Skycouch Promotion

Learn about this special offer which allows you to upgrade to Air New Zealand's Skycouch™ at special prices.  Available on the Los Angeles to Auckland route for travel 1 Apr - 8 Jun 2012 and the Los Angeles to London route for travel 07 Nov - 30 Nov 2011.

Mason & Jason

Mason & Jason are a unique pair of inseparable sheep twins who have always found conventional airline seats to be, shall we say, not well suited to their situation. With the introduction of our brand new Skycouch however, they’ve found a spot onboard that’s the perfect fit.

The Skycouch™ is a trio of  Economy Class seats that together create a flexible space for whatever you want it to be - an area to relax and stretch out in, or for the kids to use as a play area. It’s like having your very own couch on the plane.
Skycouch™ Special Offer - Los Angeles to Auckland
 for travel commencing 1 Apr - 8 Jun 2012

      round trip Economy Class airfare from      Skycouch™ Upgrade
round trip per person
Party of 3     $998* per person     $90†
Party of 2     $998* per person      $400†



* Excludes Government fees and taxes of up to $90 USD, depending on routing, which encompasses the Passenger Facility Charge of $4.50 and the September 11th Security Fee of $2.50 USD per person per enplanement in the USA to a maximum of $10.00 USD. Taxes are subject to currency exchange fluctuation and may vary from the estimated taxes shown.Additional baggage charges may apply. Other terms & conditions apply, see below.


Skycouch™ Special Offer - Los Angeles to London
 for travel commencing 07 Nov - 30 Nov 11

      round trip Economy Class airfare from      Skycouch™ Upgrade
round trip per person
Party of 3     $598* per person     $60†
Party of 2     $598* per person     $200†



* Excludes Government fees and taxes of up to $200 USD, depending on routing, which encompasses the Passenger Facility Charge of $4.50 and the September 11th Security Fee of $2.50 USD per person per enplanement in the USA to a maximum of $10.00 USD. Taxes are subject to currency exchange fluctuation and may vary from the estimated taxes shown.Additional baggage charges may apply. Other terms & conditions apply, see below.

Air New Zealand has reinvented air travel with our new fleet of Boeing 777-300 planes that have been thoughtfully designed with passengers in mind. Our new planes offer imaginative seating options, state-of-the-art technology, and a host of unique amenities including the ability to order  drinks via your personal touch screen, over 500 hours of on demand in-flight entertainment available gate-to-gate, and complimentary in-flight concierge service.

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The seats themselves are our Economy seats with armrests that disappear into the back of the seat. There’s also a trinket tray, a winged headrest and a sleep pillow on every seat.

What makes the Skycouch™ different to other Economy seats is the way the trio of seats transform. With a touch of a button, a footrest will come out from under each of the three seats which you can pull up to create a flat, flexible space for you to use however you like. By booking this three-wide seat space, you really can get the most from your long-haul flying experience.

Air New Zealand offers this price for purchase on this website. If you prefer to speak with a specialist, please call our contact center at 800-262-1234. Higher airfares will apply to bookings made over the telephone.

*TERMS & CONDITIONS

†Skycouch™ upgrades: The upgrade fees shown are for round trip travel  and are paid in addition to an Economy fare(s). The Skycouch™ upgrade fees will be given at the time of booking your Economy travel, please select Skycouch™ when prompted with the upgrade message. Airfares stated above exclude estimated taxes. The Economy Skycouch™ fee calculation is based on the number of passengers occupying the group of seats. Each seating option provides a different number of seats and will present a different fee amount. Booking an Economy Skycouch™ allocates three Economy seats to your booking. Each Skycouch™   must include a minimum of one adult passenger .

* TERMS & CONDITIONS

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE. By using this site, you signify you have read and accept these terms and conditions. If you do not agree to these terms, do not use the site.

Fare/Pricing Details - Round trip economy class airfare per person on specified Air New Zealand operated flights between Los Angeles and New Zealand or  Los Angeles and London. Fare is subject to availability and may be withdrawn, changed or extended at any time. Fare listings are for general information only and not a reflection of current seat availability.

