Air NZ turns up heat on travel agents

Air New Zealand will offer hotel rooms and rental car deals on its new-look internet booking engine in a move which increases competition with travel agents.

Air NZ, with all other airlines, has spent the past few years encouraging customers to book flights on its website, avoiding travel agents altogether.

Now it wants them to book their whole holiday.

This move, described by Air NZ as a market first for the country, will heighten competition with travel agents - many of whom have moved away from selling low-margin airfares into the more profitable area of holiday packages.

Air NZ global direct sales general manager Chris Hunter said online customers had been demanding more from the airline's website than just a plane ticket. A big focus of the site was the inbound travel market, with overseas visitors using it to book accommodation and other parts of their holiday, such as rental cars.

House of Travel commercial director Tony Moffatt said although expected, he was still surprised Air NZ was heading down this path.

"Around the world, airlines have been spectacularly unsuccessful at delivering anything more than the airline experience," he said.

Zuji New Zealand general manager David Allen said online travel sites were moving towards "dynamic packaging" where travellers were able to select from a range of flights and hotels.

Air NZ was looking to add to the ways it could make money from its website visitors, he said.