As winter illness sets in, more than 20,000 Air New Zealand customers have opted to stay home these school holidays, making use of the airline's Covid flexibility policy.
Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says over the last week around 57,000 customers have been in touch, with many calling to change travel plans.
"It's not just Covid, it's the winter flu and weather disrupting plans. That's why we've chosen to extend our Covid flexibility policy through to 31 August. Customers can opt into credit or make a change to their booking with change fees waived, whatever the reason. No questions asked.
"This weekend alone we have 130,000 customers travelling domestically and internationally. It's our busiest period in two years and we're all hands-on deck. We've had our office-based staff helping out cleaning aircraft and assisting at our airports in peak times to support customers and our frontline.
"There's no doubt it's a challenging time for everyone. It's been more than two years of hard mahi, and unfortunately, we're not out of the woods yet. Around the world, we're seeing the disruption continue to bite. We've avoided the worst of it here in Aotearoa, and most of our customers are getting to where they need to go. This extra flexibility will give customers a few more options to defer travel to sunnier times."
Customers booked between now and 31 August can hold the value of their fare in credit for 12 months, from the time they requested their credit.
Customers can easily opt into credit via the Air New Zealand app or website in the Manage Booking tab, by selecting request a credit. They can also use the app or website to change their flights to another date and have their change fee waived, though a fare difference may apply.
