Effective from 10 December 2013, travel agents will be able to sell an Economy
Skycouch as an ancillary product in their GDS.
Provided there are Economy Skycouch seats available, agents can book at the time
they make the flight booking or any time after the original booking is made.
The alternative is to use the existing option to book and ticket the Economy itinerary
in the GDS and then via the Air NZ agent portal, agents will be able to use the ‘Your
Bookings’ window to upgrade product to an Economy Skycouch™. Select the
Upgrade Product item, insert the PNR reference, Family Name in PNR and your
Agency IATA number and then follow the upgrade process.
Air NZ has introduced new pricing for the Skycouch so it can be sold based on the
number of people using the Skycouch.
There are three prices displayed that relate to the number of passengers that are
going to be seated in the Skycouch:



Skycouch 1 PSGR
Skycouch 2 PSGR
Skycouch 3 PSGR
A Skycouch for one passenger
A Skycouch for two passengers, adults or children
A Skycouch for three passengers, adults and children
The Skycouch pricing is per couch and is be purchased by one passenger only.
For example:
A party of 4 passengers travelling AKL-LAX
2SMITH/A MR/B MRS 2BROWN/C MR/T MRS
Mr and Mrs Smith want a Skycouch to share.
The Skycouch is purchased as a Skycouch 2 PSGR because there will be 2 passengers
using it but it is sold for one passenger name only e.g. Mr A Smith only.
When Air NZ allocate seating for Skycouch, we will seat the whole party, for
example: place Mr & Mrs Smith in the Skycouch (3 seats) and put Mr and Mrs Brown
in two standard seats.
After the Skycouch product is booked in the GDS and end transaction completed on
the PNR, an SSR ASVC message is sent to Air NZ and the Skycouch availability is
checked. Air NZ will respond back to the GDS PNR if Skycouch is available or not.
When the GDS PNR is redisplayed the Skycouch product (SSR ASVC) will be updated
to show confirmed.
Please refer to your GDS instructions on how to book ancillary products.
Agents are able to issue an Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) for payment
of the Skycouch in the GDS. The itinerary must be e-ticketed before trying to issue
the associated EMD document.
Yes, at the time the Skycouch booking is made in the GDS and Air NZ sends back a
confirmation; an SSR ADMD item is also returned which advises the agent of the
EMD issuance deadline. If the EMD is not issued for the Skycouch booked prior to
the deadline stated, the Skycouch booking is cancelled.
If an Economy Skycouch is still required after the EMD time limit has passed, a new
booking will need to be made in the GDS.
Note: Sabre will hold Air Extra products in a booking for 24 hours. After this initial
time limit has expired, the ancillary product must be cancelled and booked again
before it is possible to issue the EMD.
No, once the itinerary is booked, it is possible to request a Skycouch in the GDS.
It is not possible to issue the EMD for payment of the Skycouch until after the
itinerary has been e-ticketed.
Yes, if more than one Skycouch is required on a single flight in the PNR, these can be
booked at the same time as long as they are associated to different passengers.
For Example: one booking for 5 passengers AKL-LAX
3SMITH/A MR/B MRS/C MISS 2BROWN/E MR/T MRS
Both families would like a Skycouch on AKL/LAX.
This would be booked as:
1 Skycouch for 2 passengers associated to passenger 2 (Mrs Smith)
To be occupied by SMITH/B MRS/C MISS
1 Skycouch for 2 passengers associated to passenger 4 (Mr Brown)
To be occupied by 2BROWN/E MR/T MRS
The remaining passenger (Mr Smith) would have a standard seat allocated.
It is not possible to request more than 1 Skycouch associated to the same passenger
name.
If a Skycouch for 3 passengers is requested, there must be at least one child in the
Skycouch.
Three adults are not permitted in one Skycouch.
It is important to include an SSR CHLD for all children in the booking so Air NZ can
identify the number of adults and children correctly.
Unaccompanied minors (UM) are not permitted in a Skycouch.
Yes, if Skycouch applies to the itinerary you have booked, the ancillary product list in
the GDS will always show prices for Skycouch. There is no indication from the
ancillary price list whether the Skycouch is available on a particular flight and date,
availability is checked when the Skycouch product is requested.
The pricing will vary for the number for the number of passengers seated in the
Skycouch.
For example:
 Skycouch 1 PSGR
 Skycouch 2 PSGR
 Skycouch 3 PSGR
A Skycouch for one passenger
A Skycouch for two passengers, adults or children
A Skycouch for three passengers, adults and children.
Note: Three adults are not permitted in a Skycouch so there must be a minimum of 1
child in the group of three passengers.
No, the price is shown per Skycouch purchased and according to the number of
passengers that will be seated in it i.e.
For example:
 Skycouch 1 PSGR
 Skycouch 2 PSGR
 Skycouch 3 PSGR
A Skycouch for one passenger
A Skycouch for two passengers, adults or children
A Skycouch for three passengers, adults and children.
A Skycouch only needs to be booked for one passenger who is seated in the
Skycouch. For example:
Two passengers travelling AKL/LAX Mr A Smith / Mrs B Smith
A Skycouch for 2 passengers can be booked associated to Mr Smith and that will
allow both passengers to use the Skycouch.
The price for a Skycouch can vary based on the booking class in the itinerary.
