Mythbusting Air New Zealand: Fare hikes, algorithms and the Mile High Club
Friday, 2 January 2026
This story was first published in May, 2025 and has been republished for summer reading.
Is Air New Zealand spying on our fare searches? Does it have cheeky algorithms that make flights cost more? Do they fake plane breakdowns? Explainer Editor Lloyd Burr sits down with Air NZ.
There’s nothing more annoying than seeing a cheap flight, but when you go back a few minutes later, it's no longer cheap. Or having your flight cancelled because of ‘maintenance requirements’. Or having to get a mortgage to pay for a flight to a gig.
So when Air New Zealand offered up its veteran pilot and chief of flight operations and safety, David Morgan, to do some aviation myth-busting - Explainer Editor Lloyd Burr jumped at the chance.
Do you have an algorithm that increases the cost of the fare the second time you search for it?
“No, absolutely not. As you get closer to the flight itself, flights become more expensive because there are these things called buckets and they fill up.
“If you go on the search engine, see a price, and then go away from it and come back again, if that price has changed, that will be because the seat you originally saw is now gone and so that fee bucket has increased. It's just a timing issue .”
It's not because you're spying on my phone?
“No, absolutely not. We do not have any algorithms that do that.”
Do you have an algorithm that makes the return flight more expensive?
“I don't think there's any process or algorithm that actually creates a scenario where on a return flight there's a significant difference.”
Do you put the prices up when there are big events and concerts?
“No, what we try to do is actually provide seats to those things. We have an events team and the commercial guys actually keep a very close eye on what's happening in New Zealand. There are a lot of events and a lot of people need to travel to those and so how we deal with those is by providing special flights to those destinations.”
Why is Air New Zealand always more expensive than Jetstar?
“We're a full-service carrier, so we offer food, lounges, flexibility, more flights and we've got a more complex operation. We do an international operation, we do a regional operation and we do a domestic operation. In order to offer that service, we have to price accordingly.”
Do you oversell seats on the plane?
“As an airline, we do not oversell. In fact, we quite often undersell. For example, in Queenstown - it’s an elevated airfield - you've got low barometric pressure, you've got high temperatures. So we undersell. Occasionally, passengers don't turn up and we're left with empty seats on the aircraft - which in itself is a mystery.”
Do you fake aircraft breakdowns when the plane isn’t full?
“No, absolutely not. There's no point in us actually cancelling a flight simply because there are insufficient passengers on it because we've already committed a crew and an aeroplane to that. It's not like we can actually quickly redeploy them. The cost of that operation has already sunk in effect and there's no benefit to us and all we do is fail to deliver operational surety, which is what the customers actually want.”
Could ignoring the flight mode rule really bring down an aircraft?
“I've been in an aeroplane that has done things that I haven't wanted to do on three occasions because of a Game Boy, a cell phone and a laptop.”
A Game Boy?
“I was taking off out of Melbourne one day in the 767 and we lost all VHF contact. We've got three VHF radios on the aeroplane. Number one didn't work, went over to number two, that didn't work, went over to number three, and that didn't work.
“We finally got to the point where I said ‘We better have a look around the cabin to see if something is affecting it’. Sure enough, there's a passenger actually using a Game Boy and then as soon as that was switched off, all three radios returned to normal.”
Are the oxygen masks just there to make you high and have an enjoyable death?
“No. You put them on and you've got a high concentration of oxygen going into your lungs and that way you don't become hypoxic. It's not about getting high and having an enjoyable death, it's about staying conscious.”
Does the brace position just ensure that your death is quick?
“No, the brace position is designed to protect you in the event of a sudden de-acceleration of the aircraft - in other words, a sudden stop. It can be very, very quick and you can hurt yourself if you're not in that brace position.”
Is the brace position about making sure your teeth stay with the rest of your remains and they have a better chance of IDing you after a crash?
“No. There's a lot of momentum in the aircraft and if it stops in a hurry, you keep moving. It's a case of actually making sure you stay safe and are protected by doing that - certainly nothing to do with your teeth.”
Is that why you have to return to your allocated seat, then?
