Airpoint travellers left on ground

By CATHY ARONSON

Air travellers are struggling to redeem their airpoints as airlines recovering from last year's US terror attacks fill their seats with paying customers.

Travellers have to book at least six months ahead to redeem frequent-flyer airpoints and are not getting their destination or flight of choice.

Only a small number of seats are allocated to airpoint passengers and the seats and flights are not increasing as points stack up.

Pressure on free seats has increased because of the number of people hooking into the frequent-flyer programme.

Air New Zealand is linked to more than 30 customer reward schemes, including hotels, car hire, credit cards and Telecom.

Overseas travel began picking up in January as holidaymakers recovered from September 11 and began taking delayed trips. In March, short-term overseas travel increased by 12 per cent on the previous year - the first monthly increase since September.

But there are not enough seats for passengers as already-struggling airlines had cut flights and airpoint seats after September 11.

Qantas has stopped its daily flights from Melbourne to London via Bangkok. Air New Zealand and Cathay say they have not reduced international flights.

As more passengers want to go to Europe, travel agents are noticing that demand outweighs supply.

Travel Agents Association president James Langton said overseas travel was buoyant and flights might increase if the numbers continued to climb.

"People have a bundle of saved-up airpoints but are struggling to use them. There are reduced flights but demand for payed seats has increased, therefore airlines desperate to make money are less likely to give them away as airpoints."

He had customers who had tried to book six months in advance and could still not redeem airpoints.

Consumers Institute chief executive David Russell said it had received complaints from people who struggled to redeem airpoints. Airlines did not breach the consumer act because conditions stipulated that flights depended on seat availability.

Mr Russell said customers had to book ahead and be flexible but it should not be impossible to book a flight.

According to an Economist survey, nearly eight trillion airpoints worldwide are unused by air travellers who are having trouble cashing them in. At the present rate of redemption, it would take 23 years to clear the eight trillion miles. About 100 million people worldwide have joined a frequent-flyer loyalty scheme.

Air New Zealand and Qantas would not say how many airpoints, which expire after three years, were yet to be redeemed.