Air New Zealand Upgrades

Upgrades are available between Economy and Business, and on long-haul routes with our three class structure upgrades are available between Economy, Premium Economy and Business Premier. See how many Airpoints Dollars are required for an upgrade.

You'll need a confirmed booking with an Air New Zealand flight number. Request an upgrade.

Note: When requesting an upgrade online for multiple passengers on the same booking, one passenger must use their Airpoints™ to request an upgrade for all passengers on the booking. If multiple passengers wish to use their own Airpoints to request an upgrade, please contact your nearest Airpoints Service Centre.

There are two types of Airpoints upgrade: Standby and confirmed. Also if you are a Silver, Gold or Gold Elite member you will receive additional one-class, one-sector upgrades to use in your membership year as part of your tier benefits.

You can also request a last minute Standby upgrade or redeem your Silver, Gold and Gold Elite upgrades at the airport. They can be requested at the Air New Zealand ticketing desk or at the Koru lounges in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Los Angeles and the Air New Zealand ticketing desks in London and San Francisco. To enable best chance for confirmation and first meal choice, we recommend that you request your upgrade at least 24 hours prior to departure.

Standby Upgrades

• Can be requested once bookings are ticketed.
• If your Standby upgrade isn't provided at check-in, you will receive a refund of the Airpoints Dollars used to purchase it.
• Gold members may receive confirmation of their upgrade from Air New Zealand up to 72 hours prior to their scheduled flight.
• Gold Elite members, Standby upgrades may be confirmed by Air New Zealand once their booking has been ticketed.
• Prior confirmation of Standby upgrades for Gold Elite and Gold members is subject to limited booking class availability being present within the cabin sought at the time the upgrade request is considered.

Effective for upgrade requests made from 5 December 2011, if members wish to use upgrade benefits departing on our flights from London Heathrow, an additional amount equivalent to the Air Passenger Duty (levied by HM Customs & Revenue) applies for upgrades from Economy Class to a higher class and will need to be collected prior to that flight if the upgrade is confirmed. More information.

Confirmed Upgrades

• Can be confirmed once bookings are ticketed (but not less than four hours) before your scheduled flight, subject to availability.
• Have greater availability than Standby upgrades.
• Are only available in conjunction with some fares (see the upgrade chart for details).
• Are subject to limited booking class availability being present within the cabin sought at the time the upgrade request is requested.

Effective for upgrade requests made from 5 December 2011, if members wish to use upgrade benefits departing on our flights from London Heathrow, an additional amount equivalent to the Air Passenger Duty (levied by HM Customs & Revenue) applies for upgrades from Economy Class to a higher class and will need to be collected prior to that flight if the upgrade is confirmed. More information.

Recognition Upgrades (previously Complimentary Upgrades)

A special type of Standby upgrade, only available to Airpoints Silver, Gold and Gold Elite members. When you request recognition upgrades on flights departing London Heathrow from 5 December 2011, you will need to pay an additional amount equivalent to the Air Passenger Duty (levied by HM Customs & Revenue) for upgrades from Economy Class to a higher class that will need to be collected prior to that flight if the upgrade is confirmed. More information.

• These upgrades may be gifted by Gold Elite members only.
• Silver members may receive confirmation of their upgrade from Air New Zealand up to 48 hours prior to their scheduled flight.
• Gold members may receive confirmation of their upgrade from Air New Zealand up to 72 hours prior to their scheduled flight.
• For Gold Elite members, recognition upgrades may be confirmed by Air New Zealand once their booking has been ticketed.
• Prior confirmation of upgrades is subject to limited booking class availability being present within the cabin sought at the time the upgrade request is considered.
• Two one-class, one-sector recognition upgrades are required to bypass Premium Economy and upgrade from Economy to Business Premier on long haul routes dedicated to an Economy, Premium Economy and Business Premier offering.
• If your upgrade isn't provided at check-in, your upgrade will be refunded.
• You can see how many unused upgrades you have available online.
• Just login to myairnz (your new-look personal homepage) and go to your Airpoints Account Summary under myPoints. If you were previously registered for 'My Account', your login details will work in myairnz. Or, if you've not logged in before, register now.

Please note that Air New Zealand upgrades are only available on Air New Zealand ticketed and operated flights. They are not available in conjunction with Airpoints companion tickets, Star Award tickets, flights booked in X class, travel industry fares, or prize/promotional tickets. For more information, see Airpoints Terms and Conditions.