Last edit by: Tokyoite
Please:
Do NOT call the airline while the fare is still alive!
(Definitely dead now. Plead your case to have your ticket(s) reinstated!)
Do NOT call the airline while the fare is still alive!
(Definitely dead now. Plead your case to have your ticket(s) reinstated!)
[PREM FARE GONE]Nz: Syd-lax z $944
#301
No, I'm sorry I won't, for two reasons. One, it would identify me. Two, it was small claims so there was no transcript. I could have paid for one but the hearing wasn't short and it would have cost probably a little over AUD1k. There is also nothing online that I'm aware of, again presumably because it was small claims.
#302
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
I have previously sued one of the world's 10 largest airlines for cancelling what it said was a mistake airfare (one widely publicised on FlyerTalk), in Australia. In 150-odd pages of documents the airline provided in discovery (I forget the correct time in a civil matter) the airline included print outs from FlyerTalk and some of the incompetent aforementioned blogs.
I won.
In my case, the airline was represented by one of the five largest law firms in world. At a conservative estimate, it cost the airline at least AUD25k in legal fees. The airline sought leave to be represented by a lawyer in court; I opposed and the motion was denied. It cost me a hell of a lot of time but other than that, only court filing fees which were awarded to me as part of the judgment.
In my case I referred the court to the conditions of carriage. It didn't hurt my case.
I won.
In my case, the airline was represented by one of the five largest law firms in world. At a conservative estimate, it cost the airline at least AUD25k in legal fees. The airline sought leave to be represented by a lawyer in court; I opposed and the motion was denied. It cost me a hell of a lot of time but other than that, only court filing fees which were awarded to me as part of the judgment.
In my case I referred the court to the conditions of carriage. It didn't hurt my case.
#303
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,397
No, I'm sorry I won't, for two reasons. One, it would identify me. Two, it was small claims so there was no transcript. I could have paid for one but the hearing wasn't short and it would have cost probably a little over AUD1k. There is also nothing online that I'm aware of, again presumably because it was small claims.
#304
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: SYD
Programs: AA EXP, Velocity Gold, Hilton Honors Gold
Posts: 95
I any case, my strategy will not be to go to court but to open a complaint with the state government, NSW Fair Trading.
#306
I am happy to provide some detail. I will send you a PM tomorrow morning US time.
#307
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Philippines
Programs: CebGo 5J, Hilton Diamond, IHG Platinum, Alaska 100K
Posts: 4,696
Well - this so called "SPECIAL FARE" category which I purchased under and as it was stated on my e-ticket confirmation when they took the money out of my account did not seem "completely off the wall" as it was 80% more than the recent YVR-SYD return business class ticket sold by ANA. The ANA ticket certainly looked like an error fare but was honoured by ANA out of good faith. Another reason why ANA is my main Star Alliance airline. The ANZ Special Fare fare was almost twice the rate advertised for recent economy fare tickets to LAX.
The lines between an airfare error and a "Special Fare" are indeed blurry. In the case of this recent Air New Zealand fare, they classed this fare as a "Special Fare". It was not sold as an advance purchase business class ticket that has a regular price of 4-5K, it was sold as a "Special Fare". For this reason alone, it was not unreasonable for a traveller, even a seasoned traveller like myself to believe that maybe this was indeed a "SPECIAL FARE" as advertised, as sold, and as charged, seated allocated and ticketed. It is illegal for a business to make claims to customers about its goods or services—including claims about price—that are incorrect or likely to create a false impression. This includes advertisements or statements in any media (e.g. print, radio, television or online) and any claim made by a person representing your business.
Intention is irrelevant.
"Departure Thu., 24 May
Special Fare
Air New Zealand 124
Melbourne (MEL)
12:10 pm
Terminal: 2 flight to
Auckland (AKL)
5:45 pm
Terminal: I
Cabin: Business (Z)
3h 35m duration
Seat: 01A | Confirm or change seats with the airline*"
It clearly states "SPECIAL FARE" booking into Z class.
My point being that in this case, any fare that was well below the regular 4-5K price would indeed be a "SPECIAL FARE". It seemed to meet that criteria.
Air New Zealand's response to move people to economy would meet the criteria of a classic bait and switch however way you wish to look at it.
"Bait advertising
Bait advertising is the illegal practice of advertising specific prices (usually special ‘sale’ prices) on goods that are not available or are available only in very limited quantities (where this limit is not clearly and specifically disclosed)."
You should only offer goods or services at a ‘special price’ if they are available in reasonable quantities for a reasonable period, unless you state clearly that the good is in short supply or on sale for a limited time.
Now - It costs $143 to lodge a civil claim (minor) in South Australia. In this case. it will take time, but the very fact that Air New Zealand marketed and sold this fare as a "Special Fare" negates any opportunity the airline may want to take to get out of their contract of carriage. Australian consumer law is very clear on this matter. The other fact is that because Air New Zealand offered a lower product, it violated the "bait and switch" provisions of Australian Consumer Law as well.
This is not a case of an airline selling a business class fare at a mistaken price. It is a case of an airline selling a "Special Fare" in business class and then offering an economy seat under threat of refund to all who purchased it.
Good luck to you all.
