Air New Zealand has moved to extend international fare flexibility for customers booked to travel on its international services and for those who currently have fares in credit. The airline said that the following changes will come into effect from Wednesday, February 17, 2021:

• Customers who hold an existing credit with the airline will now have until 30 June 2022 to make a new booking using their credit, and until 30 June 2023 to take the travel. This applies to both domestic and international credits.
• Customers who book or currently hold tickets for international flights scheduled to depart up until 11.59pm on 30 June 2021 will now be able to:
• Hold the value of their fare in credit for rebooking until 30 June 2022; or
• Amend the date of their flight with change fees waived (normal fare difference may still apply)

Air New Zealand’s Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty says the extension of the policy means customers can rest assured their credit will remain valid for longer as circumstances continue to change. SEE: Dramatic image of Boeing's 777X in Alaska. “We’ve seen many of our customers using their credits already and we’re hopeful Tasman and Pacific travel will be up and running over the coming months. For those wanting to go further afield, we recognise this may take longer, which is why we’ve extended the window for opting into credit as well as the length of time people have to use that credit. “With our domestic network now back up and running at around 80 percent of pre-COVID-19 capacity, we’re glad to see customers continuing to return to New Zealand’s skies. From 1 April 2021 normal fare rules for domestic travel will resume, and customers can continue to book with confidence using our flexible fare options such as Flexidate or Flexitime which provide greater flexibility should they need or wish to change their travel plans. “We really appreciate our customers standing by us throughout the difficulties of COVID-19. We look forward to getting Kiwis to more destinations on our international network as soon as we’re able to.”