codyc1515

From https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/ai...PB2OP5CP42Q4A/
Cautiously optimistic that the wait times may improve.

Thai-Kiwi

If this attracts back previously trained and competent staff, great. However new hires will require training and some OJE before they can deal efficiently with more complex matters.

SDB22

Phoned at 615am this morning, held for about 2min before being offered a callback.
Called returned within 10min. Happy days

alacritynz

Phoned yesterday and offered callback - was rung back about 2 hours later. All good so far. Have a WN to Raro return booking in July and wanted to change the WN-AK legs to CHC-AK legs (I've moved). Yes sir, that will be $700+ and I cannot guarantee the AK-Raro seats you already have, as I have to release them while I rebook. In spite of me pointing out that there were available cheap(ish) CHC-AK-CHC flights available at the right time for less than half of $700, I just got the "this is all I can do, sir" treatment. Then I said, well I have to pick up bags in AK on the way back - can you just rebook me on a CH flight coming back - "Yes, sir that will be $300+". In spite of me pointing out that the flight was showing as lots of seats free and about $150, I just got the "those are the rules, sir" spiel.
I have been NZ*E for 20 years and I miss the old elite line and the "I understand what you are trying to do, let's see what we can do" service that you used to get. Needless to say, I ended the call and booked the extra AK-CHC flight (will be a no-show on the AK-WN flight, but won't tell AirNZ, in case that causes more problems for me). Booked an extra CHC-WN flight too.
In summary, did my own solution for less than half the price of what AirNZ was "helpfully" offering - whilst tieing up a seat that AirNZ could have resold, and most importantly leaving me upset and frustrated with the airline I have supported for 20+ years. (perhaps because I remember how it used to be..).

sbiddle

Domestic add-ons are not regular flights and require specific booking classes and availability.

Thai-Kiwi

As @sbiddle notes, the domestic add-on is related to the long-haul fare class, even if the domestic sector as a ‘standalone’ domestic fare is cheaper. This is what is probably driving the fare difference, especially if the change has resulted in a more expensive fare class longhaul.

If the domestic fare CHC-AKL is cheaper than the fare difference (there has been a domestic sale recently), AND you want to take the risk if a mis-connect, then you could just have booked AKL-RAR-AKL and booked the domestic legs separately. But this approach is not without risk.

Many have done this pre-covid, myself included. Post-covid with high demand, cancellations etc I am booking from my point of origin in WLG and accepting the fare may be higher.

secretflyer

Crazy hold times. I called on a week day in the afternoon and was on hold for about five hours. I didn't even know that was possible. The Air New Zealand agent was apologetic and surprised at my hold times but after googling I wasn't the only one. The website forced me to call to make changes to my flight which was cancelling it. My flight is more than a few months out from now and I had just booked it in the last 24 hours. What a data point to share. It does make me wonder about Elite status.

taupo

Held for 25 mins yesterday having been recognised as GE by the system, middle of the day.
Whilst it is an improvement, it is still poor service.
Air Canada hold time around 2 minutes, and that is for a mid tier (E50) customer.

Worst part is all I needed was to change a flight for YVR-AKL-TUO TRG-AKL-YVR but NZ's website and app lack the functionality to do it.
Should never have to call in for flight changes

Thai-Kiwi

On hold with AirNZ at present - GE status recognised but no call back offered. But in a new plot twist, a 'new' message was played along the lines:

"We can see you call us frequently, and we will endeavour to connect you to an agent as soon as possible"

I now feel like a serial offender, or at least a potential queue-jumper

nzkarit

With the weather at they moment would expect a lot of calls. When there are lots of calls and queue is growing there will be no call back offered as call backs will make the situation worse not better. Better to have people hang up and remove themselves from the queue. And the people who really need to get through with timely issues will hang on.

This is a standard set up for a phone system which offers call backs.

Thai-Kiwi

You may have missed the key point in my post: there appears to be a 'new' recorded statement that I was identified as a frequent caller and would be prioritised, and not the call back aspect. Unless this is just new to me.

nzkarit

Doesn6it always say that when call as an elite? Pretty sure always says something along the lines of we recognise your AP number and will get to you as soon as possible.

Thai-Kiwi

This is additional to the standard Elite greeting, and it cut in after approx 30 secs of initial hold. I have never experienced this previously.

“We can see from your number you are an Elite member… blah blah”
30 secs of hold music
”We recognise you call us frequently, and will endeavour to respond as soon as we are able”

JANZFlyer

I noticed this to in addition to the standard elite stuff... the thing is I am quite a frequent caller.. so wondered if this was more tailored to how many times someone has called in the past x days and not their status? #shamed

flyer94

If it's not super urgent, I now resort to just emailing the Gold email address - the last few times I've emailed, they've always replied back within 24 hours with my query solved. Better than holding and/or waiting for a callback.