So much for the Star Alliance!

Last March I purchased two Pacific Premium Economy r/t tickets on Air New Zealand from SFO to SYD. The first flight was on Dec. 22nd, and the routing was from SFO-LAX on United, then LAX-AKL and AKL-SYD on Air NZ. When problems arose, it was interesting how Air NZ didn't want to accept responsibility, and I was left to my own creativity to figure out a solution.

About three hours before our planned departure, I checked the United flight's status and found out it was running 2-1/2 hours late, which would mean certainly missing the Air NZ connection to AKL. I never got a call about the delay from United or Air NZ, and was advised on the phone to go to the airport as soon as possible to check out other options. The Air NZ rep that I spoke with was not helpful at all - in fact, she blamed United and said it was not Air NZ's problem since UA was the first leg! (Excuse me? I bought the tickets from Air NZ.)

Upon arrival at SFO, the United ticket counter rep tried to be helpful by putting us on the standby list for the only earlier UA flight to LAX. After checking us in, she said it 'looked good'. We literally ran to the gate (for you SFO flyers, it was Gate 90 - at the very end), only to find we were far down the standby list and couldn't be accommodated. We returned to the ticket counter, and the same agent suggested that we accept their last two economy seats on the UA non-stop to Sydney that night but could not offer us any compensation for the difference in fare. Since we had paid for expensive Premium Economy seats on Air NZ, this was unacceptable. (Also, we planned to meet up with family in LA for the Air NZ flights.)

The only way we could get to LA in time for the Air NZ flights was to take a Southwest flight at our own expense, which cost $100 each. We scrambled over to Southwest and thankfully made it with some time to spare. Once in LA, we requested to speak with the Air NZ station manager there. We asked to be compensated for the extra expense to get to LA, since there were literally no other options (and yes, I realize that Southwest operates independently). Again - there was more blaming of United and saying it was out of Air NZ's hands. These two airlines are Star Alliance 'partners?'

I should also mention that about five months after initially purchasing the tickets from Air NZ, there was a schedule change and I was not informed. I only found out about it because I was online one day checking out our seat assignments. Air NZ had actually booked us on a United flight to LA that was scheduled to arrive AFTER the departing Air NZ flight! Apparently they never caught the misconnection, and only switched us to an earlier flight (in hindsight - amusing) after I called to point it out.

Air NZ and United should strive to find better ways of communicating with each other and their customers, and at a minimum stop the finger pointing when things go awry.