[FARE GONE] NZ: US Destinations to AKL - $350ish ai
Jan 25, 2018, 2:50 pm
#151
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: San Juan, PR
Programs: MR AMB/LT, AA EP, TK EP, DL D, B6 M4, F9 100K, IHG AMB/D, HH D, CZR D, FndCd, Sixt D, NTL E, Hz PC
Posts: 428
Called Expedia again and got transferred to the changes department. Spent ~15 min to learn "airline cancelled; will refund in 7-10 days." Offer is: we will book you a flight at current commercial rates, you will pay full price (how generous). Option provided was a horrible Air Canada routing via SEA-YVR-SYD-AKL (and on Air Canada...) for $1588.68. Politely hung up at that point.
I guess the next is to call Chase CSR and see if they will do something. Failing that, just cancel the positioning flight and orphaned flight directly with Alaska.
Probably will avoid booking anything (mistake or not) on NZ in the future. Screwing me out of a (to them) $50-100 value seat loses them whatever LTV. Nice move!
I guess the next is to call Chase CSR and see if they will do something. Failing that, just cancel the positioning flight and orphaned flight directly with Alaska.
Probably will avoid booking anything (mistake or not) on NZ in the future. Screwing me out of a (to them) $50-100 value seat loses them whatever LTV. Nice move!
Jan 25, 2018, 2:53 pm
#152
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2013
Location: PA, USA
Programs: AA, MP, DL
Posts: 54
See that's the thing....since the "main" tickets were cheap I was totally willing to pony up for PE as I assume many people would be not enough to turn profit but again...good PR is good PR.
Jan 25, 2018, 3:30 pm
#156
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: San Juan, PR
Programs: MR AMB/LT, AA EP, TK EP, DL D, B6 M4, F9 100K, IHG AMB/D, HH D, CZR D, FndCd, Sixt D, NTL E, Hz PC
Posts: 428
I complained to DOT and got back an immediate response from a person asking for copies of records.
I'd encourage people to submit complaints to DOT (https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escompla...nsumerForm.cfm) and reference that it was:
1) Longer than 24h for the cancellation to happen
2) Any non-refundable expenses you've incurred
I asked DOT to replace their temporary rule with a proposed >24h no-cancel-without-recourse rule. It's like the flight delay thing in the EU, only consumer outcry will fix it (well, they had a court, too).
NZ appears to have a pattern of behavior around mistake fares and pulling them; either lax internal and disregard of consumers, or some other cause, but the end effect is to reduce consumer willingness to book air travel which hurts all airlines and the public. Why a buyer I be expected to know that e.g. $360 to LAX-NZ is unreasonable while $450 to LAX-Hong Kong is routine?
I'd encourage people to submit complaints to DOT (https://airconsumer.dot.gov/escompla...nsumerForm.cfm) and reference that it was:
1) Longer than 24h for the cancellation to happen
2) Any non-refundable expenses you've incurred
I asked DOT to replace their temporary rule with a proposed >24h no-cancel-without-recourse rule. It's like the flight delay thing in the EU, only consumer outcry will fix it (well, they had a court, too).
NZ appears to have a pattern of behavior around mistake fares and pulling them; either lax internal and disregard of consumers, or some other cause, but the end effect is to reduce consumer willingness to book air travel which hurts all airlines and the public. Why a buyer I be expected to know that e.g. $360 to LAX-NZ is unreasonable while $450 to LAX-Hong Kong is routine?
Jan 25, 2018, 3:53 pm
#159
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 21
Called Expedia again and got transferred to the changes department. Spent ~15 min to learn "airline cancelled; will refund in 7-10 days." Offer is: we will book you a flight at current commercial rates, you will pay full price (how generous). Option provided was a horrible Air Canada routing via SEA-YVR-SYD-AKL (and on Air Canada...) for $1588.68. Politely hung up at that point.
I guess the next is to call Chase CSR and see if they will do something. Failing that, just cancel the positioning flight and orphaned flight directly with Alaska.
Probably will avoid booking anything (mistake or not) on NZ in the future. Screwing me out of a (to them) $50-100 value seat loses them whatever LTV. Nice move!
I guess the next is to call Chase CSR and see if they will do something. Failing that, just cancel the positioning flight and orphaned flight directly with Alaska.
Probably will avoid booking anything (mistake or not) on NZ in the future. Screwing me out of a (to them) $50-100 value seat loses them whatever LTV. Nice move!
Had booked this to introduce baby to family in Aus (was actually going to fly the Air NZ to Aus with miles) in the off season over our original plan of November time. Looks like I won't be considering Air NZ for that or any other family trips to Aus, which mostly leaves United to Aus (and skipping visiting NZ altogether) since I try to stay star alliance or branch out to Qantas with One World.
Jan 25, 2018, 3:55 pm
#160
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 390
follow up unsolicited email from CheapoAir (maybe I should update blog post and link it here, ha ha ha)::
We sent a communication out to advised that your Air New Zealand reservation are cancelled and all tickets are being refunded. We stated the following but there seems to be some confusion. Your cancelled reservation will not be honored but Air New Zealand can offer you alternate reservation using a fares that were advertised correctly.
Your reservation was prices at an invalid fare that will not be honored but if you wish to re-book a reservation, please feel free to book on-line or contact us to assist with a new reservation you may contact one of our customer care representatives at 800.566.2345.