Taxes and fees: Excludes all Government fees and taxes of up to $90 USD to Auckland and $200 USD to London which include the  Passenger Facility charge of $4.50 USD and September 11 Security Fee of $2.50 USD per person for each enplanement in the USA, to a maximum of $10.00 USD per person. Taxes, surcharges and fees are subject to currency fluctuation and routing and may vary up or down slightly from the estimated taxes shown.

Payment & Ticketing - Ticket must be purchased at least 2 days prior to travel. Bookings made online must be purchased immediately with credit card. Prices are in US dollars and offer is available in the USA only. Electronic Tickets will be issued on all eligible routes and sent to the email address provided in the booking process. Flights with Air New Zealand (NZ) designator qualify for electronic tickets. No waitlists are permitted. Prices are subject to change at any time. We want to provide you with the most competitive fare deals in a fluctuating marketplace and because of this, prices may go down. Under the fare rules of all fare types (excluding full price fares) we are not able to provide rebooking with a refund of the difference in price if a lower fare becomes available. Please read all fare rules carefully before booking.

Cancellations/Changes - Changes are permitted for $150 USD change penalty per adult/child subject to booking class availability. A service fee of $50 USD per person will apply to changes. New ticket must be of equal or greater value than original ticket.  Ticket is non-refundable; non-endorseable and non-transferable; .For No-shows ticket value is forfeited. Other restrictions may apply.

Baggage Allowance - Learn about our Baggage Allowance.  Additional charges may apply.

Stopovers - not permitted.

Frequent Flyer - Frequent Flyer accrual with programs other than Airpoints is not permitted.

Minimum/Maximum stays - 6 months.

Children/Infants - Accompanied children 2-11 years pay 75% of base fare to Auckland  and the full fuel surcharge of $300; and 80% of the base fare to London and teh full fuel surcharge of $362. Accompanied infants under two years of age not occupying a seat pay 10%. Only one infant discount per adult passenger. For information regarding services for young children, services for young children.

Travel Documentation - Passengers are responsible for obtaining necessary travel visas, or other documentation required for international travel. For further information, regarding travel documentation, please go to travel documentation.

Zachary Quinto getting in Spock shape for ‘Star Trek’ sequel

It’s been a busy week for a certain young Vulcan. Zachary Quinto’s first effort as a producer, the Wall Street thriller “Margin Call,” in which he also stars, hits theaters on Friday. On the eve of the film’s New York premiere, Quinto acknowledged publicly that he’s gay for the first time. In our interview in Thursday’s newspaper, Quinto talks about the meaning of this moment to him, on a personal and professional level.

Quinto’s “Margin Call” role shares a lot in common with Spock — he plays a brainy young investment bank analyst. In November, Quinto said he’ll turn to a very different kind of challenge — readying for a major Spock action scene in J.J. Abrams’ long-awaited “Star Trek” sequel, which starts production in January.

“There’s a big sequence for me that I have to prepare for in this movie physically so I’m training, working on getting in some serious shape, building my cardio endurance, preparing to run a lot,” Quinto said.

While Leonard Nimoy’s Spock was more about mental fitness than physical stunts, Quinto said the new “Trek” franchise already has broken out of that mold: “One of the climactic scenes for me in the first movie was when I go against that grain and lose my cool and beat up Kirk. So I think they’re trying to change that up a little bit and not have him be just intellectual but also have another side.”

As an actor, Quinto is best known for his two genre roles — Spock and as the villainous Sylar from NBC “Heroes” — but that’s not by design, he said.

“I never would have anticipated sci fi factoring so prominently in my career,” Quinto said. “It was not a genre I spent a lot of my own time immersed in. Comic books was not really my bag. I’m grateful for it. I come from a theater background. That’s how I learned to act. There’s something very theatrical about the world of ‘Heroes,’ of ‘Star Trek,’ so it was an easy fit for me. It was comfortable, more on the basis of technique than content…. But to be so closely associated with one of the most iconic characters in the history of sci fi, I have to work a little harder against that expectation.”

Oil & Natural Gas Share Sale Likely in November

NEW DELHI - The follow-on share sale of India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. will likely take place in November, the additional secretary in the department of disinvestment said Wednesday.
However, the government's Steel Authority Of India share sale may not take place this fiscal year, Sidhartha Pradhan said.

