Air New Zealand adds flexibility for Cyclone Gabrielle
The airline is working closely with relevant authorities to understand the severity of the cyclone and will be working through any required amendments to its schedule over the next 48 hours.
Air New Zealand Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty says the airline will do everything in its power to limit the impact of the cyclone on travel plans however customers should be prepared as there may be some delays or cancellations.
"Teams around the business have kicked into gear to start planning for any disruptions to our network due to Cyclone Gabrielle. We will do everything we can to limit the impact on our schedule, however, with severe winds forecast for the North Island, it's likely we'll need to make some changes."
"We encourage those with non-urgent travel, travelling to, from or through Auckland, Whangarei, Kerikeri, Tauranga, Hamilton and New Plymouth between Sunday 12 February and Friday 17 February to consider use of our flexibility policy. Customers can either hold their fare in credit for 12 months or rebook in the same class of travel between Sunday 12 February 2023 and Wednesday 22 February 2023 without fare difference, penalty or service fees."
Customers who may be impacted by changes to the airline's schedule will be emailed directly. The airline advises customers to keep an eye on their Air NZ app and the travel alerts page of the Air New Zealand website for up-to-date information.
"We thank our customers while we work to plan for this weather event. At this stage, our customer care teams don't have any more detail around potential schedule changes so we ask customers to bear with us and we will be in touch once we have more information. We will continue to update our website with more information as we monitor and plan for Cyclone Gabrielle".
Air New Zealand's contact centre is currently receiving thousands of calls. The airline advises customers to only call if your enquiry is urgent but to rest assured it's working through the potential impact of this weather event as a priority.
Air New Zealand will continue to monitor the situation and advise any changes to the flexibility policy guidelines. Should there be an improvement in the weather the flexibility guidelines will cease and will revert to standard fares conditions.
Given that the airline is focused on managing these impacts for our customers, it will not be able to provide specific flight details or impacted customer numbers at this time.
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Issued by Air New Zealand Communications.
Email: media@airnz.co.nz │Phone: +64 21 747 320│Twitter: @AirNZMedia
About Air New Zealand
Air New Zealand's story started in 1940, first taking to the skies between Auckland and Sydney on a flying boat - a Short S30. Known for its warm Kiwi hospitality, today, the airline has 104 operating aircraft ranging from Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and Airbus A320s to ATRs and Q300s, offering customers comfort in the latest most efficient jets and turboprops. It's a modern fuel-efficient fleet with an average age of 7.3 years. Air New Zealand's global network of passenger and cargo services centres around New Zealand. Pre-Covid, the airline flew more than 17 million passengers every year, with 3,400 flights per week. Air New Zealand was recently named the World's Safest Airline by the Australian rating service AirlineRatings.com, highlighting the airline's laser-focus on safety. Last year, Air New Zealand won Best Corporate Reputation in New Zealand – 8th year in a row.
Air New Zealand has a well-connected domestic business, connecting customers and cargo to 20 different regions around New Zealand. Internationally, the airline has direct flights to major cities across Australia, Asia, the Pacific Islands and the US, and through its strong relationships with alliance partners, offers customers more choice and convenience to connect further afield to hundreds of destinations. Air New Zealand has a particular focus on sustainability and its Sustainability Framework helps guide the airline's efforts in tackling some of New Zealand's and the world's most complex challenges. Air New Zealand aircraft are proudly identified by its distinct tail livery of the Mangōpare, the Māori symbol of the hammerhead shark which represents strength, tenacity, and resilience.
About Star Alliance
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 recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,321 airports in 193 countries.