Originally Posted by
NZ_Flyer
FYI latest email comms from NZ have stated they will now be automatically putting all cancelled flights into credit rather than contacting customers for options/advising them of what's happening
Do passengers at least have the right to request the cancelled flight credit be put into a refund?
My experience:
I called Air NZ on Monday night to cancel two tickets & request refund (not credit) for NZ 7 SFO-AKL this Friday, returning NZ 8 on April 19 which had been cancelled by AirNZ. The app didn't show NZ 8 as cancelled but it wasn't coming up on itasoftware.matrix.com as bookable, either. Hold wait time was close to an hour. Someone helped fill a form over the phone and a booking agent called me back in 1 business day (was advised it could be 1-5 days to receive a reply) to clarify if I was cancelling one segment or the entire itinerary. Received a few emails afterwards showing receipt of refund request for fare + tax + seat assignment fees. The booking agent advised it could take 15-20 days to see the refund be applied to my credit card. Everyone was polite and I apologized for having jumped the 48 hour queue as I wanted to make sure Friday's seats are available to those who need them. If it matters to others, I'm subject to shelter in place mandate in my US county and am not NZ citizen nor related to one. Perhaps I fell into a slim window before it was credit and flight suspension vs cancellation?
I still have a few independently booked flexitime domestic sectors booked which are still showing up in itasoftware.matrix.com. I'll need to take it up with my credit card insurance provider soon if the flight schedule isn't updated, as I cancelled the trip due to cruise company cancelling my cruise and state has a stay-at-home order.