Air New Zealand
Reviews and Complaints

I booked a flight on Air New Zealand from Auckland to Darwin (via Melbourne) - Booking Reference S2APSH.
When we arrived in Melbourne at 5:30PM, we were told that the last leg of our journey (NZ7838) to DWN was no longer operating. I phoned the Air New Zealand Service Desk, but due to high caller demand (60 min wait) we could not get through. I considered booking into a hotel in Melbourne for the night, but realised that due to the Victoria lockdown, it would have resulted in a 2 week mandatory quarantine period for us the moment we arrive in Darwin. I therefore had no option, but to book a flight with Jetstar, at a cost of AUD1830 for both me and my wife.
I contacted Air NZ through WhatsApp who offered me a refund of $450 ($225 per person) for the cancelled flight.
I am instead seeking a reimbursement of $1830 (The cost of my Jetstar flight.)
My reasoning behind this is, that I had incurred these extra costs due to Air New Zealand not informing me about the cancellation prior to my departure from Auckland Airport. Had I known, I would not have travelled to Melbourne.
Key points from the WhatsApp communication:
- Air NZ agreed that they did not contact me to tell me about the
cancellation.
- They said that staff did not pick up on this because I checked in at a kiosk
in Auckland (self-help terminal)

Booking ref yg4d6h canceled due to covid boarder restrictons imosed by nz goverment
Requested refund which was rejected and told only credit can be issued
We have no ability to do the flight meaning credithas caused financial hardship and only possible vacation time can now not rebook anywhere due to nz airlines holding our money when all other airline are now refunding as reqired, this is against the consumer rights and poor for the travel indutry as it holds funds from being redirected
Very disapointing and criminal in these covid environment

Booking Reference EG3KFH Walton Airpoints Number 1906158.
Having purchased a business class return ticket to Brisbane I was surprised and embarrassed to be denied access to the Domestic lounge at Tauranga Airport at the start of my connecting flight to Auckland and then Brisbane.

Having left home at 4am to meet the 1 hour check in for international travel (flight at 6:10am) I reasoned that I would be able to breakfast in the lounge prior to the connecting flight.

At check in your staff implied that I could try my luck at using the lounge. At the lounge reception neither of my boarding passes were accepted and I was denied entry. A fellow passenger insisted that I entered as his guest which I did am very grateful for his assistance.

I am 79 years old and was making the trip to meet up with my daughter and grand daughter for the first time since the the death of my wife and their mother grand mother. They of course could not attend the funeral because of covid.

While I did enjoy breakfast the embarrassment of being denied access flies in the face of all your website advice. I usually travel business class to and from Australia for my visits as I find that the more comfortable way at my age and was granted access to the Auckland domestic lounge on my return journey.

I know you are busy at the moment but I would appreciate you response when you are able
Thank you Stan Walton

I would like to request a refund and not a credit for booking ref: FDCZAH as this was a Quarantine free flight, but as of 23/07/21 all flights were paused for 8 weeks by NZ PM. We are moving back to NZ to live. Our household goods, vehicles and dog are in NZ waiting for us to fly home. We have costs to pay here and in NZ and since we can't fly I would like the refund. My last call to Air NZ was on 23/07/21 at 2.13pm to get a MIQ flight but advised all taken within 5 mins and the gentleman said I can either book for next available flight which was on 16/08/21 or get a credit or a refund. I decided to book for 16/08/21 hoping we could still fly. Now I have been told that my booking can not be refunded. I cannot accept that. We started this journey with Air NZ back in May 2021 and each time Air NZ cancelled our flights I would call to rebook for the next available date and I was advised if the flight was cancelled again I could rebook again, get a credit or request for a refund. Now I am told this booking is non-refundable. I had faith in Air NZ until up to this moment with my last call at 6.12 am this morning 26/07/21. No one knows what will happen in the next 12 mths and no one knew that Covid would strike again after last year. What is the guarantee that this will not happen again next July 2022. That is money that we need right now. I just want Air NZ to do the right thing and refund our money.
Please contact me on my email: [protected]@hotmail. com with approval of my refund.
Regards
Devina Rawhiti

