Air New Zealand ditches free biscuits

[flyjoe180]

Now even the biccies have been taken away... Its all class on Air New Zealand!

Air New Zealand's complimentary biscuit has been dumped in favour of 'buy your own' gourmet snacks in an overhaul of the airline's inflight services.

From Monday, the free biscuits are off the menu on all Boeing 737 planes flying between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.

While tea, coffee and water will still be complimentary, the airline's reintroducing alcohol and soft drinks on late afternoon and evening flights.

Air New Zealand spokesperson Pam Wong says a gourmet sandwich will set a passenger back $6, a Mediterranean pesto pasta salad $7 and a tube of pringle chips $3.

www.tv3.co.nz/News/BusinessNews/tabid/192/Default.aspx?ArticleID=22772

[flyjoe180]

The ticket prices should go down now, big savings to be had by not serving biscuits!

[Dave Homewood]

Can't they contract this out to get cheap Chinese made biscuits?

Sorry, bad taste I know.

Actually last time i flew with Air NZ I was really impressed with the quality of their buiscuits, I'm not a fan of kiwifruit flavoured anything (especially kiwifruit) but the bicuits they served were deliscious and a real piece of kiwiana that would impress most tourists and locals using the service. It's a shame to hear they're going. But if the savings help retain jobs in Air NZ then so be it.

[phil82]

If air fares come down [which they won't] as a result of no free bikkies,[and they're not 'free'; nothing is free on an airline], then it's a good move. On our long flights, I always rely on my wife to produce nibbles like a biscuit or a dried apricot!.

Personally, I think it ridiculous to serve anything on a flight that's only an hour or less. Even on the Tasman run, who really needs a meal on a three-hour flight? Cut the air fare and I'll take a Mars Bar if I'm hungry. If you were at home in the time it takes to fly the ditch, would you have a meal outside of normal meal times? No, you wouldn't! The 'breakfast' served on Qantas out of Wellington is absolutely crap by the way, as are the aircraft.

I have also NEVER bought anything duty free on board an aircraft. Why would you when faced with the choice in most international terminals? Incidentally, Having been through a couple of terminal at Heathrow, I think the duty free areas are right up there. The last time in Terminal 4, I was entertained for the best part of an hour by a lovely gentleman who allowed me to taste a variety of single malt whiskies. I didn't buy any because Heathrow is not known as Theifrow for nothing, and the prices are much cheaper at Auckland, Wellington or Sydney. Still, I was quite mellow when we boarded the flight to St Petersburg!

The best meal served on those short European sectors was on CSA Czech airlines from Prague to Paris. A brilliant meal which made you feel like asking for more, a rare event for an airline meal!

[Bruce]

oh no - not the cookies!!!! surely they can lay off some groundies or engineers instead?

[Dave Homewood]

Sorry Colin but due to the terrorists in the Whitehouse we're no longer allowed to take our own packed lunch (or toiletries, etc, etc) in case we do a Macgyver and turn it into a bomb!

And of course taking it on an international flight get's the greenie's backs up.

I agree the flights in NZ are too short for a meal these days, but it was always better than paying $5 for a pie at some airport's extortionate cafe while you wait the required hours between check in and boarding enforced nowadays.

I don't think Air NZ has served proper meals on internal flights for some time though, have they?

A cuppa tea or coffee is good to steady the nerves of some fliers, it takes their mind off it all. And keeps them occupied for 15 minutes trying to get the lid off the milk without spilling it everywhere.

But yes gone are the days when a flight in NZ lasts a couple of hours and you get really hungry along the way. I'd be much happier to take a Mars bar too and a bottle of water too, we're just not allowed to.

[beagle]

I remember one flight from either wellington or chc to dud and got a lovely cooked dinner plus a small bottle of red wine, infact with not too many of us on it, I got another bottle of wine and was feeling very merry when i got off.

what did they do for meals in the days of the DC3 etc, mind you they wouldn't have done direct dud wellington or akl to chc ??

RNZAF VIP flights were pretty good for food. One weekend I was working duty crew and a B727 came in from aussie all VIP. They had catered for about 90 but ended up only having about 20, so the boys were pigging out on cavier and all this roast pork etc for afternoon tea, then it was dessert time.
Probably doesn't happen now.

[corsair67]

I'm not a fan of kiwifruit flavoured anything (especially kiwifruit)

Mr Homewood, you are a very un-New Zealandish person! ;D

[chrisnpl]

In some ways we are back to the fifties lol!
NAC being a very utility minded airline, and having to fly to as many places as possible (economic or otherwise), as cheaply as possible, did not serve anything at all on its flights. You ate before the flight in the airport cafeteria, or you bought a packed lunch from home.

The one exception was Christchurch (Harewood) to Auckland (Whenuapai) - the direct flight taking three and a half hours.
Even NAC management conceded that a small snack might be a good idea on flights of that duration.

There was nowhere to heat water on the DC-3s, so a urn of hot water was placed behind the captain's seat, and another behind the co-pilots. The "hot" drinks were probably rather luke-warm by the time that they were served, and milk could not be carried on board as there was no way to keep it cool, and long-life milk hadn't been invented then.

Tea with lemon was served, or black instant coffee; with a sandwich or two (garnished with a small sprig of parsley of course), and a slice of cake or a biscuit.