“It’s to determine the centre of gravity of the aircraft. You often hear pilots ‘Waiting for the paperwork’. What they're waiting for is the weight of the aircraft and the position of the centre of gravity, and we know where that is for takeoff. That's why we ask people to go back to their original seats.”
Are the Air New Zealand lollies the same flavour but a different colour?
“No, there's five different flavours of lollies on the aeroplane and the reason we serve them is to help people clear their ears. They're not just all the same flavour.”
What happens when a passenger dies on a plane?
“That's a tragic event but it's very infrequent. Very rarely, somebody does pass away on the aeroplane and the important thing here is to remember we have got a person and they have to be treated with great respect, great dignity, mana, and the crew are trained to deal with that in those circumstances.”
I guess it's hard to do it discreetly when it's on an aeroplane.
“That's right, but the crew are trained and we have processes and protocols to do that.”
Can you actually score a free upgrade just by dressing up and asking nicely?
“Tried that myself years ago, didn't work. If that was the case, you'd see a lot of people sitting up the front.”
How well do planes actually get cleaned before the next passengers hop on board?
“The three levels of cleaning that we do: We clean the aeroplane between flights, then at the end of the day it has a deep clean, and when it goes in for a heavy maintenance check, we extensively clean the interior.”
What's the strangest thing that's been left on a plane?
“Someone took out their teeth plate and put it on the tray to eat their meal, then handed the tray back and it got put in with 300 other trays. We put on the gloves and with the rest of the crew went through the trays and we found it.”
What mental health checks are done on pilots?
“All pilots go through medical checks and those medical checks are conducted by designated medical examiners who look at not only the physiology of the crew member concerned but also the mental acuity and cognitive skill, but also the mental health of the person as well.”
Can you get away with vaping in the loo?
“Lavatories are actually fitted with an extremely sensitive smoke detection system. In fact, passengers using spray deodorant or hairspray can sometimes set off the smoke detectors as well.”
Is the Mile High Club an actual thing and how often are people caught trying to join it?
“I've been with the airline 40 years now, and I have not had a flight attendant come up to me and say ‘Something's going on that shouldn't be’. Aircraft are not a particularly pleasant place to be for that sort of activity, and certainly, it's not a place of great discretion. From my own experience, it seems to be a stuff of legends and more of a myth. Maybe it's happening but I haven't heard about it.”
On your A320s, there's a black triangle on the inside of the cabin. What does that mean?
“That's actually a device that's designed for the cabin crew to position themselves so they can look outside the aeroplane. It’s the best angle to look outside the door to check for hazards.”
On the A320 wing, there's a yellow thing with two holes in it. What’s it for?
“If there's an over-wing emergency and they're required to evacuate over the wing, there's a lanyard that's in the door frame that you grab hold of, reel out and clip it onto that yellow fitting. It's just like a rope that you'd hold onto.”
Do pilots have to have different meals to ensure no one gets food poisoning?
“That was the case back in the day - the risk of sudden incapacitation due to food poisoning. But it’s now considered so low that we don't actually pick different meals.”
Can you get stuck or suctioned onto the toilet if you press the flush button while you're still sitting down?
“No. There is an air gap between the rim of the toilet and the seat, so the chances of that happening are exceedingly low.”
Where does the poo go and can you dump it midair?
“It goes into waste tanks that are in the back of the tail cone of the aircraft and they cannot be dumped in flight. They are serviced when the aeroplane gets to its destination.”
The suction is pretty powerful. How do you get that suction?
“It's the difference in pressure between the inside of the aeroplane and the outside.”
Are the blankets laundered between flights?
“Yes, all of the dirty linen and blankets and pillowcases are removed from the aircraft and laundered.”
Is there a ‘two tries then divert’ rule for missed approaches in New Zealand airports?
“No, there's no rule around that. It’s at the discretion of the pilots”
How much does it cost to divert to another airport?
“There’s the direct cost of flying the aeroplane, and the indirect cost associated of making sure that we can help the customers get to where they want to go. We budget for a certain number of diversions during the course of the year.”
Pilots seem to have a certain voice when they talk over the intercom, do you get trained to be like that?
“No. Some of them are not naturally too keen on talking to a large group of people that are sitting behind them so we do spend a bit of time with the guys, teaching them how to do it.”