Air New Zealand customers who hold credit directly with the airline can now manage their credit online instead of having to go through the airline’s call centre.

New Zealand’s flag carrier has launched a new digital credit redemption tool to allow customers to manage their booking credits online.

The carrier says the new online tool enables more than 300,000 customers who purchased a ticket with New Zealand Dollars to view a breakdown of their credit, including seat selection or carbon emissions offset, and use their credit to book new flights.

However, the online tool can only process credit from single bookings. Customers with multiple flights will still need to call Air New Zealand’s contact centre. International customers and those who have booked through a travel agent currently can’t use the new tool to manage credit either.

According to Auckland-based newspaper The New Zealand Herald, the move comes following an apology from the airline to customers frustrated at the slow re-booking process.

Air New Zealand chief commercial and customer officer Cam Wallace says offering a self-service tool will make it simpler for customers to use their credit, without having to call the airline’s contact centre.

“We know this hasn’t been quick to resolve, and we would like to thank our customers for their patience. Pre-Covid-19, we didn’t have the systems in place for customers to redeem credits at this scale, so our teams have had to build this long-term solution from scratch

“Customers now have more flexibility with using their credits, including the ability to use credit from an international flight to book a domestic one and vice versa, and for the credit owner to choose who the credit is used for. We’ve also extended the period in which customers can use their credit – they have until 31 December 2021 to book and a further 12 months after booking to travel,” said Wallace.

If customers do not use the full value of their credit in one booking, the remaining balance will be available to view and use for as long as the credit is valid, says the carrier.

The airline says it is proactively emailing customers who have a fare in credit with Air New Zealand to let them know this tool is now available on the website.

Air New Zealand says it is also working on a solution for its international customers and those who have booked through a travel agent. There are also a number of ticket types that will not have access to this tool immediately, for example group bookings. A solution is also being worked on for these, says the carrier.

airnewzealand.com