The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is not about to let Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand merge, but NZ turned some heads today after declaring plans to purchase a 14.99% stake in Virgin Blue. NZ says it is...
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Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht Addresses Consolidation, Latam, Gulf Partners, and Russia
Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht sat down with Business Traveler this week after a Star Alliance board meeting (in beautiful Queenstown, New Zealand) to discuss a wide-variety of topics. Here are some of the highlights: On consolidation: Consolidation is...
Tacky Air New Zealand Billboard Merits Scorn
Lately, Air New Zealand’s ad campaigns have teetered on the borderline of risque and inappropriate. While I thought their their three-part squirrel ad campaign was in poor taste, I at least (embarrassingly) chuckled at the double entendres. NZ’s latest billboard,...
Air New Zealand Adds Credit Card Surcharge
Paying with a credit card just got a bit more expensive on Air New Zealand. Starting on December 15th, Air New Zealand will charge NZ$2 per person per one-way journey for domestic flights paid for by credit card, $5...
New United Safety Video with Jeff Smisek + Cebu Pacific Emulates Air New Zealand
Can you imagine Glen Tilton, United’s former CEO who repeatedly sparred with front-line employees during his tenure at UA, being featured in every onboard safety video? Never. To many, it would be like rubbing salt in a wound. But...
Another Unique Air New Zealand Safety Video
Air New Zealand has fun with its safety videos. Last year it was body paint, this year: rugby. Take a look at NZ’s new safety video below. You’ve got to give them an A for effort and a few...
Success! Booked NZ C from LHR-LAX using UA miles!
For years—and I mean years—I’ve been trying to score award availability on the elusive London-Los Angeles (NZ 1/2) route on Air New Zealand and failed every time. Tonight, my luck changed. I’m planning out a trip to China using...
Continental Announces Nonstop 787 Service from Houston to Auckland
Although flights will not start for another year and a half (longer if Boeing runs into more production trouble), Continental announced that it will utilize its first 787 on a new Houston-Auckland route. With 228 Economy and 36 lie-flat...
Los Angeles/San Francisco to Auckland for <$500 r/t on Air New Zealand
If you’ve ever wanted to get to New Zealand cheap, now is the time to buy–and on my favorite carrier too! Air New Zealand is running a special 48-hour sale with r/t fares from the west coast to AKL...
Air New Zealand to Offer "Sleeper Seats" to Economy Passengers
Air New Zealand is my preferred Star Alliance carrier if I must fly in Economy and now I have another reason to choose them: In the ongoing game of creative airline seating, Air New Zealand is introducing a welcome...
Circumventing United Airline’s StarNet Blocking
Award inventory is shared among Star Alliance carriers in what is known as the StarNet system. United Airlines, in an attempt to save money and funnel travelers to flights on UA metal has instituted a system of StarNet blocking...
Tough Love from Spirit Airlines
Have you ever missed check-in by a few minutes and been told to go pound sand? Check out this excerpt from the Miami Herald : www.miamiherald.com/news/action-line/story/1291752.html A Few Minutes Proves Costly I bought a round-trip ticket for $115…for travel from Fort...
