Consumer NZ has provide some input:

Every ticket bought for an Air New Zealand flight to and from the US should be refunded as a result of cancellations due to the coronavirus, said Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson.

"We've been in contact with the US Department of Transportation about this. It doesn't matter where you bought the ticket, it's a fact of the flight being the US.

"The refund obligation applies to all ticketed passengers on flights to and from the US, regardless of where the individual purchased their ticket or their citizenship."

See also:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/mon...is-consumer-nz

It appears from the story that Air NZ has finally conceded this issue.

Yep you would think so reading the article but not my experience when I rang to ask for a refund. 3 mins to get thru asked for refund for AKL/LAX/LHR in Oct on NZ2, on hold for 10 mins, told credit only option, supervisor please 2 mins quite a long discussion with the following learned:

NZ6/NZ2 qualifies for refund under DOT and will be fully refunded now.
NZ2/NZ2 does not as a point to point ? can't really see the difference, really a thin straw between the two.

Even thought the LAX/LHR section of the ticket is no longer operating the ticket remains live and any changes or cancellation will incur the normal fees.

The ticket will remain live until cancelled which is unlikely till very close to the date of the flight. Policy on this changes daily so probably best leave it as it is.

As about policy and redemption of credits told not really any so became a non starter for me as don't do things that I no nothing about.

So in short have a live ticket, partly cancelled, but not fully cancelled, AIRNZ has my money for few more months. Cannot do a DOT or chargeback as do not have an actual cancellation to do so. Game, set, match to NZ

I really did feel sorry for the front line staff who to me seemed tired, under stress and having to implement policy that they do not agree with, while the puppet masters sit in thier ivory towers. Greg Foran needs to spend sometime on the phones to get perspective. Policy seems to be on the hoof with no real thought to 1,2,3 order effects, customer loyalty and plain common sense. IMHO Govt needs to get real grip and give poor AIRNZ real timelines to get the internal network fired up as the virus is now well contained and very low risk.

Does Europe have any similar laws to USA DOT as in applicability for flying into and out of ? or do the euro DOT equivalent only cover flights within the regions.

Pretty deplorable to be still selling tickets on the LAX-LHR sector and not cancelling it right away when they have every intention NOT to operate that flight. NZ is being less than transparent and in my eyes pretty deceitful towards their customers as well. When the airline has full knowledge that they no longer intend to provide those services why are they trying to wait to see if the customer will cancel first? Surely we know this game that they are trying to play.

Yes, EC261. Not sure of the applicability in circumstances of COVID19:

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizen...r/index_en.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight...ion_Regulation
https://paxex.aero/2020/03/eu261-rel...virus-covid19/

Air NZ is clearly breaching the fair trading act. "Businesses can breach the Fair Trading Act if they demand or accept payments when they do not reasonably believe they will be able to provide the goods or service". Air New Zealand still have these published flights for sale, even though by their own admission they do not reasonably believe they will be able to supply the said service. A very fine line they are treading. I would think an entity such as Air New Zealand would be all over their commercial compliance to relevant acts.

No.

US DOT rules apply for all flights to or from the US (as well as within).

EC 261/2004 only applies to non-EU carriers for departures from the EU.

However, that may not make a difference. If one holds a ticket NZ-EU-NZ, and the return is cancelled, the whole ticket is subject to the Regulation's refund provisions.

This does not matter for US DOT refundability. "Live" is not an operative term. Either a specific flight is scheduled to operate or it has been cancelled. There is nothing inbetween.

If the specific flight is still scheduled, then the refund rule does not apply. Simply wait until the flight is cancelled and then request your refund.

I'll quibble - my response was to Ged 's question:
So the question was all about Europe. And yes, Europe does have similar laws to US DOT, namely EU261/2004, and I provided some linked information to go and find the details as personally I am not familiar with the provisions.

You have provided some useful detail on applicability, so great....

Been successful in securing my full refund for flights to and from the USA from the deceitful AirNZ today.
Everyone who is struggling please complain to US Department of Transportation. Its a very simple, easy form and a real person with a real email address will respond and confirm that you are indeed due a refund.
Additionally, when they have enough complaints the US DoT will take enforcement action against AirNZ.
Once you have that email from US DoT, AirNZ someone seems to find the policy that they can indeed provide you with a refund.
Good luck, stay safe and contact US DoT and look forward to your full refund from Air NZ. Accept nothing less! After all, who knows if they will still be around when you want to use your credit!

A warm welcome to FlyerTalk and your first post - great that it was with your recent experiences in a pertinent thread.

Thanks for your contribution. TK

Did Airnz initially reject your cash refund ?

Filed a DOT complaint 16th April
DOT "replied" 28th April - it was a semi personalised response indicacting that based on the information provided at the time of the consumer complaint that Air New Zealand was required under DOT rules to provide a full refund.

Air NZ have replied 29th April direct to me, with a forwarded copy of my complaint to DOT and their response where they had authorised a full refund to my TA. Interesting instruction to AIR NZ from DOT

Case # DK__________

Dear Customer Relations Official:

Enclosed is a copy of a complaint that we recently received about your company. Under DOT rules, airlines are required to acknowledge receipt of this complaint to the complainant within 30 days and provide a substantive response to the complainant within 60 days. See 14 CFR 259.7(c). If your company has already received a copy of this complaint directly from the complainant or from another source, those deadlines are calculated from the date that you first received a copy of the complaint.

As this complaint is about an area that appears to fall under one of our rules, please send us a copy of your response(s) to the complainant and include the case number at the top of this communication.

Sincerely,

xxxxxxx xxxxx
U.S. Department of Transportation
Aviation Consumer Protection Division"As this complaint is about an area that appears to fall under one of our rules, please send us a copy of your response(s) to the complainant and include the case number at the top of this communication".

DOT does not deal with typical customer service issue. Therefore, the complaint is screened to determine jurisdiction first. If this falls within DOT's jurisdiction, then DOT can order for the response.

But again - the response will mostly mention that the airline has reached a amicable solution with the complainant and the matter in question has been resolved. This is to avoid accept any liabilities.