Can you guess when Air New Zealand’s busiest day of the year is? It’s actually going to be tomorrow (Friday 20 December), as customers in New Zealand and around the world make their way to their holiday destinations.
Ahead of this busy time, the airline is calling on customers to show respect to each other and to airline staff.
It comes after 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,” Chief Operational Integrity and Standards Officer David Morgan said.
“This has included verbal and physical abuse. We’re also seeing more instances of customers trying to overindulge in alcohol in lounges or in-flight”.
Air New Zealand’s Chief Operational Integrity and Standards Officer David Morgan
He said owing to this, 15 per cent more warning letters have had to be issued customers this year.
It has also resulted in a 60% uptick in the number of customers who have been banned from travel on the airline for between one and five years.
The airline is expecting to operate more than 600 flights across its network tomorrow as 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,” he said.
“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 20 December.
