By ANGELA GREGORY
New Zealanders are continuing to rally behind their national carrier after major newspaper advertisements called for people to give up their air points.
The advertisements, which ran last Thursday, appealed to the nation to fly Air New Zealand and donate air points to the company.
Breakfast cereal maker Dick
Hubbard paid for the $26,000 campaign and pledged his own 100,000 unused air points, worth about $3000 in free air travel.
Mr Hubbard said the call attracted a huge response.
"Our office has been virtually inundated with e-mails expressing support and a large number of letters."
Mr Hubbard said a few dissenters did not see why shareholders Brierley Investments and Singapore Airlines should be helped.
"But they are just one in about every 50. I sense that the mood of the country is swinging behind this. People believe we have got to pitch in."
Mr Hubbard had invited those willing to surrender their air points to send a confidential letter labelled Help Air New Zealand Campaign to Hubbard Foods, which would forward them.
Air New Zealand spokeswoman Val Hayes said the company had also received directly about one dozen letters from customers offering back air points.
Val Hayes said Air New Zealand was grateful for Mr Hubbard's campaign.
She said other messages of support had come from the public, business associations, and the tourism industry.
Air New Zealand flight attendant Daniel Thomas, who helped organise a subsequent published letter from the 9000 company staff, said the airline crews were getting strong support on flights.
"The day it went in the newspaper passengers were wishing us luck and saying they were right behind us. It was great for morale."
Other publications were now asking to help distribute the advertisements, he said.
A Christchurch businesswoman, Peri Drysdale, said she would donate all her air points if it would help the airline and save jobs.
She said her air points would equate to about 13 trips around the world.
"It would be a cheap price to pay for saving an airline."
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