New Zealand's national airline is looking for bald passengers to head up a new advertising campaign.

Air New Zealand said on Tuesday it is looking for 50 people willing to be a "cranial billboard" with a message temporarily tattooed on their shaved heads for two weeks advertising new speedy check-in services.

The airline said it will pay NZ$1000 (£350) per head, making it easy money for bald-headed frequent fliers.

"How better to tell our customers that Air New Zealand is going to do something about (long check-in queues) ... than through messaging they can read while they're standing in a queue themselves?" the airline's marketing manager Steve Bayliss said in a statement.