oranjemakker

So NZ have cancelled 4 of the CHC-AKL flights today. Apparently its for a "variety" of reasons including engineering. Consequence is that all flights running 100% (presumably oversold) , making it a very profitable day for the airline.
Am I being cynical that the airline for some of the IRROPS NZ is using covid related matters as a cover to simply fill flights by cancelling others? To cancel four flights on a day on one route makes a mockery of their schedule. I suppose since its a Sunday they think they can get away with it.

Also of course with scheduling like this which seems all too common right now, it kind of makes flexi time a bit pointless.

nzkarit

They have also cancelled WLG-AKL flights today.

Cancelling flights to improve load factors is a fools errand. Especially at the moment as load factors in their NZX fillings in some cases is higher than 2019.

Cancelling flights you end up planes & crews out of position. And increases load on the phone teams which are already stretched thin.

cavemanzk

The New Zealand’s covid isolation rules, are old an outdated.

Crewing right now must be a nightmare, technically if a crew members has an winter sniffle technically they are sick and can’t work.

nzkarit

Given the they are in a safety role, kinda want them to be 100% and not sick. Heard too many stories people feel a little unwell and then a couple of hours later people being out for the count. Don't want that for people in a safety critical role. Also as an airline you don't want you staff going sick mid trip and having to give people a place to stay and get a replacement crew to an outstation. Also know a couple of household contacts which first tested positive on day 10 or so (was from a household contact given hadn't be out)

Also yeah the NZ rules are out of date with 7 days. It should be 7 days and 2 days of no symptoms and 2 days of negative tests. If you are testing positive you are still infectious.

But also if you have sniffle you are sick and you should stay home and not pass it on. This is really showing how selfish people are.

CHCflyer

Fares are very high, loads are chokka, NZ is simply turning away cash when flights get cancelled. And they can't accommodate the re-bookings on the same day.Paying for hotel rooms for some means NZ can be seriously out of pocket.
Though I do wonder how things would pan out here if we had an EU261 law.

Thai-Kiwi

AirNZ has obligations to cover costs if the matter was 'within their control'. CAA Act states up to 10x cost for the fare - of course that might not be sufficient, and additional cover could be wise (esp over peak periods).

l etoile

I removed a few posts regarding travel insurance. Those are off topic for this thread on cancellations/operations, but there are numerous threads about travel insurance on Flyertalk if you’re interested in discussing that.

Thanks,
l etoile
sr moderator

akl_cat

I had two CHC-AKL flights cancelled on me in a row yesterday (July 31st). Was on the 4pm, then 6pm, then 7pm which finally went ahead.

Yes the 7pm flight was chocka but it did seem to me that Air NZ was genuinely struggling with staffing. When I got on the 7pm service I noticed there were two pursers (azure scarf) greeting passengers by the front door - not entirely unusual. Then in her welcome PA one of the pursers announced "your Auckland based crew welcomes you onboard". But upon arrival the other purser (who acted as a crew throughout the flight) rushed out of the plane (highly unusual as crew deplanes last). When I got out I saw her at the gate of the last AKL-CHC flight asking for a boarding pass to head back to CHC.

So presumably they were so short on staff they had to grab a purser from CHC to stand-in for a missing staff so they could operate our flight. Though now Air NZ had a taste of 100% load factors, we might just see these "operational cancellations" becoming the norm in the future

Kiwi Flyer

3 recent trips all had at least 1 flight cancel for operational reasons. Makes more difficult to connect to the regional centers.

cavemanzk

They must be looking very forward to the domestic a321N’s arrivals. Although maybe they should of use the 240 ULCC config option.

They are also running a lot more Tasman/Pacific flights now with the a321/0NEO’s which will be putting more pressure on that crew pool. I’d assume they would probably prioritise a Tasman flight, over a domestic flight with cancellations.

Essayer to clear a back log of domestic passengers in CHC, than having 200 passengers stuck in SYD.

CHCflyer

Same is true for AvSec and MPI - shuttling staff between airports to cover for absences for numerous reasons.

Ged

Just had the 6am CChurch to Melbourne cancelled in last 10mins due to crew availability. Seems they managed to rebook us upto Auckland then from Auckland onto Melbourne so bit of a detour and delay but technically still going - at this time.

11277m

...and also cancelled NZ227 06:40 CHC-SYD on Sunday 7th Aug

Mwenenzi

Also cancelled is SYD-WLG NZ246 09:25 Sunday 07 Aug (The same aircraft as above?)

nzkarit

NHB this morning ended up doing 221 to MEL this morning.

246 doesn't have an aircraft attached today.