nzkarit

It's a fluid situation. Though level 4 has given them clear guidance for four weeks at least.

Rustydfa

[QUOTE=ClanJ;32228157]The options that AIRNZ are offering seem to change constantly, see now option of rebook without fees is available foe flights booked up to 30 June[/QUOTE/]

They just no longer show Change Fee. Been checking for couple J fares in May to change to November, price still the same to change when showing Change Fee as it is now with no Change Fee shown.

racekp

We had TT flights early April which had been suspended. Got the intiial email of advising can now self service for a fare credit online, but details of how the credit can actually be used will come later......I did nothing as was looking for a refund

Since have had our outgoing flight cancelled (prior government announcement for lockdown), as soon as they cancelled (fligth dropped off the app) we got another email stating they are automatically putting our fare in credit, we didnt have to do anything. So even though our flight was not until 8th April I had to get on the phone to stop the credit and request a refund.

Managed to get though pretty quick, apologised for ringing for flights still a couple of weeks away, explained situation and email comms and asked for a refund to be processed instead of the credit. Without even looking at the booking or dates the agent told me no, post Mar 31st credit only. So she said I'd have to ring back after the 31st (unsure why as the travel situation is not going to be any better after the 31st) I said I did not want the credit processed in the meantime, but she said they can still refund after a credit has processed. It really seems hit and miss depending on what agent you get.

Return flight home is still 'suspended' not cancelled.

I'll be ringing back in a few days to try again for refund. I don't want to have to call again as I fully understand the situation but the agent gave me no option but to have to ring back.

NZ_Flyer

Yep I've had the same experience. Very hard line on a credit now for all flights 1 April 2020 onwards regardless of situation. I have AKL-MEL-AKL over Easter and would have liked the money back. Tried a few different avenues (very nicely obviously) but they stayed very firm and so I just took the credits

bce1

A hard line even on fully refundable fares?

Said previously I have moved several fights so not overly fussed, but interested if these are refundable?

racekp

That's mildly annoying, are they doing that on the basis of slipping in a change to their T&Cs do you think. I've got a reasonable sum of money (well for me personally) locked up in peak school holiday priced flights I'd like to get back given uncertain times ahead. Maybe it's not worth me phoning back then unless there are any examples of people getting refunds from a few days ago moving forward for post 31 march flights.

racekp

Also does anyone know if flights were a combination of APD and card, do they give the APD back to your APD balance and hold the card amount in credit or is the full fare amount in credit regardless of payment method?

JamesBigglesworth

If *they've* cancelled the flights then they must refund if the customer wants. It's simple CGA law. They have zero legal right to hold on to the money. You can't contract out of the CGA so what the CoC say and what they may or may not have slipped in since purchase is irrelevant. If they're doing it as a matter of policy and doing it to multiple people then that gets into class action territory.

kiwicyclo

I just had this happen, the full amount is being held as a credit. No APD back to my account.

Beano

So leave the cancellation to the last minute before the flight .

JamesBigglesworth

I would expect that is *exactly* why they "suspending" flights rather than cancelling them up front. IMO NZ are absolute slime when it comes to trying to keep their hands on your money and they rely on people not understanding what rights they do and don't have..

racekp

I've not canclled anything, nor have accepted a credit. Rung to get a refund for cancelled flight and was declined. I'll try again via email

"....Travel restricitons are increasing daily and as a result, we are now cancelling most of our internaltional flights with no alternative travel options available. Unfortunately, this includes cancelling your flight/s with us on [booking number].

We will automatically credit your flight........Due to the susbequent cancellation of your flight/s we will now be processing an automatic credit for your fare.......If a credit does not meet your needs, you may have other options available to you. Please refer to the CoC and other appliacable fare rules........

A credit did not meet my needs so I rung and got told no refund, reason being post 31 Mar travel. They have cancelled it on 23/03 for 8/04 travel

wayoutwest

The credit is not even for 12 months but 50 weeks, that’s what I have got every time

JamesBigglesworth

Keep it simple and clear, mention the CG Act, and give them 10 days to respond. If they refuse or don't respond then simply file the paperwork for Small Claims/Disputes/Whatever it's called this week. With SC you have to name a person even when it's really the company you're taking to court. Always name the CEO *as CEO of the company*

rienhart87

Hi guys, I have a few questions about claiming for refund or getting flight credits. I hope this is the correct thread as this is my first Air New Zealand flight ever.

So I booked a return flight from Singapore to Auckland on March 13 and Auckland to Singapore on March 23. I booked this flight on Feb 2. Separately, my travel partner booked a return flight Auckland to Papeete on March 16 and Papeete Auckland on March 22 (to connect with my flight back to Singapore) with Qantas but the operating carrier is Air Tahiti Nui.

