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Air New Zealand Sends Its Biofuel Jumbo Jet to the Wreckers

June 8, 2009 at 9:17 AM | 0 Comments

Usually Air New Zealand is pretty eager to share its wacky promotions and latest news, but this time not so much. Remember when they were all proud about their biofuel test flight? Well, it must not have worked out that well, since they are preparing to send the plane used for it to the scrap yard.

The poor plane headed for an early retirement is a Boeing 747-400 named The Bay of Islands, and has been flying for almost twenty years. After the fancy fuel test last December, the bird sat unused and unloved while looking for a new buyer, but there were unfortunately no takers. In this economy, when it’s hard enough to fill up the average flight with passengers, it’s even harder to fill a jumbo jet.

This 747 started its life flying for Cathay Pacific after being leased from Air New Zealand, but now it will take one last flight towards its final destination. An official resting place hasn't been finalized, as a couple parties are still working out the details regarding who will disassemble it. The dismantling company will sell off all the good parts like the electronic components, and most of the body will be recycled. Too bad, we'll just have to stick to buying carbon offsets for now.

Related Stories:
·First 747-400 Heads For Wrecker [Stuff.co.nz]
·A New Paint Job for Air New Zealand...Body Paint [Jaunted]
·Airline News coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Another 747: Eduardo O.]

From Body Paint to Matchmaking: Air New Zealand Is Feeling Frisky

May 15, 2009 at 9:31 AM | 0 Comments

Just in case the sexy painted bodies of Air New Zealand staff aren't enough to get you hot and heavy with booking a ticket, there's yet another little marketing strategy coming out from the Kiwis this week: the world's first Matchmaking Flight.

Sadly the flight of fancy is still months away; you'll need to be free on October 13 to get involved in this Kiwi love-in. On that date, an Air New Zealand flight will leave Los Angeles full of singles making the trip to Auckland for the Great Matchmaking Ball.

Air New Zealand will even help you to get through the butterflies by opening up chats on their website by posting your profile and linking up with either Americans or Kiwis who plan to turn up at the ball too.

Round-trip tickets for this romantic route start at $780, which includes a party at LAX before you leave, special in-flight food and entertainment (games, even), and the singles-only ball in Auckland. This is all well and good, but they're leaving out the most important information: will any of those body-painted flight attendants be on board?

Related Stories:
· The Matchmaking Flight [Official Site]
· Air New Zealand Offers Singles Only Matchmaking Flight [The Australian]
· A New Paint Job for Air New Zealand … Body Paint [Jaunted]

A New Paint Job for Air New Zealand...Body Paint

May 12, 2009 at 10:55 AM | 0 Comments

Those Kiwis at Air New Zealand have always had a strong team of advertising executives thinking up some pretty unique ideas. It's not surprising then that they've got another new and similarly salacious campaign up their sleeve, and this one lets everyone know that their staff has nothing to hide (as well as some hot bodies).

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You Can't Land Now, We're Eating

March 31, 2009 at 11:11 AM | 1 Comment

Thought about taking a trip around New Zealand soon? Feel free, but don't expect to be able to catch a plane around lunchtime. The air traffic controllers will be easy eating their sandwiches.

After years of working flexible hours to accommodate aircraft movement, the control tower staff will now be taking fixed breaks at particular times, and towers at five regional airports--Gisborne, Napier, New Plymouth, Rotorua and Invercargill--will be closed for half an hour twice a day. Air New Zealand is furious because it means the cancellation of 25 of its flights; regional airlines Air Nelson and Eagle Air might end up having to cut staff.

We definitely don't doubt the importance of satisfied air traffic control staff in keeping our flying experiences safe, but we're not convinced fixed lunch breaks will keep us out of danger. We'd suggest the infamous Kiwi company Hell Pizza just delivers up to the towers. See, Jaunted solves problems.

Related Stories:
· Air NZ Forced To Cancel Flights Due To Lunch Breaks [The Age]
· No Boundary This Kiwi Pizza Chain Won't Cross [Jaunted]
· New Zealand Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: superciliousness]

Jetstar Wants to Conquer the Kiwis

February 20, 2009 at 9:21 AM | 0 Comments

Obviously it wasn't just a rumor that Qantas low-cost spin-off Jetstar was thinking of crashing into the New Zealand domestic flight market.

Now it's official. Starting from June 10, Jetstar will be making domestic flights between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown, while big bro Qantas will completely pull out of the market.

To kick off their Kiwi entry, Jetstar offered NZ$1 fares for two hours earlier this week; but regular flights will start from NZ$29 ($15). This means more competition for Pacific Blue and Air New Zealand; it looks like Jetstar will work out to be cheaper for flights most of the time, but without any comfortable extras.

Looks like Australia really does want to reach out to the Kiwis, contrary to what Bret and Jemaine think.

Related Stories:
· Jetstar Launches New Zealand Flights For $1 [The Age]
· New Zealand Travel: Jetstar Wants Its Piece of the Pie [Jaunted]
· Jetstar Coverage [Jaunted]

We Don't Love Air New Zealand Enough to Shave Their Names Into Our Heads

February 18, 2009 at 5:01 PM | 0 Comments

With so much travel news raining down on us, we don't always have time to give every story its own forecast. Here's more of the day's news, in brief.

