Koru Club off limits to Freedom flyers

By CHRIS DANIELS consumer reporter

The world's warmest welcome isn't available to Koru Club members flying Freedom Air.

Air New Zealand has reminded them in a newsletter that its Koru Club lounges, a "relaxing haven for business travellers" where paid-up members can enjoy a free beer and sandwich before boarding, are offlimits if they are travelling with the airline's budget subsidiary.

Air New Zealand says that although it owns 100 per cent of Freedom, they are separate companies and privileges associated with one do not apply to the other.

Individual membership of the Koru Club costs $625 for a year, with a $375 annual renewal fee. Corporate membership is slightly cheaper.

Air New Zealand spokeswoman Rosie Flay said the Koru Club rules had not changed.

"It is for Air New Zealand passengers. Freedom is not Air New Zealand, it is a subsidiary that is run totally separately. The whole point of a no-frills flight is that it is no-frills."

One Auckland executive, who is a Koru Club member, told the Herald he was refused entry to the Wellington lounge last week, after flying on Freedom to watch the All Blacks play France in the capital.

Early on Sunday, he and his friends went to catch their plane back to Auckland.

Despite having already used the Koru Club at Auckland Airport on the way down, the party were told that their choice of Freedom made the lounge offlimits.

The businessman said his treatment had seemed abrupt, as he had previously used the Koru Club for business meetings, regardless of whether he was flying that day.

"It was a bit of a shock, especially for someone who gets looked after pretty well by Air New Zealand," he said.

Freedom chief executive Wayne Dodge said some customers had told the airline about being refused Koru Club access.

"We don't have the issue, it's just not part of our product."