KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand intends to do away with check-in counters and queuing at domestic airports, but says staff will still be on hand for passengers needing help.
Some of the changes planned were foreshadowed by Air NZ's chief executive, Rob Fyfe, earlier this year, and were shown in
a video to shareholders at their annual meeting last week.
Speaking after the meeting, Fyfe said the major airport changes, together with the dual zoning of seats in the airline's domestic B737-300s, would be introduced around August next year, but other changes could be tested as early as April.
The first steps have already been taken with the increasing proportion of passengers either checking in online, indicating their seat preference and printing out their electronic tickets and boarding passes, or obtaining their boarding passes at airport kiosks.
Baggage still needs to be checked in but Fyfe said that next year this would no longer be necessary for many passengers.
Air NZ will issue its regular customers with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that can stay attached to their bags. RFID baggage can be placed directly on a conveyor belt, the tag enabling the system to identify the passenger, match name with the flight and destination booked, and direct the bag to the appropriate baggage channel.
Baggage check-in will remain available, but passengers with RFID baggage will then be able to proceed directly to the departure gate.
As boarding passes already have bar codes, all passengers will be able to board their aircraft by waving their passes in front of a screen.
The 60 to 70 seats with extended space, intended mainly for frequent flyers and business travellers, will be located in the front rows of the B737s, with the smaller pitch seats to the rear.
Fyfe said Air NZ was looking to expand its valet car parking system for frequent flyers and business customers. With the high price of airport parking, the airline was exploring whether it could provide a more competitively priced service.
For customers travelling less often but paying a top-end fare, Air NZ is considering providing them with free valet parking and access to lounges, which are to be extended. Other changes have already been introduced, with low "Grabaseat" fares extended to all routes, not just those flown by Qantas and Pacific Blue.
In an attempt to make the experience of air travel more enjoyable Air NZ is planning to use the video screens to update news, and provide coverage of destinations.
A "happy hour" is also being considered, with free food and drinks, and the airline is exploring how it might "upgrade its coffee to a cafe standard". Theme flights will be introduced on domestic routes. Three - Flight of the Fairies, MTV and Fashion Week - have been successfully flown across the Tasman.
Fyfe said Air NZ had spent a lot of time taking cost out of the domestic services and was now looking at adding "flavour and character".
One of the challenges, he said, would be to make sure the airport companies and especially the security agency "can work with us and don't become the bottleneck".
* David Stone is an independent aviation commentator.