Originally Posted by
nzkarit
Before SARS-CoV-2 began its rounds it was never an issues as if a flight was cancelled outside of weather AirNZ gave a refund. Which was more than the T&Cs required. So we don't actually need these protections.
The bit that people are struggling with now is AirNZ is actually enforcing their T&Cs, when in the past they did not.
If you wanted a refund for all cancellations AirNZ offered a product which allowed for this, most people opted for the cheaper option without this protection in the T&Cs
I think these statements are a simplification, and possibly inaccurate.
If a passenger has a flight that is non-refundable under the 'fare conditions', they could still be refunded in certain circumstances under the Conditions of Carriage. An example would be where a service is cancelled completely, or has a timing adjustment that is unacceptable to the passenger. In both cases a passenger should be fully refunded irrespective of the non-refundable 'fare conditions' if any alternative travel options are unacceptable to them.
Of course, if the passenger is holding a ticket with non-refundable fare conditions, then in circumstances that drive
their need to cancel (ie pax initiated cancellation) they either have accepted such a risk and are prepared to lose the fare, or have sought separate cover such as travel insurance. If they initiate cancellation on a non-refundable fare with no travel insurance, then they could still be refunded the taxes that NZ has collected on behalf of other agencies. This should happen automatically, but I have always had to ask for this.