Booked this trip in advance to attend both parents 90th birthday in Gisborne new zealand. did all the paperwork, Good2Go for both countrys and got a Covid to travel test for wife & myself booked for friday 16th [protected]@ 2pm. Now we live 4.5 hours north of Perth. and were told by the testing cliniclab that we must be no later than 4pm friday 16th July as that is when the last batch of test samples goes to Perth for testing. both tests compleated and and a text received on saturday with a code to log in to our account for the results. couldnt open with the code supplied, all we got sent to the buy another test page, tryed this 3 times, 3 different codes, same result, by another test? Tryed phoning the clinic but was after hours. Remember we are in a small town 4.5 hrs north of Perth city. Travel to Perth Airport monday 19th July for our Flight NZ0176 departing @19.45. We were in the baggage check in area by 14.00. sat and waited for our flight checkin. got in the que and presented our selves at the counter with documents, Got turned away as didnt have correct result paper. had to phone the cliniclab and wait 1 hour to get the covid test results emailed to wifes ph. got in line to the service desk and presented the results to be told you can not board this flight as the results have expired by 4 hours. The staff just [censored]ed us off with no other explanation or any thing about a refund. tryed making another booking and get another test. which wasnt going to fit in with the important dates. went to a perth flight centre to see about a refund and to try a quantas flight to be told that AIR NZ does not give refunds? she kindly rang to see what our flight status was to find we had been classed as a NO SHOW and lost our return flight as well. She allso pointed out that we signed a terms & condition form that said NO refunds. WE DID NOT SIGN UP TO GET [censored]ED OVER OR RIPPED OFF after meeting all the conditions. Remembering we live 4.5 hours from Perth city. This is absolute theivery and corporate bullying on a grand scale. Makes 1 not want to be a Kiwi and never fly with Air NZ again, we lost our rentel booking and accom as well but we have been offered a credit or a 80% refund from these people. Which I am happy with.

Flight NZ126 Melbourne to Auckland Sunday 11 July at 6.55 was cancelled & there had been NO notification either by email or text message from Air NZ regarding said cancellation.
We therefore had to change flights to Qantas & was consequently put on Jetstar flight JQ217. This flight was delayed & caused us stress on teaching our destination.
We understand that there can be disruptions to flights due to Covid19, however expect a better communication with us .

My name is Dan Phillips, [protected], [protected]@outlook.com. On a recent trip to Brisbane I took a suitcase and a set of golf clubs in another bag. I thought that because both bags together weighed less than 23kg I would not have any problems. On arrival at the Nelson airport I was told that I should have purchased an extra bag to cover the bag containing the golf clubs. After weighing the bags, which came to approx. 21kg, the extra bag charge was waived.
On the return trip, when the bags were weighed, they came to approx. 22kg, but the staff member insisted I pay Aus$160 for the extra bag.
Could I please have my money refunded as the total weight was less than 23kg.

I've attached a photo of the flights board. My original flight left 4 mins earlier without any knowledge to me. No correspondence. I had no luggage, I checked in at home unawares. I arrived at boarding gate 10 mins before what I assumed my flight was 6:30am. My boarding pass didn't have any alerts on it. I was at gate at 6:20am with my electronic boarding pass to get on. In these covid times I prefer to not hang around at airport. Yes I'm now aware they prefer me to be at boarding gate at 6:15am for a 6:30am flight. But if course unbeknownst to me it was leaving in 6min. When I purchased the next flight the attendant explained when the boarding time is. I don't fly very often. I figured 10-15 min with no luggage would be OK. She said 15min. I don't know if she knew it had left earlier. I didn't know at that stage. When I went back to ask how it all works when they decide to leave early the other lady said 20 mins prior. I'm annoyed at the mixed messages. It's very convenient to check in at home and the electronic pass is great. I don't understand why you don't have the BOARDING time made prominent not just the DEPARTURE time. AND if there is a likelihood it will leave earlier then should not the adjusted BOARDING time be communicated? Yes of course I was cutting it fine but I thought I was being efficient. Life is juggling many balls. Could ya help us out a little by thinking of your customers please.

