Watchdog takes aim at Air New Zealand’s refusal to issue refunds
Watchdog Consumer New Zealand has weighed in on issue of ticket refunds and was heavily critical of Air New Zealand’s stance.
Air NZ was forced to apologise for not being able to issue refunds across the board and its credit voucher policy.
It has refunded customers for long haul flights such as those to Europe where EU rules mandate full refunds if requested.
Consumer New Zealand says the airline is hiding behind what is a weak consumer law to avoid payouts and only offer credits.
"It was only yesterday that Air New Zealand actually responded to a letter that we wrote to them two weeks ago and it was only yesterday that they came out for the first time with any stance on this issue, other than a couple of media statements that said the law’s on their side so they’ll do what they want," said Consumer New Zealand CEO Jon Duffy.
"In terms of managing this and meeting the expectations of their customers, they’ve really failed."
A credit would be acceptable for some people who will keep plans to travel, Duddy said.
"But there would be some people who because of their circumstances will be really doing it tough and really need to get their cash. It’s those people who I think Air New Zealand’s customers would expect Air New Zealand to at least make some sort of consideration over whether they pay a refund."
Consumer affairs minister Kris Faafoi said the government would consider changing consumer law in the future to make it easier to get a refund.
The airline simply says it doesn’t want to dip into a $900 million government loan.
"If we refunded everyone that would have a significant impact on our cash flow – it would mean we would move into using the $900 million loan from the government quicker and I suppose as a consequence of that we would have to make some even more aggressive decisions around our cost base," said chief revenue officer Cam Wallace.
The airline was also criticised for the lack of transparency on future credits and the inability for people to rebook.
"We want to make it right and we want to make it work but we’re very, very aware that there is a lot of customer dissatisfaction. We need to apologise in terms of the way people can use or avail the credits – that has been a disappointment for us and I am deeply sorry for that," Wallace added.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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