$39 standby airfares for Waikato and Otago Uni and Polytech students

Students at Otago and Waikato Universities and Polytechnics are for the next four weeks able to buy $39 standby fares and travel on Air New Zealand to anywhere in the country.

The trial promotion commences on Monday 7 September and ends Sunday 4 October, enabling students to turn up at Hamilton or Dunedin airports and purchase one way or a return ticket on flights that have unsold seats.

Air New Zealand General Manager Domestic Airline John Whittaker says the idea was to gauge interest in last minute travel.

“We’re always trying ways to offer cheap fares and grabaseat is a great example of that. Standby travel has in the past been offered by airlines overseas and we thought we would trial it here with students in these two locations to see what the interest would be.”

Students must arrive at the airport 90 minutes before the flight, purchase a ticket and show their student ID. If a return standby ticket is wanted, it must be purchased at the same time.

30 minutes prior to departure they will be given a boarding pass if a seat is available. If unsuccessful in getting a seat they will be listed on the following flight or given a refund.

“Clearly there are certain flights that are often full especially peak morning and evening flights and Friday and Sunday evenings. So we strongly recommend students look for flights outside of these times to provide them a better chance of getting a seat.”

Due to the last minute nature of the travel, only carry on baggage is allowed.