I flew with NZ on the Singapore to Auckland portion. It was a great fight in Premium Economy, much better than Cathay's or SQ's Premium economy experience. I heard good reviews about Air New Zealand before, but only when I flew with them I realized how good they are. I also flew from Auckland to Papeete with Air Tahiti Nui. Also a great flight. On March 18, my friends and I had a discussion and we decided to cut our travel plan short. Initially we would still be in Tahiti until March 22 but we decided it was time to go back home (for me to Dubai) seeing more and more governments closing their borders to foreigners. So we checked online and we found that Air New Zealand had a flight on March 20 from Papeete back to Auckland. On March 19, We decided to cancel our Air Tahiti Nui flight and book this Air New Zealand flight and I decided to bring forward my Auckland-Singapore leg from March 23 to March 21 so that I will only be transiting in Auckland as the govt had closed the border for non-NZ citizens. We called Air New Zealand French Polynesia office and the very kind agent who picked up our call confirmed that we can transit in Auckland on March 21, the agent also confirmed that she can connect this new booking with my existing AKL-SIN booking and she moved this flight for me to my desired date of March 21 without any fee.

Great! We all thought that we are good to go. My friend checked the news constantly, he sent DM to Auckland Airport's, he sent twitter message to Immigration new zealand, etc. all attempts to assure and confirm that as foreigners, we would still be allowed to transit in Auckland. All of us had no intention to clear immigration. March 19 evening, we came to Papeete airport to check in for NZ43 that departed at around 2AM March 20. When it was our turn to be called to the check in desk, the first thing that the agent asked us was "are you new zealanders?" to which we replied "no, I am Indonesian, he is French, he is German, etc". Then she swiftly produced a piece of white paper and asked us to read it and simultaneously said "sorry I can't check you in, you are not flying tonight, the govt said no more transiting". We were very shocked. I looked around and I realized that I was not the only one who got denied to fly that night. Almost every pax except the NZ citizens and a few Australians managed to check-in but I would say 1/2 or even 2/3 of the pax were denied.

We then produced different evidences that we had as proofs that we could transit in Auckland but definitely to no avail. This is where things get tricky.

Air New Zealand check-in agent that handled us refused to do anything. She said there is nothing that she can do. We asked what will happen to our connecting flights from Auckland, in this case the AKL-SIN that I had, my friend had AKL-SIN as well but with SQ, etc. She just kept on saying she did not know, go online, everything is posted online, there is nothing she can do. We asked her to help rebook us on Air Tahiti Nui flight (TN78 from Papeete to Tokyo) that was departing 40 mins before the air new zealand flight. She said she can't do that, there is no agreement between Air Tahiti Nui and Air New Zealand. We asked her for a refund, she said she can't do that. We proved to her that there was no attempt from air new zealand to warn us that we could not fly anymore, there was no phone call, there was no e-mail to warn us, even when we used the 'manage my booking' function, everythin was 'normal'. To which she replied, "i don't know about that or why we did not warn you but you can't fly, i can't check you in because the NZ govt says so". She also refused to process refund or getting flight credits.

While I understand that this is the impact of NZ govt decision, I believe that Air New Zealand through its ground handling agent at PPT, the reservation agent that we called the day earlier, and the whole reservation team must be held responsible as well. The fact that we were not the only one who got denied at check-in proved that other pax were also unaware of this decision by NZ govt. THere was no assistance whatsoever given by Air New Zealand. No communication at all. As pax, we have done our part of the responsibilities. They left 2//3 of the plane stranded and on their own at PPT. My traveling buddies are EU citizens so they can stay in Tahiti for a while, but I am on 15-day tourist visa. French Polynesia is also on lock down and that NZ43 and TN078 were the last two flights out of French Polynesia.

As a result, I had to reroute my plan and bought a one-way ticket to fly on that Air Tahiti Nui to Tokyo and then bought another one way ticket from Tokyo to Jakarta with Japan Airlines. My friends had to do the same, we all bought one way to Tokyo and then they bought another one way tickets to various points in Europe. I cannot shake the feeling that I feel cheated and let down by Air New Zealand. The way they just washed their hands and removed their responsibilities are unprofessional. The day we bought the PPT-AKL ticket was March 19 PPT time, it was March 20 already in NZ time. As the policy to not allow transit passenger was to be effective on March 20 23:59 NZ time, Air New Zealand should have known and had time to warn affected passengers.

Am I right to claim for a refund on the AKL-SIN part of my booking which I never get the chance to fly? Also for my friend who made the booking for the Papeete to Auckland flight, is he right to claim for refund as all 4 of us in the end did not fly this leg? Because NZ43 and NZ283 that I was booked on were not suspended or cancelled or anything. On march 21, upon my arrival in Jakarta, I immediately sent e-mail to Air New Zealand, I also contacted them on their Facebook messenger account but to no avail. I tried to call their customer service line, no one picked up my calls. What else can I pursue to get the assistance?

THanks guys! Looking forward for your feedback!