Air New Zealand search tips

Most of the time you'll find exactly what you were looking for with just a basic query. However the following tips can help you refine your technique to make the most of your searches.

Some basic facts

Every word matters. Generally, all the words you put in the query will be used. Search is not case sensitive. Searching for "airpoints" is the same as searching for "Airpoints".

Guidelines for better search

Keep it simple. If you're looking for a particular destination, just enter its name, or as much of its name as you can recall. If you're looking for a particular product, start with its name. Most queries do not require advanced operators or unusual syntax. Simple is good.

Think how the page you are looking for will be written. A search engine is not a human; it is a program that matches the words you give to pages on the web.

Use the words that are most likely to appear on the page. For example, instead of saying "what time does NZ5 get in", say "arrivals". The query "what country do I need a visa for?" is very clear to a person, but the document that gives the answer may not have those words. Instead, use the query "visa requirements" or even just "visas", because that is probably what the right page will say.

Describe what you need with as few terms as possible. The goal of each word in a query is to focus it further. Since all words are used, each additional word limits the results. If you limit too much, you will miss a lot of useful information. The main advantage to starting with fewer keywords is that, if you don't get what you need, the results will likely give you a good indication of what additional words are needed to refine your results on the next search. For example, "excess baggage" is a simple way to find baggage information and it is likely to give better results than the longer "excess baggage for flights to London".