Air New Zealand has flagged plans to roll out a range of trade-led industry initiatives, developed directly in response to its recent travel industry research.
“It was the first dedicated trade research we’ve undertaken post-pandemic, and it’s testament to the focus NZ continues to place on maintaining a strong relationship with the trade distribution,” says NZ’s senior manager retail and TMC Stu Jones. “We sincerely thank all of those agents who took part, as their feedback gave us an incredible insight. We’re listening and we’ve been working on what matters to [agents].” Jones says the carrier appreciates the continued support from agents as it works through recent schedule changes, and has a strong focus on long-term improvements to deliver a more reliable experience for customers “We’ve already implemented several short-term solutions to help stabilise our schedule and improve on-time performance, while dedicated teams across our business remain focused on long-term improvements to fleet reliability,” adds Jones. At the same, he says NZ is ‘leaning into offer agents more support, not just to fix problems but to help agents sell and upsell the product’. “We already have a fares desk dedicated to support the trade to help sell NZ—but we’re also looking to expand that concept further to offer a wraparound service for agents.”
. . . The Top Five
The five key initiatives which NZ has developed in response to the trade research center around its DUO trade training platform, communication, groups, account managers and agency support. Jones says agents will soon see a refreshed DUO offering with new modules and enhancements as well as new agent reward opportunities. First up for the updated DUO training is modules on NZ’s new in-flight offering and ancillary product. At the same time the carrier plans to focus on ensuring its agency support team meets the market needs. “We know that turnaround times are everything, so we’re focused on getting you faster, more consistent support when you need it most,” Jones says. “We’re closely monitoring call and e-mail volumes and dedicating resource where it’s needed to keep things moving quickly.” In addition, NZ plans to simplify the way it communicates with agents. “A redesigned agent website and portal is on the way, making it easier for agents to find what they need faster,” adds Jones. On the groups front NZ plans to roll out agent webinars as well as a new groups tool which Jones say will help agents to make group bookings ‘quicker, smoother and easier to manage’. In addition to its account management team Jones adds that NZ is focused on also building stronger trade relationships with its wider trade support team including agent support and groups.
