Air New Zealand (ANZ) is reviving the kudos of being able to circumnavigate the globe using a single carrier.
Readers with long memories will recall that the late Pan Am instigated RTW flights almost 30 years ago. At the time Pan Am incurred the wrath of trade body IATA (International Air Transport Association) by offering a special fare in the form of a loyalty discount. Pan Am's ticket went on to become a big seller.
With the launch of daily London-Hong Kong-Auckland flights on October 29 (see Online news, April 6) ANZ is set emulate Pan Am's concept as it offers London-Auckland flights via either Asia or North America.
This has prompted London agent Austravel to devise a special fare for ANZ's RTW service. Lead-in prices for the basic routing covering London-Hong Kong-Auckland-Los Angeles-London are £789 for Economy class, £1,415 for Premium Economy and £2,688 for Business class. Stopovers are allowed in every city but note that taxes, charges and fees will inflate these rates.
Passengers can pay extra and make sidetrips to NZ domestic cities along with Brisbane, Cairns, Sydney and Melbourne across the Tasman. Other possibilities include Tahiti, Fiji and San Francisco. Most if not all these sectors will be with ANZ too.
ANZ's B747-400s used on the London route all feature the carrier's new long-haul products. Legroom in Economy class is 34 inches, Premium economy 38 to 40 inches while Business class consists of fully flat beds with almost 80 inches of space. Passengers deviating from the standard itinerary will find the new product on ANZ's B777s. Other B747s are in the process of being retrofitted.
For more information go to austravel.com, airnewzealand.co.uk
Report by Alex McWhirter
