Air New Zealand is gearing up for its busiest day of the year as customers in New Zealand and around the world make their way to their holiday destinations.
The airline is expecting to operate more than 600 flights across its network todayas more than 60,000 customers head away for the holiday break – this is 20,000 more customers than last year’s busiest day on the airline’s network.
Air New Zealand general manager Auckland Airports Todd Grace is advising travellers to allow additional time to get to and through the airport they are travelling from.
"Naturally airports are going to be much busier than usual so we’re asking customers to be as patient as possible as our staff both on the ground and in the air work to get everyone to their holiday destination.
"Customers are also encouraged to take out travel insurance so they’re covered in any unexpected situation and to sign up to Air New Zealand’s Travel Alerts service in case we need to make contact with them in the event of any travel disruption."
Air New Zealand’s busiest route will be Auckland-Christchurch on Friday, December 20.
The airline is also calling on customers to show respect to each other and airline staff over the busy summer season.
Air New Zealand has issued a record number of warning letters and travel bans to customers this year.
"Sadly, we have seen an increase in the number of customers behaving inappropriately to each other or toward our staff. This has included verbal and physical abuse," says chief operational integrity and standards officer David Morgan.
"We’re also seeing more instances of customers trying to overindulge in alcohol in lounges or in-flight. The upshot of the poor behavior is that we have issued 15 percent more warning letters to customers this year and seen a 60 per cent lift in the number of customers who have been banned from travel on the airline for between one and five years.
"We want all our customers to have an enjoyable experience and won’t tolerate poor behavior toward each other or our staff, who try to go the extra mile to deliver a world-class uniquely Kiwi experience."
