually change your flight as you won't be able to make any changes online. They will do this for free at the airport (but once again be nice to staff because there are multiple steps required because of the fact you decided now to show up..) but you may end up paying the $30 call centre fee if you need to call to do this.
Likewise if you are a no show for a flexidate and want a refund after the flight has flown you'll need to pay a $50 fee for this.
IMHO being a no show for a flight is just an incredibly rude thing to do, with the consequences being staff having to manually offload pax if you are already checked in, and the possibility of people who are desperate to fly missing out if a flight is chokka.
If you don't show for a flight it's assumed you've given up the ticket so you'll need to get Air NZ to manually change your flight as you won't be able to make any changes online. They will do this for free at the airport (but once again be nice to staff because there are multiple steps required because of the fact you decided now to show up..) but you may end up paying the $30 call centre fee if you need to call to do this.
Likewise if you are a no show for a flexidate and want a refund after the flight has flown you'll need to pay a $50 fee for this.
IMHO being a no show for a flight is just an incredibly rude thing to do, with the consequences being staff having to manually offload pax if you are already checked in, and the possibility of people who are desperate to fly missing out if a flight is chokka.
