Air NZ plans new bag charge

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chakkaradeep

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#20771 5-Apr-2008 15:07

From here

Air New Zealand will charge domestic travellers up to $20 for a second bag in sweeping plans to overhaul airport check-in.Occasional travellers will be allowed one bag free and will be charged between $10 and $20 for a second one - regardless of the weight of the bags.

Shouldn't weight be most appropiate than 'number of bags' ??

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hairy1

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#121317 5-Apr-2008 15:24

There are a number of airlines around the world that use piece systems rather than weight. United Airlines is a good example. Baggage is still weighed for aircraft performance.

I would imagine the idea behind the piece system is to try and minimise the total number of pieces the airline handle per flight and so try and speed up aircraft ground handling.

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itxtme

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#121427 6-Apr-2008 00:16

I wonder what ACC will think about the workers picking up multiple 30kg bags instead of multiple 20kg bags!! *my back hurts!!*

PenultimateHop

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#121432 6-Apr-2008 01:42

As an incredibly frequent traveler (on Air NZ and other airlines) I'm disappointed by this move. I personally think the existing system works just fine; and I'm not sure how this is going to result in any efficiencies for the airline.

As for the weight and back injuries, the maximum per piece weight has always been 32KG - they will refuse to take anything heavier (I know, I've tried). However, on domestic flights you previously had a limit of 20KG (unless Star Gold or connecting to a business class flight, or a flight to the US); but with no bag limit - you just paid overage if you had more than 20KG. I regularly travel with two bags (that combined weigh less than 20KG), so I'm annoyed by it.

sbiddle

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#121441 6-Apr-2008 06:58

I think it's a great move, it'll certainly remove the uncertainly and frustration that occurs at checkin and the abuse that staff suffer.

I know from speaking to a friend yesterday that the majority of customers will actually benefit from this move - looking at the stats most passengers do only have 1 piece of luggage so they will be bumped up from 20kg to 30kg for that.

Remember as well that frequent fliers (more than 12 flights per year from memory) are going to be allowed 2 bags and you will also have your own personalised permanent baggage tags.

heavenlywild

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#121446 6-Apr-2008 08:02

I think there are positive and negative sides to this new rule.

What bugs me is that Air NZ over the recent years have tightened up their rules on most things - one that springs to mind is how Airports can be used. The more restrictions Air NZ create the less willing passengers will want to fly with them.

PenultimateHop

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#121487 6-Apr-2008 11:47

sbiddle: I think it's a great move, it'll certainly remove the uncertainly and frustration that occurs at checkin and the abuse that staff suffer.

I know from speaking to a friend yesterday that the majority of customers will actually benefit from this move - looking at the stats most passengers do only have 1 piece of luggage so they will be bumped up from 20kg to 30kg for that.

I think it will increase uncertainty. The rules were reasonably straightforward before, and they were well published (and shown on BIG BIG banners at checkin):

Domestic flight - no status: 20KG. You pay over 20KG. Very simple.
Domestic flight - with status: 40KG. You pay over 40KG. Very simple.
Domestic-to-International, no status, not via US: 20KG. You pay over 20KG. Simple.
Domestic-to-International, with status, not via US: 40KG. You pay over 40KG. Simple.
Domestic-to-International, no status, via the US: 2x23KG. You pay for more items.
Domestic-to-International, with status, via the US: 3x23KG. You pay for more items.

Connecting to business class is different again (30KG base, +20KG status, or 2x32KG/3x32KG if via the US).

Changing this to the new rule is annoying. Do I get charged for a second piece if I'm flying via the US, but originating in Wellington? Is my Star Gold status now worthless? What if I'm in business class? What if I'm connecting to/from another airline?

I often travel with 2 bags (or more), but rarely breach my weight allowance. Being able to carry as many items as I needed was a boon to me. NZ will be shooting themselves in the foot as I now will have bigger, heavier, pieces.

sbiddle:
Remember as well that frequent fliers (more than 12 flights per year from memory) are going to be allowed 2 bags and you will also have your own personalised permanent baggage tags.

They haven't explained how this will be tracked. I travel over 100 flights a year (Air NZ Gold Elite plus a handful of other airlines and statuses), so I'm presumably not affected.... but they haven't told me that.

What does this mean for their Koru, Silver, Gold, Gold Elite customers? What about other airline's Star Gold customers? How is the 14 flights tracked? Does this mean they're adding a sector based qualification to Airpoints? If so, what are the tiers?

The public announcement with no communication to their frequent fliers is absurd, and the whole idea is flawed. The cost of implementing it will be high due to people expecting one thing and finding another. I sincerely hope this goes away, and fast.

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#121489 6-Apr-2008 12:04

PenultimateHop: They haven't explained how this will be tracked. I travel over 100 flights a year (Air NZ Gold Elite plus a handful of other airlines and statuses), so I'm presumably not affected.... but they haven't told me that.

