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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Media baggage rates to NZ?

Mike 'Fireman' Ross

Mike 'Fireman' Ross

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I know some airlines have media baggage rates; I've used them before. Usually a flat $50 or so per bag, without a bunch of restrictive rules.

Anyone know of an airline offering this on a route between USA and New Zealand? I've got a big load of stuff to move there...

Mike
 
I've had a mixed experience from Air New Zealand - occasionally they'll let me check several pelican cases of gear in at no additional cost, other times they'll make me pay the full excess baggage rate. In the end it's sort of balanced out to the $50 mark!

Flying from the States is a bit different since TSA won't let them stick additional bags on a different plane heading to NZ.

Smile sweetly at the check-in counter.
 
Had plenty practice at the smiling bit :-)

Time is critical but not THAT critical; I'm also looking at have it follow a couple of days behind by air freight...

Mike
 
Air freight is your best option.

I fly a lot on Air NZ.

You will have to stick pretty closely to the rules, and pay attention to the carry on limit weights. Totally different to travel in the USA and strictly enforced.
 
I've just come off the phone with Air NZ reservations. While they don't have a formal published media baggage policy like AA, she gave me a couple of emails addresses in their media relations department who, she suggested, could 'work something out' - implied 'that's what we usually do'. So fingers crossed!

Haven't flown Air NZ in years. Last trip there a month or two ago was Qantas, and they were pretty fussy about carry-on. Gave me some grief. Once they saw Epic plus glass they relaxed a bit, and I have a Lowe Pro rolling case where the inner padded compartment pulls out and converts into a backpack... *much* less likely to attract attention!

One trip they gave me grief about overweight carry-on at the gate, I took out the backpack inner and gate-checked the rolling case outer! It weighed almost nothing, the carry-on still weighed virtually the same, but they satisfied their rule-bound mentality and caused me inconvenience - which appeared to be the objective - and I went on my merry way!

Mike
 
There is no media policy.

In my experience (many international flights per year) they will stick to the rules with you. There is no lee-way.

Only thing that helps a bit is having recognition status with them... only way to get it is to fly a lot!

(also, if you are relocating here you may want to check the customs / tax policy, as technically you are importing goods... - but I have zero idea how that would work / effect you.

Best of luck, remember, freight is easy.
 
Technically you pay the same rate as GST here to bring goods into the country... basically if you freight stuff here (particularly to a business address) they'll hold it in Customs till you pay import duty - 15% of whatever the declared value is (including freight/insurance charges) plus a small handling fee. If you're GST-registered and have an importers code in NZ you can claim most of that back.

If you're bringing it in on the plane yourself you're less likely to be charged, although technically they're supposed to if the value of your stuff is over a certain amount (think it's around $700NZD).
 
Checked that out. One break for new immigrants; we don't pay GST on goods or vehicles we bring in with us :)

Which is fair; we already paid tax when we bought our stuff. Not fair to tax it again; would amount to a 15% migrant tax on everything they own. And can you imagine the paperwork if you had to itemise *everything* and haggle over the value for GST?!

Mike
 
Craig, I'll be based in Welly - but hopefully shooting volcanoes up and down the Pacific! We have family there and we know the country, so we're not quite typical new chums fresh off the boat! The advance party (wife & kids) went over a couple of weeks ago, I follow in a couple more weeks when I've closed up shop here.

Apparently there are NO Superspeeds in Welly; the rental shops have to ship them down from Auckland when they're wanted. I plan on changing that :-)

Mike
 
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