See below table of prices for UK departures; (please note that below table is correct
as of 3rd December 2013 however please refer to latest contracts for updates)
GBP Price per couch:
Skycouch 1
PSGR
Route
LAX-AKL
LONAKL
LONLAX
Skycouch
2 PSGRS
Skycouch
3 PSGRS
Bkg Class
YBM
N/A
N/A
100
HQ
999
499
100
V
WTLSGKF
P
899
449
100
699
349
100
YBM
N/A
N/A
200
HQ
1499
749
200
V
WTLSGKF
P
1399
699
200
1299
649
200
YBM
N/A
N/A
100
HQ
799
399
100
V
WTLSGKF
P
699
349
100
599
299
100
No, the price shown is per couch for the number of passengers who will be seated in
the couch. It doesn’t matter if these are adults or children, the price is the same.
No, it is not possible to select a Skycouch row of seat numbers from the seat map
displayed in the GDS at this stage.
The 3 seat numbers for the Skycouch will be allocated by Air NZ after the EMD has
been issued. In the GDS PNR you will only see the same number of seats as you have
passengers even though in the Air NZ system we always hold 3 seats.
For example: Skycouch 2 PSGRS booked for Mr & Mrs Smith.
Air NZ will hold Skycouch seat 40 ABC for these passengers but we will return 40 BC
to the GDS PNR.
Air NZ will allocate standard seats in addition to the Skycouch if the party needs
additional seating i.e. when possible the adjoining middle row seats in the aircraft
or nearest available standard seat.
For example: I have a family of 5 passengers travelling and I booked a Skycouch for 3
passengers.
Air NZ will allocate the Skycouch to 3 passengers and 2 standard seats to the
remaining passengers.
Skycouch is available on our B777-300 and the B787-900 aircraft and are located on
the outer triple seats in zone C of the aircraft – which is the first zone of the
Economy cabin.
Skycouch is available on our 777-300 services between Auckland and Los
Angeles/London or vice versa and between Los Angeles and London.
Skycouch will also be offered on selected 787-900 routes which will be advised at a
later stage.
Yes, Economy Skycouch™ will only be available to add to bookings that are ticketed
on Air NZ (086) paper and will not be offered on any Economy booking made in X, P,
F & N classes.
No, you cannot merge PNR’s for the purpose of quoting for an Economy Skycouch
upgrade because the functionality to do so does not exist.
Yes, if the Skycouch was booked and the EMD issued when the passengers were
originally in one PNR, the booking can be divided into separate PNRs and the
Skycouch will still be available to use provided there are no changes to the flight with
the Skycouch and the same number of passengers are seated in the Skycouch.
If there are any changes to the flight including the Skycouch or the number of
passengers booked in the Skycouch, the original Skycouch will be cancelled and a
new Skycouch product will need to be purchased. The original EMD will have to be
either refunded or reissued depending on the GDS options available.
The Economy Skycouch™ product takes on the same conditions as the economy fare
that was purchased. If the original airfare purchased was refundable, the Economy
Skycouch is also refundable. Likewise, if the original airfare is non-refundable the
Economy Skycouch is also non-refundable.
The schedule change details will be notified to the GDS booking using the normal
process and Air NZ will carry over the Economy Skycouch™ to the new flight
provided the Skycouch product is available. If a Skycouch is not available on the new
flight the EMD can be refunded or the customer can move to another flight where
Skycouch is available without penalty.
If there are any changes to the itinerary that result in the e-ticket being reissued or
revalidated, the EMD and products are not carried forward to the new e-ticket.
Skycouch will need to be booked again in the GDS and the original EMD will have to
be either reissued (where this function is available in your GDS) or it will need to be
refunded and a new EMD issued.
If the airfare is refundable, the customer is entitled to a refund of the EMD for the
Skycouch. If the airfare is non-refundable, the customer is not entitled to refund of
the Skycouch EMD.
Exception - if Air NZ has sent out a schedule change notification and there is no
Skycouch available on the new flight, the Skycouch EMD can be refunded.
The original Skycouch will be cancelled by Air NZ and a new Skycouch will need to be
purchased for the correct number of passengers.
For example:
The original booking was for 2 adults and 1 child and there was an Economy Skycouch for 3
PSGRS purchased.
One adult is divided off the booking and is no longer travelling.
The remaining adult and child still require a Skycouch. A new Skycouch product for 2 PSGRS
must be booked in the GDS, the original EMD for Skycouch 3 PSGR can be refunded and a
new EMD issued as Skycouch 2 PSGR.
No, One-Up upgrades and Airpoints upgrades are not available to customers who
have purchased a Skycouch.
Agents are able to process the refund for the EMD in their GDS which will be
processed as a BSP transaction.
No, it is not possible at this stage to book Skycouch on other airline marketing flights
that are operated by Air New Zealand. To request a Skycouch the booking must be
on an NZ flight number and issued on Air New Zealand 086 ticket stock.
Yes. If the itinerary includes other airlines connecting to Air NZ services where
Skycouch is available, it is possible to book Skycouch on the Air NZ flight provided
that an Air NZ 086 ticket is issued.
For example:
BOS – UA – LAX – NZ – AKL
BOS- NZ*(UA)-LAX-NZ-AKL
Skycouch can be booked on LAX-AKL for both these itineraries provided there is an
Air NZ 086 ticket issued.