Air New Zealand introduced changes to its baggage prices last week, with fees increasing for many travellers.
The new prices — for pre-paid, excess and overweight baggage, as well as domestic pet carriage — came into force on Thursday.
The changes applied only to bookings made from May 23 onwards.
“Like many Kiwis and businesses, we are experiencing a high-cost environment, which means we’re having to adjust pricing across several areas,” chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said in a statement to 1News today.
“We always recommend adding extra bags at the time of booking, or before travel, to avoid any excess baggage or overweight baggage fees. For excess and overweight baggage, customers pay one flat fee regardless of the size or weight of the item.”
In February chief executive Greg Foran said the carrier would be looking at ancillary costs, with travel agents being advised of the hikes in an industry newsletter last week.
For domestic flights, a pre-paid bag now costs $45 (up from $35) while excess baggage would set you back $60 (up from $45). If your bag was overweight, that used to cost $20 – but now the fee was twice that at $40.
For short haul flights, a pre-paid bag now costs $95 (up from $70), excess baggage now costs $115 (up from $90) and overweight bags now cost $80 (up from $40).
And for long-haul trips, it’s $160 (up from $120) for a pre-paid bag, $195 (up from $150) for excess baggage and $120 (up from $60) for an overweight bag.
“Please note, the pre-paid bag fees above are for additional bags purchased at the time of booking on top of a seat and bag fare domestically or a seat+bag fare on short haul services, or after booking and prior to travel,” Geraghty said.
The price for flying a pet has changed as well.
“When transporting furry friends, the cost to us to carry them is the same regardless of their size and weight, so we have decided to simplify our pet pricing and charge one flat rate of $120 for domestic travel,” Geraghty said.
Before last Thursday, it was $75 for pets up to 25kg and $100 for pets over 25kg.
