Refund rules clarifications
 

A bit confused about this situation and wanted it cleared up. I have a roundtrip flight on Air New Zealand LAX-LON-WAW, LAX-LON on NZ and LON-WAW is on BA (codeshare), It's all on a single Air New Zealand ticket. Flight date is August 28 so it's well into the future. NZ has announced the cancellation all flights on the LAX-LON sector until June 30 however it looks very likely that they will cancel the entire LAX-LON route permanently since they were going to replace that route anyways in October 2020.

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/trave...ndon-crew.html

My question - I booked the trip through Ovago, a 3rd party travel agent. IF my flight is cancelled I will try to get my money back from Ovago of course. However, say Ovago goes bankrupt in the next couple of months what is my recourse then? Do I get my money back directly from NZ since the money has already been received by NZ and the bankruptcy of a travel agent shouldn't preclude me from receiving what is owed to me.

2nd question - NZ may offer me an alternate flight which given the circumstances is fine by me, I am trying to be as flexible as possible, however I may not want to take it if it costs more than the original flight. What are my rights in this regard?

3rd question (sorry if it's too many) - I paid NZ directly for upgraded seats, I should be entitled to a refund directly from NZ on that? Are refund rights for upgraded services on the reservation the same as the ticket itself?

I can't do anything at the moment since NZ has not announced anything for their flights after June 30.

nobody knows anything about this?

A brave assumption Air NZ already has received your money from Ovago
If paid by credit card does it show Ovago as the vendor? Only the entity you paid money to can/will refund you.

Air NZ LAX-LHR from another thread in Air NZ forum.

excellent, thanks for the update

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The flight originates in the US so US DOT rules apply. NZ will be more than happy to lie about that if they think they can get to keep your money.

The base ticket is with the OTA. Air NZ have nothing to do with it until the day you fly, basically. If you wanted a refund and the flight is cancelled then you have to go to the OTA. If they go bankrupt then it's down to your insurance coverage, whether travel insurance or credit card coverage. 50/50 chance on US insurance paying out as a lot of them don't have a pandemic exclusion. Even fewer card companies have it. (That'll be changing!)

Upgrades. If you paid NZ directly for those then your contract on those is with NZ, not the OTA. Again, because the lfight originates in the US, US DOT rules apply and you must be given a refund if you ask for it.

Alternate routes/flights. The airline can offer you alternate routes etc. The OTA may even do so too depending on how good they are. In both cases you can accept them or ask for a refund. You're under no obligation and the ticket being non-refundable (if it is/was) is not relevant.