Good morning,

I am writing to put in a complaint for the supervisor who worked the flight to LAX that left Thursday March 25th at 930pm.

My mother passed away and I urgently scheduled a flight. I contacted the US government and the state government and was issued an exemption due to fact that there would possibly not be time to receive a result before I left. I was granted the exemption. I had a letter to show at all ports. I confirmed with the US government that this was enough and they said yes. I booked my MIQ. When I arrived at the check in I was honest and told the person that the I had a test but it was nearly a week ago, it was clear. I showed her the exemption letter. She said she needed to talk to her Supervisior. The supervisor told me that I was not allowed on the flight. She did not even look at the letter issued by the New York State government. I asked for options she escorted me to the ticket counter where she offered a credit or a refund less $300 fine. The very nice lady at the ticket counter issued a credit refund (the woman the ticket counter should be commended. She was very kind). Please keep in mind I had just found out my mother had died so not in the clearest state of mind and was visibly distressed. I went outside and called my family in America who contacted the CDC and embassy over there. They both confirmed that the exemption from New York was sufficient as that was my final destination. I went back inside and tried to speak with the supervisor again. She made me wait standing there crying while she sorted someones oversized luggage and then went to help other people with their ticket machines who had arrived after me and other things. I told here what was said on the phone. She then replied. Show me where it says that in the letter. I showed her. She told me to wait where I was and asked for my US passport. She again helped many other people on her way to make a phone call. She returned about 25 minutes later and said that it was not sufficient and I would not be allowed on the plane. I asked who she spoke with and again reiterated what I had been told. She said she had a "special" number for the CDC that only airlines could use and that I could not speak with them. After having the very worst day of my life now having lost both my parents I went back to my car and cried. I then paid for my parking and drove back to cambridge. I had a phone call from the US Embassy based here in NZ at 10pm that night. They apologised for my missing my call and said that the letter was enough. They also apologised for the airlines behaviour stating that there is a lot of confusion in the airlines around exemptions for American Citizens travelling home during this time but that it was the airlines call and since I had the exemption letter I should have been allowed to board.

There is no way for me to make it to the funeral and burial of my mother now as it is on Friday at 5pm in New York and the burial is Saturday at 10 am. My child, a 22 year old Uni student and New Zealand citizen, is there and will have to face burying her grandmother alone. I feel that the supervisor once she realised her mistake did not want to recant and myself and family are paying the price. After speaking to the embassy myself I am disgusted at the outcome. I am writing this so that in this situation it does not happen to someone else.

You can see my ticket details below. We always fly with AirNZ even if it costs more than paying United and still going on an AirNZ plane and even have already booked flights in May for my daughters graduation. So I find this very disappointing. I do expect to hear back from your company.

Kind regards
Ruth Nicholls

Begin forwarded message:

From:
Subject: You're all booked to fly NZ 6 on Thu 25 Mar 2021, reference AW8CYH

Hi,
My grandson, Saige Tripeny Cambridge, travelled from Chch to Nelson;
ref G3D47H, 21st Feb. 2021, flight; 8848.
Saige is 10 years old. He said on that flight that the air hostess said he did not have to wear a mask, so he did not. He said there was coughing on board.
Saige now has a cough and a sore throat and has been off school these last two days, and he has had to have a covid test which was time consuming for us and very unpleasant for him.
Can you please explain the reasons for this hostess telling saige that he did not need to wear a mask? I thought it now was mandatory on all planes?

I wish to complain about not being advised about a significant flight delay on Sunday 17 Jan 2021 on my flight 827.1 from Bay of Islands to Auckland to connect then with a flight Auckland to Tauranga. I was holidaying at Russell and was driven from Russell to Bay of Islands Airport arriving at the airport at 4.45pm. When I approached the check in counter I was informed that there was an indeterminate delay in my plane arriving at Bay of Islands, due to an earlier misfunction. It was expected that this plane would eventually arrive at Bay of Islands to take passengers to Auckland. It would not be possible for me to connect with my next flight Auckland to Tauranga leaving Auckland at 6.55 pm. I asked shouldn't I have been alerted to the probability that my flights would not proceed as planned. The reply was a shrug of the shoulder and the option of staying at the airport until my flight to Auckland arrived but my ticket on the Auckland/Tauranga flight had been cancelled. I was offered a flight to Auckland that day when, and if, the plane arrived and then I would be transported by road to Tauranga. I chose the alternative of rebooking the following day. It was a two hour return trip Russell to Kerikeri and that needed to be repeated the following morning. My hosts at Russell were inconvenienced needing to remake my bed and provide me with dinner. My son was inconvenienced by having to make two 2 hour round trips to the airport. I would like my son to be recompensed for the time he spent getting me to the airport. Something that need not have happened if Air NZ had contacted me and advised me of likely delays with my flights.
Fern Twidle Airpoints Membership 8327222. My son is Andrew Twidle.

