Air New Zealand increases luggage and pet prices, doubles overweight fees

Air New Zealand has raised its fees for pre-paid, excess and overweight baggage, as well as for domestic pet carriage.

The increased luggage costs are as follows:

• Domestic: A pre-paid bag is now $45, up from $35; the excess baggage fee has increased to $60 from $45; and overweight baggage fees have doubled from $20 to $40.
• Short-haul: A pre-paid bag is now $95, up from $70; the excess baggage fee has increased to $60 to $45; and overweight baggage fees have doubled from $40 to $80.
• Long-haul: A pre-paid bag is now $160, up from $120; the excess baggage fee has increased to $195 from $150; and overweight baggage fees have doubled from $60 to $120.

The airline introduced the new prices last week on May 23 due to a challenging economic environment, according to chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty.

"Like many Kiwis and businesses, we are experiencing a high-cost environment, which means we're having to adjust pricing across several areas," Geraghty said in a statement to media.

"We always recommend adding extra bags at the time of booking, or before travel, to avoid any excess baggage or overweight baggage fees. For excess and overweight baggage, customers pay one flat fee regardless of the size or weight of the item."

As for transporting pets, it now costs $120 to fly them with Air NZ, regardless of size. Previously, the fee was $75 for pets up to 25kg and $100 for those over 25kg.

These price hikes follow other various increases introduced by the airline recently, including domestic airfares, which rose by 7.4 percent in February according to Stats NZ.