Coronavirus: Passengers accuse Air New Zealand of double dipping on cancelled flights

Monday, 11 May 2020

Many airport workers in US have been laid off until people start flying again and airports return to how they were before the coronavirus pandemic.

Disgruntled passengers have been left feeling 'offended' and 'blackmailed' by Air New Zealand's handling of cancelled flights.

The national carrier on Friday began terminating domestic flights for May and June, ahead of a return to about 20 per cent of operation when the country moves to Covid-19 alert level two.

But customers have been appalled at the way Air NZ has gone about its refund/credit process, which has also led to accusations of the airline 'double dipping' by forcing people to book more expensive flights.

In a statement to Stuff on Monday, Air NZ dodged direct questions in relation to price gouging, instead apologising to customers for any miscommunication.

* Coronavirus: Air New Zealand credits spark complaints to Commerce Commission

* Coronavirus: What's the deal with Air New Zealand's credits?**

Michael Gousmett found he would be paying 15 per cent more to fly on the same day as he had originally booked for.

People no longer wanting to travel are given a credit to make a booking with within 12 months. While those still wanting to fly are able to re-book free of charge, they are now facing higher costs for potentially even flying on the same days and times as they were originally scheduled.

Rangiora's Michael Gousmett is a prime example.

On February 11 he booked a business trip from Christchurch to Wellington for May 29, at a cost of $246, only to find a 15 per cent increase when he went to re-book.

Gousmett, who is an adjunct fellow at the University of Canterbury and an independent researcher, said Air NZ had told customers that, in order to ease the volume of enquiries, not to contact them until 14 days before their scheduled flights.

Air New Zealand is set to operate at around 20 per cent of normal operation when the country moves to alert level two.

Last Friday, 21 days before his flight, Air NZ beat Gousmett to it, when he received an email telling him his flight was cancelled and that an automatic credit would be processed.

He thought their decision was 'a bit premature', as the country could conceivably have been a fortnight into level two by that stage, and he was surprised at the blanket cancellation, instead of the option for some passengers to opt out or choose different times to fly, for instance.

Gousmett 'smelt a rat', believing there would be no chance he could get a new flight as cheap as his original.

And he was right. He went and did a dummy run' booking for a new flight for May 29 at similar times to his original, and the new cost came to $283.60 - an additional $37.60.

Gousmett, who is a shareholder in Air NZ, then said 'just to rub the salt into the wound' he got an email on Sunday confirming his cancellation and credit, but with an invitation to phone Air NZ if he wished to re-book.

Subsequently, Gousmett's Wellington colleagues have decided to defer the meeting until later in the year, so he wouldn't be needing to fly in this instance anyway.

Geoff and Jill Harper were looking forward to a final overseas trip together.

'But nevertheless, I thought it was just a bit on the nose,' Gousmett said of a situation where it wasn't so much the money, but the principle, that 'offended' him.

'I just thought it was them taking advantage of the situation.

'I'm a loyal Air New Zealand flyer, I don't fly any other airline when I can avoid it. And this is how we're being treated. They need our support, they don't need to upset us by treating us so unfairly, quite frankly.'

Meanwhile, Tauranga's Geoff Harper had a similar gripe with Air NZ around its handling of his international flight cancellation.

Geoff and his wife, Jill, had booked a trip to Melbourne via Auckland for May 31, returning on June 7.

He got in contact with Air NZ in early March when international travel looked likely to be disrupted.

When the airline came back and offered the couple their credit, Harper pointed out to them that since they were both aged 74 and getting less mobile, they were actually unlikely to fly internationally again, with the rigours of security checks getting a bit beyond them.

But he said Air NZ's only flexibility was an offer to instead refund $388 in taxes, out of their $1194 total, which he begrudgingly took.

'To actually remove the credit totally, I think is out of order,' Harper said.

'I think it's totally unfair, and it amounts to blackmail in my view.'

Harper believes, at worst, he should have been able to retain the credit to use it for domestic travel instead. Incidentally, the $210 portion for the couple's Tauranga-Auckland return journey has been retained as a domestic credit.

It's put a sour taste on what was going to be the couple's last trip to Melbourne, where they had regularly gone to see shows. They had booked three shows this time, and each theatre has refunded money, along with the accommodation they had booked.

'Everybody's co-operating and assisting us, except for Air New Zealand,' Harper said.

'I think it stinks.

'We've been travelling with Air New Zealand since 1973. They have been the preferred airline.

'It seems a bit unfair that they've received $900 million of taxpayer support and here they're saying to us, 'if you want the money back for the landing fees you're going to forfeit the balance'.

'Are the executives of Air New Zealand and the senior staff being asked to forfeit some of their large salaries?'

Air NZ confirmed to Stuff that Harper should have indeed been given the option to hold the fare portion of the international ticket in credit after having the taxes refunded, and that they had now done so.

A spokeswoman said the airline was working on a better system for redeeming credits, because customers were finding that if they booked a cheaper international flight, they cannot store their remaining credit for future use.

'Currently there are a number of restrictions around credits, including GST implications, other taxes and fees associated with international destinations, and ticket terms and conditions, which make creating residual credit in our system difficult.

'We are working on a solution that is more like a voucher system where a dollar amount can be allocated against a booking, as well as enabling customers to use their credit to book online.'