Booking reference FXG3DH

This a further email to correspondence I forwarded on 2 March to "[protected]@airnz.co.nz". A photo of this email is included with this correspondence.

In brief, the complaint concerns the following. As part of booking two return airfares to New Zealand in February, I took advantage of Air NZ's ancillary or add-on service of arranging a car rental reservation with Avis. This was done through the Air NZ web portal. I received an on-line quote for $NZ775.71 for the rental period. The quote was accepted and the reservation confirmed. I have attached a photo of this car booking reservation which contains the logo of both Avis and Air NZ. The car was collected in Wellington and returned to Auckland airport with no advice provided that the cost of the rental would exceed the quoted figure.

However, upon returning to Australia, I received my credit card statement and observed that I had been charged $NZ1, 390.97 not the stated amount of $NZ775.71. Even allowing for any modest exchange rate differential, the actual car rental cost is almost 50% higher than the amount quoted from the Air NZ website.

As previously stated, I first contacted Air NZ in early March 2020 about this complaint. Around this time, I received advice from Air NZ (if I recall correctly, by phone) that the complaint was not a matter for Air NZ but for Avis. Accordingly, I took this matter up with Avis and despite an exchange of correspondence over several months, Avis continues to deny any liability in relation to the "over charging". Avis is adamant that the problem is a matter for Air NZ. In its most recent correspondence on 2 August, Avis states, "We uphold the charges, as this was on your booking details. You may want to contact Air New Zealand for the estimated total they have given you".

While I vehemently dispute any suggestion that I had 'booking details' other than the one attached to this correspondence, it seems I am now an innocent victim caught in a systems failure between two mature and well-respected organisations.

If there has been a systems failure between Avis and Air New Zealand in the advertising, booking and confirmation of car rental bookings, then I would like it explained why I should be forced to become a financial victim of such corporate failings.

As the customer for this transaction, I am fully entitled to believe that the price quoted by either Air NZ and/or Avis was honest and not fraudulent. It seems both Air NZ and Avis are now seeking to abrogate their corporate responsibilities to honour the price quoted and which I accepted in good faith.

I would be grateful if this complaint could be reviewed by Air NZ even if this requires dialogue between Air NZ and Avis concerning who is responsible for the misleading and deceptive quotation for the car rental.

The only satisfactory resolution of this dispute is the return of the full amount which exceeds the quoted amount (an amount I have calculated as $NZ616.26).

Thank you for your attention to this matter at the earliest possible opportunity.

Greg Paterson
Airpoints member #6413872

My son's flight G7FCFH booked on 14/5/20 needed to be changed.
When I rang to rebook the ticket It was changed but the additional bag (to be checked in) was not transfered onto the ticket so when my son (Bertie Purkiss) came to check in he was charged an additional fee for his suitcase.
I rang up customer services but was told to email you.
Please can you sort this out.
Thanks
Tracy Purkiss (mother)

Hello,

I am very upset that when my flight was cancelled I was not Refunded my airfare. The world is not the same now that Covid-19 is here and I Have Zero Plans to travel to New Zealand and Australia until there is a vaccination or cure. I have no intention of flying at all for the foreseeable future... I am 62 and do not want to die from the Coronavirus.

