Air NZ Removes “Seat Only” Fares to Perth, Hawaii & Tahiti

Over the past decade or so, there has been a clear trend in the airline industry to “unbundle” airfares.

For the increasingly prominent low-cost carriers, selling cheap tickets with optional add-ons is a core part of the business model. But even some full-service legacy carriers have launched “light” or “basic” fares in recent years which exclude things like checked luggage, seat selection, meals or frequent flyer benefits.

Air New Zealand was one of the first full-service airlines to unbundle its fares. It introduced Seats to Suit on its international flights to Australia and the Pacific Islands in 2010, removing perks like checked baggage, in-flight entertainment and complimentary meals from the cheaper Economy fare types. Instead of providing an all-inclusive service, Air New Zealand began asking passengers to pay extra for a “The Works” fare in order to receive those extra benefits.

But in a surprise move, Air New Zealand is now re-introducing full service on its flights between Auckland and Perth, Papeete and Honolulu.

Last week, Air New Zealand removed its “Seat” and “Seat+Bag” fares from sale on its Perth and Papeete routes. It will do the same for its Auckland-Honolulu route on 30 October 2022.

From 30 October, all passengers on those flights will receive a complimentary checked baggage allowance, meals, drinks and full access to movies on the in-flight entertainment system.

This move is surprising because it’s the opposite of what most other airlines are doing. Air New Zealand said it decided to make these changes to enhance the customer experience some of its longer flights following customer research.

In 2018, Virgin Australia added free checked bags and meals to its trans-Tasman flights. But this was done as a result of the airline ending its trans-Tasman partnership with Air New Zealand which had required Virgin to provide the same levels of service until that point.

How has this affected airfares?

We checked fares on the Auckland-Perth route before and after this change was implemented. While the Seat and Seat+Bag fare options are no longer available, there haven’t been any significant changes to the price of a “The Works” ticket.

When we checked on 18 October, these fares were available for travel from Perth to Auckland on 4 March 2023:

And this is what’s available on the Air New Zealand website today:

The price for all cabin classes has increased by $1 since last week, but that’s likely due to a slight change in taxes or exchange rate variations.

For the return leg, there have been no changes to airfares other than the removal of the cheaper categories. This is what was available last week:

And this is what’s offered for sale now:

Wamos Air to operate Air New Zealand’s Perth-Auckland flights over summer

Separately, Air New Zealand plans to wet lease an Airbus A330-200 from Spanish charter airline Wamos Air over the upcoming summer period for its Auckland-Perth flights.

Normally operated by an Air New Zealand Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the Perth-Auckland route will be operated by Wamos Air between 15 November 2022 and 16 February 2023. These aircraft feature lie-flat Business seating and a reasonably comfortable Economy cabin, but there’s no Premium Economy or Economy Skycouch available.

All passengers on these flights will receive full service including in-flight entertainment, meals and drinks on board, even if they previously booked a Seat or Seat+Bag fare.

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.