Again, thank you for understanding this situation and if you have any additional concerns, please contact Air New Zealand directly by e-mail at [email protected]
We sent a communication out to advised that your Air New Zealand reservation are cancelled and all tickets are being refunded. We stated the following but there seems to be some confusion. Your cancelled reservation will not be honored but Air New Zealand can offer you alternate reservation using a fares that were advertised correctly.
Your reservation was prices at an invalid fare that will not be honored but if you wish to re-book a reservation, please feel free to book on-line or contact us to assist with a new reservation you may contact one of our customer care representatives at 800.566.2345.
Again, thank you for understanding this situation and if you have any additional concerns, please contact Air New Zealand directly by e-mail at [email protected]
Jan 25, 2018, 4:00 pm
#161
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: NYC
Posts: 294
This was the auto response from [email protected] :
Kia Ora
Thank you for contacting Air New Zealand Customer Relations.
Our hours of operation are Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5.00pm (NZ time).
Following the busy holiday period and the unscheduled maintenance requirements for the Rolls-Royce engines on our Boeing 787-9 aircraft we have received a large amount of feedback that we are responding to in the order in which it’s been received. Our current turnaround time on correspondence is 15 days.
Please be assured we respond to every piece of feedback and we understand the need for a timely response. However some cases are more complex than others and require in depth investigation. We therefore respectfully ask for your patience during this time.
If you are contacting us regarding your upcoming travel, please feel free to contact our Reservations team on 0800 737 000 to further discuss your travel requirements or reach out via your travel agent. Alternatively, our Social Media team can assist with any queries you may have. A Private Message on Facebook or Direct Message via Twitter can be sent using the links below:
https://messenger.com/t/AirNewZealand
https://twitter.com/messages/compose...nt_id=19617105
If your enquiry is regarding the status of a refund please note this can take up to 4 weeks to process.
Ngā mihi
Air New Zealand
Customer Relations
Kia Ora
Thank you for contacting Air New Zealand Customer Relations.
Our hours of operation are Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5.00pm (NZ time).
Following the busy holiday period and the unscheduled maintenance requirements for the Rolls-Royce engines on our Boeing 787-9 aircraft we have received a large amount of feedback that we are responding to in the order in which it’s been received. Our current turnaround time on correspondence is 15 days.
Please be assured we respond to every piece of feedback and we understand the need for a timely response. However some cases are more complex than others and require in depth investigation. We therefore respectfully ask for your patience during this time.
If you are contacting us regarding your upcoming travel, please feel free to contact our Reservations team on 0800 737 000 to further discuss your travel requirements or reach out via your travel agent. Alternatively, our Social Media team can assist with any queries you may have. A Private Message on Facebook or Direct Message via Twitter can be sent using the links below:
https://messenger.com/t/AirNewZealand
https://twitter.com/messages/compose...nt_id=19617105
If your enquiry is regarding the status of a refund please note this can take up to 4 weeks to process.
Ngā mihi
Air New Zealand
Customer Relations
Jan 25, 2018, 5:34 pm
#162
Join Date: Feb 2007
Programs: NZ Koru
Posts: 6,415
NZ will just try put all the fault back on the third party agent (OTA), they will claim its the agents fault for ticketing an fare on the incorrect fare basis. If was an human travel agent booking the fare, they would have seen the $100 fare is only the add-on fare for domestic flights, and wouldn't of tickted the fare.
Jan 25, 2018, 7:26 pm
#165
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: NY
Programs: The local deli gives me 1 free sandwich after I buy 10
Posts: 4,026
Well, over the years, like many of you on FT I’ve have flown on numerous mistake fares and the best scenario is when the airline realizes the potential for some good publicity and honors their mistakes. However, to our dismay few airlines are interested in good publicity. It seems making money trumps a good reputation. Ironic.
Nonetheless, win or lose this can be a fun fight. I would like to be more involved but I canceled and refunded my five ticketed flights for personal reasons before the airline took any action. I’m a bit surprised as it did not seem like a big mistake. At least they would make something off of those who booked, unlike some even better mistakes. My favorite $33 to Lanarca in business on Alitalia and more recently the currency fluctuation in Myanmar creating very low business fare originating from there.
Sorry for those who booked, who get excited and then receive the cancellation email. It’s not fair when a contract is created between two parties. My opinion, fight them. It’s fun and you may get some satisfaction over the merciless airline.
By the way, initial cancellations are a way to weed out the few who just give up and accept the cancellation. Sometimes a little fight rewards you with your ticket reinstatement.
Nonetheless, win or lose this can be a fun fight. I would like to be more involved but I canceled and refunded my five ticketed flights for personal reasons before the airline took any action. I’m a bit surprised as it did not seem like a big mistake. At least they would make something off of those who booked, unlike some even better mistakes. My favorite $33 to Lanarca in business on Alitalia and more recently the currency fluctuation in Myanmar creating very low business fare originating from there.
Sorry for those who booked, who get excited and then receive the cancellation email. It’s not fair when a contract is created between two parties. My opinion, fight them. It’s fun and you may get some satisfaction over the merciless airline.
By the way, initial cancellations are a way to weed out the few who just give up and accept the cancellation. Sometimes a little fight rewards you with your ticket reinstatement.