· Cranial Billboards: Actually, we're guessing this has more to do with love of money than love of Air New Zealand. But still shaving your head, wearing a temporary tattoo for a free flight or $777? Crazy. [NY Times]

· The Recession Affects Fido Too: Rates to bring your furry friends on board are going up. [Sun-Sentinel]

· Another Travel Pillow Victim: This time it's Anthony Bourdain's cameraman. [TravelChannelTV]

· Yes, We Know. She Meant "Peanuts": The CNN anchor who messed up the word peanuts with penis is now receiving death threats from peanut allergy sufferers who are upset the story has turned away from them and their needs for a peanut-free zone on-board. (Kidding!) [TMZ]

· Travel Sites Ordered to Pay Up: A court ruling has ordered online booking sites like Hotels.com and Expedia to pay Anaheim $21 million in owed taxes. Burn! [LA Times]

[Photo: NY Times]

Air New Zealand Says Partying Saves You Money

February 16, 2009 at 2:31 PM | 0 Comments

It doesn't surprise us that airlines like Air New Zealand are coming out with big-fanfare deals on United States to Australasia routes right now--they've got to get in quick before they lose half the market to V Australia which starts up at the end of the month.

The Air NZ deal is trying a little too hard to sound cool by calling it a party fare: basically if you book as a group of between two and six passengers, you get a discount of up to 30% discount depending on the size of the group. That means 10% off for two passengers, 15% for three, and so on.

Calling this a good deal depends a little on how many friends you have who you can convince to make the long haul Down Under with you. We checked a few dates on the LAX to Sydney route and came up with a variety of different prices based on traveling in a group of six--basically if you book from May and beyond, you can do well with a return for around $700. With only one friend, this price rises to $800 but it's still comparable with current V Australia fares. The biggest catch is the fast decision--fares are okay for travel up to October 31 but you have to book by February 18.

Related Stories:
· With V Australia at Its Heels, Qantas Steps Up With Cairns Deal [Jaunted]
· Air New Zealand Coverage [Jaunted]
· V Australia Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wake Me When It's Over]

Our Top Five International Airfare Sales Of The Moment

January 14, 2009 at 9:15 AM | 2 Comments

Since winter is only half over, we've decided that what everyone needs right now is a hardcore international escape. If your desire for the tropics has been replaced with a desperation to just get far, far away, then have we got the deals for you.

Taking a cue from some of our stories in the last few days, we've rounded up our Five Favorite Airfare Sales with a focus on globetrotting. There will be no mentions of commuter flights to Ypsilanti or Sulfur Springs this week, so sit back and book a serious sojourn already. Any tips on what you want to see more of or less of? Let us know.

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Bragging About A New Check-In System

November 5, 2008 at 9:45 AM | 0 Comments

Air New Zealand thinks it’s pretty clever. During the next month or so the national Kiwi carrier is introducing a bunch of so-called innovations which they say are world firsts at cutting check-in times at the airport.

Now, we do agree that Air New Zealand is good at doing new stuff: They were the proud hosts of the first perfect flight and they’ve got their flying concierges, too. But the changes they’re making to reduce check-in times all kinda sound like stuff we’ve heard before.

There’ll be lots of online options for advance check-in and seat selection, and you’ll be able to use a bar code on your cell phone as a boarding pass. A new array of check in kiosks and luggage handling systems will cut wait times, too.

The $30 million super system is meant to make it 40 percent faster for passengers and we’re definitely happy with that. We just think that claiming a “world first” might be blowing your own trumpet just a bit too loudly.

Related Stories:
· Air New Zealand’s World First Check-In System to Cut Queues [The Age]
· Perfect Flights: Only Air New Zealand Knew There Was Such a Thing [Jaunted]
· Air New Zealand Concierges Almost Ready [Jaunted]

[Photo: code_martial]

At Least One Air New Zealand FA Loves The Spice Girls

October 29, 2008 at 2:35 PM | 0 Comments

We've seen a drunk flight attendant, a Thai flight attendant soap opera and even the hottest modest flight attendants in Italy, but none of them prepared us for this epic clip of an Air New Zealand FA belting out Spice Girls tracks on an A320.

Keep this in mind next time your flight out of Auckland is delayed because the crew is still "servicing the cabin."

Related Stories:
· How to Get a Date with a Flight Attendant [Jaunted]

New Zealand Travel: Jetstar Wants Its Piece of the Pie

September 29, 2008 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

Qantas low-cost spin-off Jetstar has caught our attention again. Although we were quite distracted by its online rugby game, Jetstar has been busy elsewhere, starting rumors that they're going to gatecrash New Zealand and start up domestic flights across the country.

Locally-based airlines Air New Zealand and Pacific Blue aren't too keen on the idea. They're pretty sure there's only room for the two of them in the Kiwi domestic market and haven't enjoyed sharing a few routes with Qantas already.

When you stop to think about it, most tourists don't even need to fly around New Zealand anyway: Driving or camping are much more in. But since we still love that virtual rugby from Jetstar, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now.

Related Stories:
· Jetstar Could Enter (NZ) Domestic Market [Stuff.co.nz]
· Sports Travel: Rugby League, Virtual Style [Jaunted]
· Jetstar coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: monkeyc.net]

Retro Is Cool: Airlines Retrofit Winglets to Save Fuel Costs

September 16, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments

Ever heard of a winglet? We thought it might be something you buy at a fast food chicken franchise but apparently it's something that goes on the end of an airplane's wing. Because it reduces drag, it helps reduce fuel consumption. And that is a Very Good Thing, right?

Apparently winglets are standard issue on most new aircraft, but some airlines are so green that they're getting them retro-fitted. Hawaiian Airlines and Air New Zealand are two of the airlines who are loudly and proudly fitting winglets on their Boeing 767s, apparently at great cost now with a view to long-term savings in fuel consumption.

Winglets are something of a miracle fixture, in fact, because they also improve take-off capabilities and reduce engine maintenance costs. So, a little disappointingly, you can't eat winglets, but they're still doing us good.

Related Stories:
· Sexy New Fuel-Saving Winglets for Air NZ [NZ Herald]
· Hawaiian Airlines Orders Blended Winglets [Asia Travel Tips]

[Photo: cbcastro]