What You Need to Know About Flying with Air New Zealand

Domestic Flights with Air New Zealand

There are around 20 domestic flight destinations in New Zealand with Air New Zealand. Each Air New Zealand domestic flight is a quick check-in process with multiple ticket options and light drinks and snacks are served on the flight.

Domestic Flight Tickets and Air New Zealand Baggage Allowance

With Air New Zealand there are four types of domestic flight tickets:

• Seat: The cheapest type of flight ticket including your seat and one carry-on baggage
• Seat + Bag: Seat, carry-on baggage and one check-in baggage is included
• Flexi Time: Seat, carry-on and check-in baggage is included with the ability to change your flight time
• Flexi Time Plus: A refundable ticket with seat, carry-on and two pieces of check-in baggage is included. Your flight day, time, destination or origin can all be changed.

Air New Zealand is Not the Only Airline in New Zealand

It may surprise you but it is true, New Zealand has several domestic airlines serving cities small and big. You can compare several domestic routes, add-on packages and other airlines such as Jetstar, Sounds Air and more, as listed in our guide to the Domestic Flights in New Zealand.

Check-in on Air New Zealand Domestic Flights

You must check-in to your flight 20-30 minutes before your domestic flight’s departure time, or 60 minutes before departure if your domestic flight is connecting with an international flight.

You can check-in on the Air New Zealand website, on the Air New Zealand app or at the airport. Checking in via the Air New Zealand website or app will give you a boarding pass to scan (note you cannot print a boarding pass yourself – it must be on your mobile device). When checking in at the airport, you will be given a printed boarding pass.

Find out more about flying domestically in New Zealand with our guide to Domestic Flights in New Zealand.

Long-Haul International Flight with Air New Zealand

Here’s what to expect when taking a long-haul Air New Zealand flight. Air New Zealand does long-haul flights to the Americas and the United Kingdom. By the way, learn How to Prepare for a Long Haul Flight.

Long-haul International Flight Tickets and Air New Zealand Baggage Allowance

There are four types of long-haul flight experiences you can have with Air New Zealand, which are as follows:

• Economy: This includes your seat, carry-on bag, check-in baggage and in-flight meals.
• Economy Skycouch: Same inclusions as Economy, except the seat is upgraded to economy-style seating with fold-up footrests. Passengers get the whole row of seating to themselves or with people they are travelling with.
• Premium Economy: Roomier seats than Economy, two pieces of carry-on baggage, two pieces of check-in baggage, and Premium in-flight meals.
• Business Premier: Lie-flat armchair, two pieces of carry-on baggage, three pieces of check-in baggage and Premier in-flight meals.

Check-in on Air New Zealand International Flights

As per the Air New Zealand international check-in policy, you must check-in to your flight 90 minutes before (or 2 hours if travelling to/from the USA) your international flight’s departure time.

You can check-in on the Air New Zealand website or app 24 hours before your flight. Alternatively, you can check-in at the airport (which is the most popular method of check-in, as passengers tend to need to check-in baggage for long-haul flights). Some airports also have Air New Zealand check-in kiosks which will print your boarding passes and bag tags to take your check-in baggage to the baggage drop-off.

Air New Zealand In-flight Meals

There are three types of menus on Air New Zealand long-haul flights: Economy, Premium Economy and Business Premier. All meals are included in your flight ticket and usually come with a selection of New Zealand wines and other beverages.

Air New Zealand In-flight Entertainment

Every seat on long-haul Air New Zealand flights has its own inflight entertainment unit with a wide selection of movies, TV shows, games, radio shows and audiobooks. Touch-screen TVs are situated on the back of the seat in front of you, where you can also view the flight map and order food and drinks.

For more tips on flying to New Zealand, check out our guide, Arriving in New Zealand: Airport Customs, Biosecurity & the Arrival Process.

