Pricier New Zealand/Free Bag Lottery/Advance Flight Booking Answers
Nomadico issue #122
New Zealand’s Hefty Entry for Travelers
We’ve written a few times about all the extra fees that destinations are adding lately, on top of the bed taxes, airport taxes, and other fees already levied on visitors. The latest fee tripling from New Zealand is especially audacious though: the equivalent of US$62 for visitors for countries with a visa waiver and US$307 for those who need a very expensive visa on top. The NZ tourism industry is not happy: while many destinations are adding fees because they are reeling from overtourism (Venice, Santorini) or it’s for conservation enforcement (Galapagos), New Zealand’s visitor numbers are still only at about 80% of what they were before the pandemic shut everything down.
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Take Your (Bag) Chances with American Airlines
Passengers who get annoyed with bag fees will often take their chances with a carry-on, hoping they’ll be able to gate check it for free if the flight is full. Now that gamble has taken another twist on American Airlines. A circulated staff memo indicates that the airline is instituting a lottery of sorts at check-in kiosks where a passenger with a carry-on may be offered a free bag check at the counter instead, long before they go through security and get to their gate. This is rolling out to both domestic and international flights. See the scoop here.
How Far Out to Book a Flight?
I already booked flights for Christmas week to return from Europe and apparently that was a good move, based on this report from Google Flights using their data. They looked at flights from the USA for two holiday periods, but the trends should be similar for most originating countries, barring any lack of competition issues. The study found that you should book international flights for busy periods at least 50 days out, but preferably closer to 101 days. For domestic flights, the ideal is 21 to 52 days out, with 38 being ideal. According to their study, waiting until the last minute is rarely going to pay off, though keep in mind that they don’t have access to Southwest or Allegiant data. I’ve gotten good deals on those a week or two before departure.
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Yes - confirming that the NZ Tourism industry is not impressed. Though Govt supporters think that most people won’t give the increased fees a second thought. What do you think? Personally - I think it’s off putting in a competitive market. It’s expensive to get here. But I suppose they hope the increased levy will just get swallowed up in the airfare price, especially if flight prices drop.