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Unaccompanied minors

Unaccompanied Minor Policy Changes

For travel effective from 01 Sep 2009, a new Air New Zealand acceptance policy for unaccompanied minors will be in place.

These are the main changes: UMNR form

  • Age limits change for travelling on long haul flights (see below).
  • Carriage of minors is restricted to NZ only flights. Connections to other airlines are no longer allowed.
  • Long-haul flights is restricted to single-sector flights.
  • It is required that the connecting travel is on single ticket/PNR.
  • The number of connecting flights permitted is limited.
  • A new UMNR identifier is introduced.

Ticketing deadlines for the new UMNR policy

  • For bookings already ticketed: Air New Zealand will accept the travel as booked under existing policy for travel after 01 Sep 2009.
  • For bookings not already ticketed: the new policy will apply for travel from 01 Sep 2009. The existing policy will still apply for travel prior to 01 Sep 2009.

Age Limits

The Unaccompanied Minors Age Limits chart details the new age limits and the journey restrictions that will apply, based on the unaccompanied minor's age on the date of commencement of travel. This chart applies from 01 Sep 2009.

Please refer to the following definitions to interpret the journey restrictions:

South West Pacific

The IATA definition includes the following countries:

  • American Samoa
  • Australia
  • Cook Islands
  • Fiji
  • French Polynesia
  • Kiribati
  • Nauru
  • New Caledonia
  • New Zealand
  • Niue
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Samoa
  • Solomon Islands
  • Tonga
  • Tuvalu
  • Vanuatu
  • Wallis and Futuna Islands

Journey:

A flight or a series of flights from a point of origin to a point of destination, including transits and stopovers.

Sector:

An aircraft's single scheduled flight between two different points.

Flight:

Any one-way travel (without a stopover) on an airline's scheduled air service that keeps the same flight number even if there is transit or change of aircraft. Travel on the same aircraft but with a flight number change qualifies as two flights.

Air New Zealand-only flights

Due to the sometimes complex nature of interline travel and to align ourselves with many of our partner airlines, Air New Zealand will no longer accept unaccompanied minors connecting to/ from another carrier unless the child is met and signed over to a parent/ guardian at the intermediate point.

Long-haul and connecting flight restrictions

Due to the length of multi-sector international flights, restrictions have been placed on long-haul travel and the number of connecting flights as outlined in the Age Limits chart above which include raising the acceptance age to 8 years and restricting carriage to single-sector long-haul flights.

Unaccompanied Minors (UMNR or UMs) are a growing market segment for Air New Zealand. Last year we carried 60,000 UMs around our network.

The visibility and expectations of these customers are high. Parents and guardians are trusting us to carry minors safely and securely, and they have also paid extra for the service.

That's why your collaboration and attention is crucial when arranging UMs travel. You must highlight all conditions of travel when communicating with parents/guardians.

Unaccompanied Minor's form must have all of the following details filled in before we can accept the UM for travel:

  • Unaccompanied Minor's surname, given name, age and sex.
  • Name, address and telephone numbers of contacts at embarkation port, disembarkation port and transfer points if required.
  • Any special instructions.
  • Details of journey covered by the ticket.

The following clause should be highlighted as well: ‘The persons seeing the UM off at embarkation port of travel will remain at the airport until the flight has departed. The person meeting the UM must be available at the airport at the scheduled time of arrival of the flight.'

Your assistance in managing customer expectations is decisive in the success of the customers' journey. Thank your for your collaboration.

 



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