We got the flight that we wanted and that was not bookable in that form (multi-stop trip) on the Air New Zealand website. The agent, Alex Victor, was very helpful and kept in touch by phone throughout the booking process (which took a while due to www problems in their call centre). So far, so good. However, I do not like the overall business model of Travelup and other such 'brokers' who sell flights via skyscanner, who lure customers with low rates, which then miraculously increase when one starts booking them. Having about 40 years of long-haul flight experience, I find it not very credible that rates all of a sudden go up by a few hundred pounds. So I would normally always book directly with the airline of my choice if I can. But these companies do provide employment to lots of people in their call centres and back offices, and I just hope they pay them decent wages - considering all the profits they are making by marking up flights!