The airline has seen a huge increase in demand for travel to and from Christchurch over the past 24 hours and flights have been generally operating at or near capacity.
Compassionate fares
The airline has had compassionate fare assistance in place since Friday which has seen it offer free travel to immediate family of deceased as well as discounted compassionate fares to other affected friends and family with close to 100 bookings made so far, including a number of group bookings. The airline’s contact centre teams has been asking callers since Friday about their reason for travelling to Christchurch to ensure they proactively identify customers travelling to support the families of the victims.
Ticket flexibility
Air New Zealand introduced travel flexibility on Friday allowing any customer booked to travel on services to or from Christchurch over the weekend to automatically have the option to change or rebook any tickets without incurring any change fees or difference in fare. Customers are advised to consult the airline’s Travel Alerts page for more details.
All destination Christchurch domestic bookings made with Air New Zealand after 3.00pm on Friday, March 15, will be refunded back to the level of the reduced fares.
Other support
Beyond the measures Air New Zealand has introduced for customers affected by the shooting tragedy in Christchurch, it has also been working closely with the Prime Minister’s office to support the transport of key people to Christchurch including emergency services personnel.
The airline has transported more than 70 Police officers from around New Zealand to Christchurch and various emergency support personnel, including eight specialist doctors from Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington and Tauranga.
The airline has also been working with the wider Muslim community to facilitate travel to Christchurch to assist with arrangements.