You could also argue that with tickets AKL - CHC (direct) costing around £20 one way (approx $600 - 800 today); it was a little rude not to feed people!
And yet, even with prices like that around 20% of New Zealanders flew during the 1950s - even then we were one of the most airminded nations in the world - it was the easiest way to get about; there was no interisland car ferry until 1962 (Picton - Wellington); although the steamer from Wellington to Lyttelton had been going for years, and roads were much worse then than they are now.

[Dave Homewood]

corsair67 said:

I'm not a fan of kiwifruit flavoured anything (especially kiwifruit)

Mr Homewood, you are a very un-New Zealandish person! ;D

Hmmm, coming from a Kiwi who owns a Wallabies shirt and a Brumbies shirt, that's very insulting. If it helps to re-establish my nationalistic fervour, I don't mind the yellow ones they call Zespris!

[corsair67]

Hmmm, coming from a Kiwi who owns a Wallabies shirt and a Brumbies shirt, that's very insulting.

;D ;D

I used to own an All Black shirt, but now that they're made from that horrid polyester fabric, I refuse to buy/wear one.

I know what I'm going to wear at Omaka now!

[beagle]

how many games has the chiefs won

[Dave Homewood]

Chiefs? Who cares. Super 14 is the Anti-Rugby. I refuse to watch it. Rupert Murdoch's bloody way of killing NPC.

[Peter Lewis]

Christchurch to Wellington late 1960s by NAC.
Last flight Saturday - ie about 7pm.
Those passengers in the front of the cabin got a hot drink.
Those at the back of the cabin got a cold drink.
Those in the centre of the cabin got nothing, as they'd run out.

Long live Government airlines!

[beagle]

You said we are no longer permitted to take our own packed lunch onto a flight. Is this internal or international.
I have not flown domestic for at least 8 years.

One of the last SATS flights me and my fiancee did on a 727, we opened up our bag and laid out our sandwiches, cake, biscuits etc, which was fun and enjoyable, but sounds like it is now sit, down, shut up , don't move and enjoy the flight..

[Dave Homewood]

Beagle, I was actually being fascisist, tongue in cheek, over all these ridiculous nonsense regulations we are having imposed upon us becuse of some trifling incident half a world away.

The terrorists won long ago, our lives are being disrupted, altered and oppressed and we're not even iun the f*****g war! As mentioned, it's the terrorists in the Whitehouse running it all, they are the oppressors who've systematically spread fear and terror throughout the world neddlessly. Bunch of c***s.

We certainly are no longer allowed liquid on internal flights if I heard right the other day. I'm sure it will soon apply to Mars Bars if not already.

Incidentally I heard today on the radio that Qantas will no longer fly Wellington to Chch, they have taken the route off their schedule and handed Air NZ a monopoly.

[beagle]

so if you bought a bottle of coke before you boardedand only drunk a small amoutn before boarding, you would be denied boarding.
If is this Air NZ only or Qantas as well

[Dave Homewood]

That's a Government decree, not an airline one. It is to be introduced very soon, just like it has been everywhere else in the US-influenced world.

[Bruce]

Personally I couldnt care less whether ther was a food service onboard or not, as most legs in NZ dont warrant it - even the bikkies arent a highlight of an airline trip for me. The trip I just took HN - CH was 2 and a bit hours in the ATR over great scenery. It was good to get the little cup of water (The Aircon does tend to dry you out) but it was irratating that they didnt collect the cup until just before descent. I was trying to read John Kings Book on homebuilding, but I couldnt work out where to stow the damn cup - The tray table is annoying and gets in the way of the book, and there are no rubbish recptacles anyway big enough for it....
The other annoying thing is that last time I transited through wellington at about 6pm, with after a trip from Dunedin, and still another hour and a bit back to HN, thought it would be a good time to grab a bit of dinner in the terminal, and all the food places are shut! Hundreds of people around, all feeling like a snack, but having to resort to the vending machines. I did contact the Wellington Airport co to complain, and aparently they have reconsidered the opening times for the food court places, but I havent been through since to see if there is any improvement - can anyone report?

[Dave Homewood]

Oh, and do you recall how Air New Zealand domestic prices went down last month? Well this new crap will no doubt put them all up again.

See here
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dailynews/3963327a34.html

New air security set to raise fares
By ANNA CHALMERS - The Dominion Post | Friday, 16 February 2007

The cost of air travel is likely to rise after the introduction of strict new aviation security measures.

The new rules will ban all but small containers of liquid - including water bottles - on international flights.

More than 160 extra security staff are being hired to minimise disruption, with additional monitoring said to cost $4.50 per passenger, Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven said.

It was likely there would be a small fare increase but not through a separate levy, he said. "People will be paying that as part of their ticket price."

From March 31, international travellers will only be able to carry liquids, gels and aerosols in containers of 100ml or less on to an aircraft.

Passengers must carry 100ml containers in a resealable plastic bag no bigger than a litre in volume - similar to a resealable sandwich bag.

Medicines, baby food and essential dietary supplies will be exempt but subject to additional security checks.

At an awareness campaign launch in Wellington yesterday, Mr Duynhoven said New Zealand was adopting the rules because they would apply to most international flights.

The measures already exist in the United States, Europe and Canada. Australia will also introduce the rules.

There was chaos in the UK when the rules were introduced in August, days after a foiled terror attack on an aircraft said to involve liquid explosives disguised as water bottles.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation has since recommended the measures be introduced.

Aviation Security Service chief executive Mark Everitt said New Zealand had to follow international trends.

Transport officials said it was likely travellers who bought duty-free liquids and were passing through a country with such a policy would have their purchase taken by security staff. Other duty-free purchases would not be affected.