The lines between an airfare error and a "Special Fare" are indeed blurry. In the case of this recent Air New Zealand fare, they classed this fare as a "Special Fare". It was not sold as an advance purchase business class ticket that has a regular price of 4-5K, it was sold as a "Special Fare". For this reason alone, it was not unreasonable for a traveller, even a seasoned traveller like myself to believe that maybe this was indeed a "SPECIAL FARE" as advertised, as sold, and as charged, seated allocated and ticketed. It is illegal for a business to make claims to customers about its goods or services—including claims about price—that are incorrect or likely to create a false impression. This includes advertisements or statements in any media (e.g. print, radio, television or online) and any claim made by a person representing your business.
Intention is irrelevant.
"Departure Thu., 24 May
Special Fare
Air New Zealand 124
Melbourne (MEL)
12:10 pm
Terminal: 2 flight to
Auckland (AKL)
5:45 pm
Terminal: I
Cabin: Business (Z)
3h 35m duration
Seat: 01A | Confirm or change seats with the airline*"
It clearly states "SPECIAL FARE" booking into Z class.
My point being that in this case, any fare that was well below the regular 4-5K price would indeed be a "SPECIAL FARE". It seemed to meet that criteria.
Air New Zealand's response to move people to economy would meet the criteria of a classic bait and switch however way you wish to look at it.
"Bait advertising
Bait advertising is the illegal practice of advertising specific prices (usually special ‘sale’ prices) on goods that are not available or are available only in very limited quantities (where this limit is not clearly and specifically disclosed)."
You should only offer goods or services at a ‘special price’ if they are available in reasonable quantities for a reasonable period, unless you state clearly that the good is in short supply or on sale for a limited time.
Now - It costs $143 to lodge a civil claim (minor) in South Australia. In this case. it will take time, but the very fact that Air New Zealand marketed and sold this fare as a "Special Fare" negates any opportunity the airline may want to take to get out of their contract of carriage. Australian consumer law is very clear on this matter. The other fact is that because Air New Zealand offered a lower product, it violated the "bait and switch" provisions of Australian Consumer Law as well.
This is not a case of an airline selling a business class fare at a mistaken price. It is a case of an airline selling a "Special Fare" in business class and then offering an economy seat under threat of refund to all who purchased it.
Good luck to you all.
Last edited by davistev; Sep 20, 2017 at 10:29 pm
#308
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
I wish you all luck. On to the next good deal for me (If dates work unlike the last few good ones)
#309
Suspended
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: LHR
Programs: BA Silver, Aegan Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 393
The travel agent sent me their ANZ memo on letterhead:
MISTAKEN FARES – AIR NEW ZEALAND CANCELLATION AND NEW OFFER
......
Air New Zealand will need to be notified of customer preferences by 1700hrs AEST on Thursday 21 September 2017
.
Should you require any assistance in processing refunds, or re-booking affected passengers, Air New Zealand is happy to provide reasonable assistance through our Agency Support team.
Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused by this mistake.
Kind regards
Air New Zealand
MISTAKEN FARES – AIR NEW ZEALAND CANCELLATION AND NEW OFFER
......
Air New Zealand will need to be notified of customer preferences by 1700hrs AEST on Thursday 21 September 2017
.
Should you require any assistance in processing refunds, or re-booking affected passengers, Air New Zealand is happy to provide reasonable assistance through our Agency Support team.
Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused by this mistake.
Kind regards
Air New Zealand
update:
just received email from expedia.com
Dear Expedia Traveler,
Air New Zealand made the following change(s) to your itinerary:
* Cancelled 5 of your flights.
If you have recently been in direct contact with the airline and have initiated these changes yourself, there is no need to contact us. Changes made directly with the airline may not be available for viewing in your Expedia itinerary.
Air New Zealand made the following change(s) to your itinerary:
* Cancelled 5 of your flights.
If you have recently been in direct contact with the airline and have initiated these changes yourself, there is no need to contact us. Changes made directly with the airline may not be available for viewing in your Expedia itinerary.
I will call Expedia at Saturday to find out why on earth they cancel part of my 40th Birthday around the world trip
Last edited by p78; Sep 21, 2017 at 2:10 pm
#310
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,498
Just got a call from Expedia AU saying they have tried to reinstate the ticket but unable to do so. They said that NZ has told them the fare is invalid and canceled the fare. They also said that it had to do with the fuel situation in AKL (not sure how that's related or if that's an excuse NZ gave them). They did give me a goodwill coupon for all the trouble.
Now I'll have to contact NZ to get my positioning flights reimbursed.
Now I'll have to contact NZ to get my positioning flights reimbursed.
#311
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Singapore
Programs: Show me the points!
Posts: 1,224
Priceline had a good time with my emotions this week. The ticket was canceled Tuesday (AEST) and I got a call from PL overnight. Called them yesterday morning where they said they could reinstate with no charge. Got new conf. number which was then canceled last night. PL now says yeah sure we can rebook you but it has to be on same day/same flights and YOU PAY THE DIFFERENCE. What a joke.
#313
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Gold/1MM, AA EXP, Marriott Plat
Posts: 963
I haven't gotten mine yet -- Called Orbitz and they reached out to AirNZ for an authorization code to refund but they said AirNZ wouldn't give them one and that AirNZ would process the refunds directly sometime next week. Why not just let the OTA do it and give me my money back sooner so I don't have to keep on top of it!?
#314
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: BOS/ORH
Programs: AS 75K
Posts: 18,323
Priceline had a good time with my emotions this week. The ticket was canceled Tuesday (AEST) and I got a call from PL overnight. Called them yesterday morning where they said they could reinstate with no charge. Got new conf. number which was then canceled last night. PL now says yeah sure we can rebook you but it has to be on same day/same flights and YOU PAY THE DIFFERENCE. What a joke.