A Touch of Love: Air New Zealand’s Floral Delight for Mother’s Day Travellers

The idea behind airport luggage carousels is to meet a single, straightforward expectation: that your bag will show up intact before the airport closes. Mother’s Day was observed last Sunday in New Zealand and Australia, thus the country’s flag carrier made the decision to add some color to the rotating black track and cheer up the mothers waiting for their baggage.

The Mother’s Day Surprises

Mother’s Day travelers on more than 1,000 Air New Zealand flights received a grand and lovely surprise when the airline left rose bouquets at baggage claim locations all throughout the nation.
Baggage carousels at seven airports, including Auckland (AKL), Wellington, Napier, Gisborne, Nelson, Palmerston North, and Christchurch (CHC), were converted into Bouquet Claims by Air New Zealand (AirNZ). A bouquet of flowers could be chosen by each passenger when the belt started up, “either for themselves or as gifts to their mums, motherly figures, or anyone extra special in their lives,” the airline announced this morning.

The roses were available for pickup by passengers arriving on 18 aircraft at the seven airports, which means Star Alliance member Air New Zealand distributed more than 1,000 bouquets. In addition to Wellington (WLG), Christchurch, Gisborne, Napier, Palmerston North, and Nelson, there were four planes that landed at Auckland Airport.

The aircraft arrived in good time for those going to the customary Mother’s Day lunch with family and friends, between 7:25 and 11:30.

Leanne Geraghty, Chief Customer and Sales Officer for Air New Zealand said: “We are so lucky to have such amazing, loyal customers who travel with us here at Air New Zealand, so we wanted to do something extra special to brighten their day and make them smile this Mother’s Day.”

The crew teased the passengers during their flights with a surprise waiting for them after landing, and when the passengers arrived to pick up their luggage, the roses were already on the baggage belts. Added Geraghty: “We love to surprise and delight our customers, from Christmas presents handed out on onboard in December, to tasty hot cross buns served for easter, to Welcome Back hampers dished out to customers when borders reopened post-pandemic. It’s nice to be able to show our appreciation by doing something special.”

The bouquets were meticulously wrapped in reused hessian and provided by AirNZ in collaboration with its cargo partner, NZ Bloom, and nearby flower shops Wild Poppies. With more than 200 tonnes of flowers transported annually, including almost five tonnes just in the week before Mother’s Day, the airline is no stranger to the difficult task of delivering flowers.

One of Air New Zealand’s ATR 72-600 turboprops, as seen in the photo, carried some of the bouquets on board. In addition to the 50-seat De Havilland DHC-8-Q300 turboprops it utilizes for domestic flights, the airline operates 29 of the 68-seat aircraft. By the end of the decade, AirNZ hopes to replace 23 of its DHC-8-Q300 aircraft with newer, emission-free models.