Air New Zealand has further boosted its commitment to regional New Zealand, by offering the opportunity for frequent flyers to slash the cost of their travel.
The airline's new Starfish Card will see customers receive an automatic 15% or 30% discount on all regional airfare types, including the ridiculously low grabaseat fares.
The new Starfish card, which is valid for one year from date of purchase, will initially be on sale for a two month trial period.
"Our frequent regional flyers have told us they'd like the option of getting even more value for money in recognition of their travel needs," says Air New Zealand Group General Manager Australasia Bruce Parton.
"I've visited customers in twenty towns and cities over the past couple of months listening to this feedback and as a result at the end of next month we will launch the new Starfish card giving big discounts."
This is one of several regional customer initiatives that the airline will be rolling out over the coming year.
"The Starfish card will appeal to the tens of thousands of customers who travel frequently to and from regional New Zealand. Small to medium businesses will find this card particularly attractive as they start to recover from the effects of the global recession," says Mr Parton.
"We expect to see stimulation in demand as customers maximise the opportunity to travel at lower costs than ever before."
Frequent flyers can purchase from two discount options, costing $200 for a 15% discount or $800 for a 30% discount, which applies across all regional airfares including grabaseat, Smart Saver and Flexi Plus fares.
The product will be available for purchase exclusively online through www.myairnz.co.nz from the end of August, with all flight bookings made by logging onto your account via www.airnewzealand.co.nz or www.myairnz.co.nz automatically receiving the discount for one year.
The Starfish card applies to Air New Zealand regional flights, which are defined as originating from or departing to the regional airports:
| Blenheim | Kerikeri | Palmerston North | Wanaka |
| Gisborne | Masterton | Rotorua | Wanganui |
| Hamilton | Napier | Taupo | Whakatane |
| Hokitika | Nelson | Tauranga | Whangarei |
| Invercargill | New Plymouth | Timaru | Westport |
| Kaitaia |
Services between the main city ports of Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch and Queenstown are not included.
"The 15% discount card will provide value for money for those regional customers who currently spend more than $1,400 per year with us, or for those who spend more than $4,000 per year the 30% discount card will be ideal," says Mr Parton.
Anyone can purchase the card and non-Airpoints members will automatically be provided with an Airpoints membership with the joining fee waived.
Customers will continue to earn Airpoints and Status Points in the same way they do today, based on the fare purchased, and Airpoints can be used to purchase flights.
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Issued by Air New Zealand Public Affairs ph +64 9 336 2761
NOTE: The content of all Air New Zealand media releases are accurate at the time of issue, as stated at the top of each release. For updates on any changes, please contact Air New Zealand.
Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award, Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, bmi, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Air India has been announced as a future member. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers over 21,200 daily flights to 1,172 airports in 181 countries.
For more information about Air New Zealand visit www.airnewzealand.com and for more information about Star Alliance visit www.staralliance.com.
