Jumpseating on Air New Zealand
 

hey I had a quick question about how jumpseating on ANZ would work. I work for Mesaba and know about the zed fare option but is there any other way to get there? Are there an US airlines who fly there? Any ideas of advice would be greatly appreciated!

I'll answer your question this way. . . don't bring up staff travel or jump-seating with an Air NZ pilot unless your prepared to listen to him/her start complaining.

Seriously though, we, air NZ pilots, PAY for the jump-seat. I had my father on staff travel out of SFO and was asked by the gate agent, a United guy, why with what we pay I didn't just buy a firm seat (basically we pay AD 75 standby and have no AD95 option period. Our firm staff travel is 25% off the full price on the day)as that is what he would/could have done, so yea, I wasn't impressed. As a matter of fact, I had better staff travel when I flew a CV580 out of the Gulf. To top it off, we have people in management who wave it in front of our face like a privilege, in about the same manner as one might deal with elementary school students. It is frustrating and angering at times, but that is a whole other story.

Basically, it is the worst in the industry and I really do not know why. All I get from the masses is "you should have seen it before", as in this is a huge improvement. The excuses are many and all equally ridiculous.

Of course this is all too bad as otherwise it is one of the best airlines in the world to work for; but that has much to do with the people I work with.

. . . told you not to ask.

OOOOOO Im really sorry I had no idea it was a touchy subject. Hopefully you can forgive my ignorance in the subject. Im almost afraid to ask but any idea on Qantas? Im just trying to find out what my options are and any ideas are welcomed. Thanks for the help and sorry again Koru!!!

Puckhead,

In regards to getting to NZ, I don't know of any pax airlines that'll let you jumpseat down there. You could try the cargo forum and see if any of the freight boys have any insight into it. I've always used the Zedfare on Qantas out of LAX which runs about $230 roundtrip (sorry Koru). AIRNZ was about $500-$600 last time I checked due to them only offering an ID90. They're nicer to ride on, but if you want to get there cheap, use QF. I've done it a number of times now and haven't had any problem getting there or back. Been tight a few times but still got on. Was given first class once but had to ride cattle the others. Beggars can't be choosers right..........
Let me know if you intend to use the zedfare on QF and I'll do my best to make the process as painless as possible for you, i.e. what terminal, how it works etc. Little different from riding domestically in the states. Hope this helps.

FlyingKiwi,

I appreciate the advice but seemed to have hit a snag. My friend and I are both pretty new hires and apparently when I called about the zed fare, I was told you had to have been at the airline for more than 6 months. I dont know if this is true or not but that is what I was told. Now if thats true and I couldnt find it anywhere on our company site that would mean I think Im SOL. Can you confirm this or offer any ideas? I really appreciate the help and hopefully I can figure something out!

Thanks

Yeah mate sorry to say but they're right. I'm pretty sure it differs though for different airlines. I know NZ & QF are 6 months, but I think to travel on United they only require you to have been at your company for 3 months. Not sure if that's going to help you or not.
Just had a quick look on Orbitz and it seems that UA flies LAX-Sydney Australia. If you wanted you could fly there and then just buy a cheap return ticket SYD-AKL-SYD. Not sure how cheap this would all work out. It may be best to just buy the airfare at full price and forget the hassle of standby..................... or wait the 6 months.

If all else fails, you could always ask Koru to smuggle you in his suitcase.

Well I tried and thats all i can do. Appreciate all the help and hopefully someday Ill get there!

PUCK-

I've been to both NZ and OZ. I had to buy a ticket to NZ as my former regional didn't participate in the ZED system. I had non-rev privileges with UAL but ANZ would not honor a UA ID90, even though they are part of the same global alliance team, or whatever.

OZ is quite a bit easier to get to as UA flies direct. I was able to buy a ZED fare the second time around and flew QA. They left the biz class section empty so they wouldn't over gross (I thought this was odd for 74-400 but they could have had a lot of cargo in the belly). This is really the easiest way to go UNLESS, call Atlas, Polar, FedEx, and UPS and ask about jumping with them. The freight haulers love have jumpers to break up the routine of the long flight. There may be issues with int'l jumpseat policies, but it never hurts to ask.

Hope this is useful to you. Fall on the south island is absolutely spectacular. Travel priveledges or not, I'd almost consider applying to ANZ just to live there. Too bad they're not accepting expats (yet? they should hire all the hire the locals they can get their hands on first though).

Well We decided to go to Sydney instead and go with UAL. NZ will have to wait until next time unfortunantly but it will be my first time in Sydney as well so that should be just as fun. Any thoughts on what to see or do? Any cant miss things?

Hi Koru,

What are the odds of this changing at Air NZ?

Cheers,
JD