Flights to/from Australia and South Pacific with Air New Zealand

Your experience crossing the Tasman Sea to Australia or visiting the Pacific Islands provides another experience with Air New Zealand. These are considered short-haul flights with Air New Zealand.

Short-haul International Flight Tickets and Air New Zealand Baggage Allowance

There are six types of flights tickets you can purchase when flying with Air New Zealand to their short-haul destinations:

• Seat: The cheapest type of flight ticket including your seat, one carry-on baggage and tea or coffee.
• Seat + Bag: Seat, carry-on baggage, one check-in baggage is included and tea or coffee.
• TheWorks: Seat, carry-on baggage, one check-in baggage, in-flight entertainment and in-flight meal.
• Works Deluxe: Two seats to yourself, carry-on baggage, two pieces of checked-in baggage, in-flight entertainment and in-flight meal.
• Premium Economy: Roomier seat, two pieces of carry-on baggage, two pieces of check-in baggage, in-flight entertainment and Premium in-flight meals.
• Business Premier: Lie-flat armchair, two pieces of carry-on baggage, three pieces of check-in baggage, in-flight entertainment and Premier in-flight meals.

We suggest using meta flight search engines to find out if Air New Zealand is your best option when flying in Australia or the South Pacific Islands. There are hundreds of routes and dozens of companies to compare.

Check-in on Air New Zealand International Flights

As per the Air New Zealand international check-in policy, you must check-in to your flight 90 minutes before your international flight’s departure time. You can check-in on the Air New Zealand website or app 24 hours before your flight. Alternatively, you can check-in at the airport. Some airports also have Air New Zealand check-in kiosks which will print your boarding passes and bag tags to take your check-in baggage to the baggage drop-off.

Air NZ Short-haul In-flight Meals

Tea, coffee and water are served to everyone on flights free-of-charge. In-flight meals are included in some flight tickets (see above), with Premium Economy and Business Premier having different menus. Food can also be purchased by anyone on Air New Zealand flights.

Air New Zealand In-flight Entertainment

In-flight entertainment is only available to The Works, Works Deluxe, Premium Economy and Business Premier ticket-holders. Each seat has its own inflight entertainment unit with a wide selection of movies, TV shows, games, radio shows and audiobooks. Touch-screen TVs are situated on the back of the seat in front of you, where you can also view the flight map and order food and drinks.

For more tips on flying between the Pacific Islands and Australia, see Planning a Trip from New Zealand to Australia and our South Pacific Island guides.

Air New Zealand Extras

Here are a few extra tips you need to know when flying with Air New Zealand on any one of their flights.

Baggage on Air New Zealand Flights

The maximum baggage weight and size will be on your e-ticket if you have booked directly with Air New Zealand. Usually, the maximum checked-in baggage weight is 23kg (50lbs) and the size is 158cm (62″) when adding the length, width and height of the bag together. As for carry-on baggage, the maximum weight is 7kg (15lbs) with the maximum size being 118cm (46″). Additionally, you can carry-on one small item like a small handbag or laptop.

Extra baggage can be added to your ticket at an additional cost. Premium Economy, Business and connecting Business passengers, plus Airpoints Gold, Elite and Star Alliance Gold members get a larger baggage allowance.

Airpoints

Air New Zealand has its own frequent-flier program called Airpoints. If you are a local or staying in New Zealand for an extended period, it’s worth joining up to Airpoints where you not only gain points for flying with Air New Zealand, you also gain points by shopping with leading New Zealand retailers and supermarkets. Points can be spent toward airfares or even through the Airpoints store to purchase a huge range of tangible goods.

Koru and International Lounges

The Air New Zealand Lounges, or Koru Lounges, are airport lounges with comfortable seating, snacks, drinks and entertainment. They can be found in New Zealand airports and five international airports around the world. Access to the Koru Lounge is via membership to Airpoints Elite, Gold, Elite Partner, or Koru. Additionally, some Star Alliance partners may have access too.