What does this mean for their Koru, Silver, Gold, Gold Elite customers? What about other airline's Star Gold customers? How is the 14 flights tracked? Does this mean they're adding a sector based qualification to Airpoints? If so, what are the tiers?

The public announcement with no communication to their frequent fliers is absurd, and the whole idea is flawed. The cost of implementing it will be high due to people expecting one thing and finding another. I sincerely hope this goes away, and fast.

On top of that I fly about 20 times a year on cheaper fares. Will that count too? And why don't they give me any Airpoints for those flights, knowing that when I buy cheaper fares I am handing my money to them, regardless of me flying or not because they won't allow changes or refunds?

I think those cheaper fares should receive Airpoints dollars like any other fare, simply because I am being very loyal to them by offering my money with no guarantees that I will actually fly if I choose to change my mind - or miss the flight due to traffic for example.

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PenultimateHop

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#121493 6-Apr-2008 12:30

freitasm: On top of that I fly about 20 times a year on cheaper fares. Will that count too? And why don't they give me any Airpoints for those flights, knowing that when I buy cheaper fares I am handing my money to them, regardless of me flying or not because they won't allow changes or refunds?

I think those cheaper fares should receive Airpoints dollars like any other fare, simply because I am being very loyal to them by offering my money with no guarantees that I will actually fly if I choose to change my mind - or miss the flight due to traffic for example.

I agree. I personally went from no Qantas status to Qantas Gold within a few months due to Qantas regularly coming in cheaper on the Tasman, and offering frequent flier miles on all airfares - including their cheap ones. Air NZ's statements around "those who buy the cheap fares aren't loyal", and adjusting their frequent flier program to reflect that, has actually driven one of their most loyal customers away; which is the exact opposite of what they should be trying to achieve.

Which leads into one of my questions around this new baggage system: If it's based on 'number of flights' (not Airpoints earned!), are they adding a sector qualification to Airpoints? Does 14 flights now equal Silver status? 50 equal Gold? How does this '14 flights' thing relate into their existing status tiers?

manhinli

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#121494 6-Apr-2008 12:32

freitasm:
PenultimateHop: They haven't explained how this will be tracked. I travel over 100 flights a year (Air NZ Gold Elite plus a handful of other airlines and statuses), so I'm presumably not affected.... but they haven't told me that.

What does this mean for their Koru, Silver, Gold, Gold Elite customers? What about other airline's Star Gold customers? How is the 14 flights tracked? Does this mean they're adding a sector based qualification to Airpoints? If so, what are the tiers?

The public announcement with no communication to their frequent fliers is absurd, and the whole idea is flawed. The cost of implementing it will be high due to people expecting one thing and finding another. I sincerely hope this goes away, and fast.

On top of that I fly about 20 times a year on cheaper fares. Will that count too? And why don't they give me any Airpoints for those flights, knowing that when I buy cheaper fares I am handing my money to them, regardless of me flying or not because they won't allow changes or refunds?

I think those cheaper fares should receive Airpoints dollars like any other fare, simply because I am being very loyal to them by offering my money with no guarantees that I will actually fly if I choose to change my mind - or miss the flight due to traffic for example.

Quite a lot of airlines do the same thing - I've got Asia Miles, and they don't count points for any Economy flights tagged as discounted.

All they're doing is making people go on to more expensive flights (which really I would think drive customers away)

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#121497 6-Apr-2008 12:38

manhinli:Quite a lot of airlines do the same thing - I've got Asia Miles, and they don't count points for any Economy flights tagged as discounted.

I am not prepared to pay an extra $100 per sector to earn 10 or 15 Airpoints - when I need 700 this year to keep my current Gold status. It means I would have to fly 70 times within New Zealand, at a cost of $7000 at least.

Then you realise that you don't earn that much when you fly Wellington - Amsterdam - Wellington in full Premium Economy fare. I think I got something like 350 points total for the whole trip, and not using any discounts (I did upgrade to business all the way and back but that's using my existing poiints and free upgrades). Which means that to keep Gold I could alternatively fly twice to Europe per year... Certainly not for me :(

TinyTim

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#121683 7-Apr-2008 07:42

I think I prefer the current system. Instead of carrying a small travel bag plus a small suit bag when travelling for work I'll have to carry a large hard suitcase that I use for all trips, whether I need the space or not. Sounds like a bit of a nuisance to me.

TinyTim

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#121687 7-Apr-2008 08:01

Air New Zealand just said on Morning Report they're not doing it to make money - in fact they'll lose $2 million a year in excess baggage fees.

PenultimateHop

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#121689 7-Apr-2008 08:10

Good to see that NZ has some sensible business management then. :/

So, the next question then, why did they spend so much money last year on upgrading their baggage handling systems to automatically charge for excess baggage, taking away agent discretion? What an awesome use of money.