The government aims to raise 400 billion rupees through the sale of stakes in state-run companies this fiscal year through March, but it has been able to raise only about 11.45 billion rupees so far amid weak market conditions.

Jim Harbaugh gets under another coach's skin

The Green Bay Packers separated themselves from the top of the NFL, emerging from the weekend at 6-0 and the league's only undefeated team.
The Indianapolis Colts separated themselves in the other direction, dropping to a league-worst 0-6. St. Louis is 0-5 and Miami, which plays at the New York Jets on Monday, is 0-4.

And then there's the separation that had millions of viewers rewinding their DVRs — the quarrelsome quarantine of coaches Jim Schwartz of Detroit and Jim Harbaugh of San Francisco.

Yes, the game of the day led to the postgame of the season, as an irate Schwartz — who had just watched his Lions lose for the first time — lost his cool and went after a leaping-and-hollering Harbaugh, whose postgame celebration made Jim Valvano look reserved. It was reminiscent of a tense midfield meeting with then-USC coach Pete Carroll when Harbaugh was at Stanford.

This time, the excitable Harbaugh, in his first season as an NFL head coach, bounded over to Schwartz after the 49ers' 25-19 victory at Ford Field, and in one abrupt motion vigorously shook the hand of the Lions' coach while pushing past him to continue celebrating.

It was "kind of a slap-grab handshake," Harbaugh said later.

"I was really revved up," he said. "That wasn't me. Just shook his hand too hard. That's on me."

Schwartz looked stunned for a moment, then turned and chased down Harbaugh, using his forearm to shove the 49ers coach in the shoulder. Angry shouts were exchanged. Players stepped between the coaches, the cluster grew — some players even putting their helmets back on as if preparing to rumble — until cooler heads prevailed and the teams made their way to their locker rooms.

"I went to congratulate Coach Harbaugh and got shoved out of the way," Schwartz said. "Didn't expect an obscenity at that point, so it was a surprise to me at the end of the game."

Schwartz didn't specify who swore at him, but it seemed clear he was accusing Harbaugh.

"You win a game like that and you're excited," Schwartz said. "But there's a protocol that goes with this league."

As for their play this season, the 49ers are definitely going against type. They're 3-0 on the road for the first time since 1992 and already have a 2½-game lead in the NFC West.

What's more, Alex Smith is making the big plays when he needs to. On fourth down with less than two minutes to play, Smith threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker to give San Francisco the go-ahead score.

The 49ers left it up to their defense to slam the door, something that unit does very well.

Said Harbaugh of the victory, which came despite 15 penalties by San Francisco: "It fires me up a lot. If that offends you or anybody else, then so be it."

Hazardous work

The Harbaugh-Schwartz skirmish wasn't the only strange coaching occurrence of the day. New Orleans Coach Sean Payton, standing on the sideline at Tampa Bay, couldn't jump out of the way fast enough to avoid Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, who fell on the coach as he was knocked backward out of bounds.

Payton suffered a torn knee ligament and fractured tibia, or shinbone, in his left leg. He was helped off the field and wound up calling the rest of the game from the bench, with his leg elevated. The Saints wound up losing, as the Buccaneers pulled even with them in the NFC South.

Oakland Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell suffered a broken collarbone Sunday and is probably done for the season. Kyle Boller replaced him and finished the game, which means former Ohio State star Terrelle Pryor will almost certainly move into the No. 2 spot behind him.
After Sunday's game, Pryor told reporters he's trying to get up to speed as fast as possible but stepping into that role will be a challenge.

Pryor was suspended for the first five games of the season and was on the sideline for the first time Sunday to watch the victory over Cleveland. The Raiders play host to Kansas City on Sunday.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Pryor told reporters after the game that he has practiced only two days and would be able to step into a backup role "with a minimum amount of plays."

Pryor said the "classroom and being on the field is two completely different things. So some of this stuff is a little longer, the plays and stuff like that. I'm just trying to get a grip on calling the plays fully."

Although he emphasized his confidence "is never a problem," Pryor couldn't say whether he will take any reps in practice right away.

"I don't know," he said. "I'm just waking up tomorrow to watch some film and start a new week."

