Air New Zealand extends credit into 2024 as passengers unmoved by fares

Half a million passengers were set to see their credit expire this summer. Photo / Daneil Norris, Unsplash

Air New Zealand has extended customer credit lines as low availability and high fares have left passengers with few opportunities to use it.

The carrier has pushed out the expiry date of its credit programme until the beginning of 2024, with many passengers holding credit that was due to expire.

The company says that there were around 500,000 passengers whose credit was set to expire by the beginning of next year.

Any passengers holding credit on 30 September 2022 will have until the end of January 2024 to book travel using this credit.

Given the network is not yet at pre-covid capacity, and some international routes yet to return, many passengers with cancelled flights had not had the opportunity to use their credit.

Four fifths of credit is due to expire before this summer, said the airline.

"Given New Zealand's border has only fully reopened in the last couple of months, we think it's the right thing to do to extend the expiry of credits given customers haven't had many opportunities to use them," said the airline's head of Customer Leanne Geraghty.

The airline hopes new routes, including the flagship Auckland - New York direct service which launches this weekend, will entice passengers to use credit held with the airline.

Another factor keeping passengers from using credit is the prohibitively high cost of air travel at the moment.

Lack of capacity and the soaring cost of jet fuel have seen international and domestic air fares skyrocket.

On Wednesday, Air NZ chief executive Greg Foran told the Herald that on average domestic fares are up 20 per cent over a three week period.

The return of more seats and more rival airlines will hopefully put some downwards pressure on fares.

Australian carrier Qantas recently announced it would be going head to head with Air New Zealand, launching its own Auckland to New York service from June, next year.

Any new credits issued from 1 October 2022 will have a 12-month expiry date to book new flights and a further 12 months to travel.