Another possibility: The Raiders could re-sign former Buffalo starting quarterback Trent Edwards, who was with the team in training camp.

Trick for six

Raiders punter Shane Lechler, who holds on kicks, caught the Browns off guard on a fake field goal, dumping a pass to Kevin Boss for a 35-yard touchdown.

According to NBC, Lechler is the first punter to throw a touchdown pass since Washington's Hunter Smith in 2009.

Oakland's other special-teams touchdown came when Jacoby Ford returned a kickoff 101 yards.

Streak breakers

Even though they can't put many hometown fans in the stands, the Cincinnati Bengals have to be feeling good as they head into their week off. They have a promising rookie quarterback in Andy Dalton, and, as of Week 6, the No. 1-ranked defense.

Sunday, they extended their winning streak to three games — their first such run in two years — and ended a seven-game losing streak against Indianapolis, which has never lost to the Bengals with Peyton Manning at quarterback.

A week ago, Cincinnati won at Jacksonville for the first time in eight tries. And a week before that, the Bengals beat Buffalo, ending a 10-game losing streak to the Bills (who had been unbeaten).

Middle finger-backer

Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk threw someone down, then threw something up. After sacking the Rams' Sam Bradford in the second quarter Sunday, Hawk raised his middle finger and directed it toward the Green Bay sideline. There was no mistaking the gesture, which was caught by TV cameras.

Hawk apologized afterward, calling it a "running joke" among the Packers.

"It was a joke, and I kind of got caught up in the emotion of the game," he said. "I definitely apologize if any kids or anyone else saw it. I have a daughter myself, so I wouldn't want her doing that. I got excited and I got caught up in the game. It was just, I guess, a bad joke. I definitely won't do it again."

That promise might not save him from being fined by the NFL.

Banks turn to demolition of foreclosed properties to ease housing-market pressures

Cleveland — The sight of excavators tearing down vacant buildings has become common in this foreclosure-ravaged city, where the housing crisis hit early and hard. But the story behind the recent wave of demolitions is novel — and cities around the country are taking notice.

A handful of the nation’s largest banks have begun giving away scores of properties that are abandoned or otherwise at risk of languishing indefinitely and further dragging down already depressed neighborhoods.
The banks have even been footing the bill for the demolitions — as much as $7,500 a pop. Four years into the housing crisis, the ongoing expense of upkeep and taxes, along with costly code violations and the price of marketing the properties, has saddled banks with a heavy burden. It often has become cheaper to knock down decaying homes no one wants.

The demolitions in some cases have paved the way for community gardens, church additions and parking lots. Even when the result is an empty lot, it can be one less pockmark. While some widespread demolitions could risk hollowing out the urban core of struggling cities such as Cleveland, advocates say that the homes being targeted are already unsalvageable and that the bulldozers are merely “burying the dead.”

T he task of plowing under the homes rests with the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp., which grew out of a 2009 state law aimed at creating “land banks” with the power and money to acquire unwanted properties and put them to better use — or at least put them out of their misery.

The efforts have led other states to pursue similar laws to deal with their own foreclosure epidemics. New York passed a comparable measure this summer. Similar legislation is in the works in Georgia, Philadelphia and elsewhere.

Cleveland has found progress in the sliver of common ground between the land bank’s mission and the interest of financial firms, including some that helped fuel the housing crisis through risky loans and later botched paperwork in carrying out foreclosures across the country.

This collaboration was uncomfortable at first, said Gus Frangos, the Cuyahoga land bank’s president and one of the people behind the state law.

“Two years ago, when we started . . . it was difficult,” he said. “Everybody was guarded.”

After countless meetings, however, land bank officials and banking representatives shed their initial wariness of one another. Frangos made a simple pitch: We’re not here to point fingers. We’ll take your worst properties, the ones not worth keeping. Pony up for the demolition, and you’ll still come out ahead. Just don’t walk away from them.

Bank of America and Wells Fargo announced plans this summer to donate more than 100 properties to the land bank. J.P. Morgan Chase also has made regular donations, and several other banks have given sporadically. Fannie Mae, the massive mortgage finance company seized by the federal government three years ago, began donating properties early on and now hands over about 30 properties a month, Frangos said.