I do Not want a "Credit" on account as I am not flying to Australia/New Zealand and the "Credit" is Worthless! I want my airfare, taxes, and everything that I paid for to be refunded to the credit card it was paid with. I had no trouble getting my airfare and everything I paid for Refunded by Qantas. Please do not give me the company line that I bought a onrefundable ticket. I didn't buy a nonrefundable ticket at Qantas and that didn't stop them from refunding me every penny I spent on their tickets... The Right Thing to Do is Refund Me All My Money!

Please Expedite my refund and stop holding my Hard-Earned Money "Hostage" under the guise of a "Credit".

Thank you in advance for your cooperation,

Charles Williams
Janet Catagnus
Carly Williams
Ciara Williams

Cell [protected]

I had a flight to Christchurch on 03/02/2020 - booking ref : EBIZ8H. Due to a death in the family in NZ I had to move the booking forward to 23/01/2020 to attend the funeral - booking ref:B6LJAH.
I was charged and extra $225.25. I am requesting a refund for all or part of this amount on compassion grounds.
Regards,
Linda Harden
42 River Meadows Drive
Upper Coomera 4209
Australia
email: [protected]@bigpond.com

Frequent Flyer 617028 (Brian Pearce) Contact made with the call centre on 27 February 2020 seeking to change flight Ref SNUZBH. Dialogue commenced at approximately 1730hrs and was terminated out of total frustration at 1820hrs.

This relatively simple transaction marginally complicated only because I needed to include a second adult in the new booking took in excess of 50 minutes before I abandonded the connection.

YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO THIS CALL IF YOU ARE SERIOUS ABOUT PROVIDING A COMPETENT CREDIBLE CALL CENTRE SERVICE!

The staff member was polite but her competence from my experience is seriously questioned. She was slow, her calculations laboured & incorrect. I was regularly being placed on hold throughout and got the impression she was not proceeding with confidence or experience.

Throughout the connection I had on screen available flight prices and it was simply far cheaper in seems to 'write off' my earlier flight and proceed as if it never was a factor.

I DON'T RECALL EVER HAVING HAD A MORE FRUSTRATING EXPERIENCE WITH ANY CALL CENTRE EVER!

Experiences related by associates suggest I am wasting my time complaining about AirNZ call centre staff however I want you to have the opportunity to review this attempted transaction so that others may benefit.

Thank you.

To whom it may concern,

I am writing because I felt i was unfairly treated by an Air NZ representative due to misinformation by one of Air NZ's customer service officers. On the 1st of February 2020, I was preparing for my unsupervised minor's flight from Wellington to Auckland on Air NZ 456 which arrived into Auckland at approximately 8:50PM. My complaint is that I had changed the contact details earlier that day for a new person, which was my sister inlaw (instead of myself) to pick up my minor from the airport. This I had tried to do online, but seemed to have issues, so therefore I ended up calling the Airlines call center to organise for this to be changed, which whom she confirmed with me the changes had been made & the new person was able to pick up my nephew (who was a minor) with no issues. At 8:50 PM my sister inlaw arrived at the airport waiting for my minor to arrive only to go on a mission looking for him throughout the airport. Around the same time I received a call from a random number twice (which i missed because my phone was on silent), so I tried to call the number back several times straight away only to reach an automated voicemail again & again. At this point I am getting worried for my minor, so I call my sister inlaw to ask if she has picked up my minor yet, only to be told she has found him but the Air NZ representative is stating that she is not able to take my minor due to her not being listed as a person to pick him up. At this point I am getting agitated because I was told earlier this would not be an issue, and yet it has become an issue, so I ask my sister inlaw if she could pass the phone on to the Air NZ rep so that I may clarify the situation (& because they were not picking up my phone calls) and hopefully would help with the release of my child but the rep was not willing to take my call and said she would have to call the person who dropped him off in wellington to confirm if it was okay to release my child to my sister inlaw. This made me really upset as yes I may not be the child's biological mother, but I am his legal guardian and by law I have the right to speak on his behalf. I had made these changes over the phone with an Air NZ customer service only to go through so much stress of trying to hunt down my child and being ignored by the Air NZ representative that was working that night. I am not happy that this has happened, and hope this never happens again in the future!

Regards,
Amelia Amosa
Contact Details - [protected]
Email - [protected]@myunitec.ac.nz

Well it's a complaint about the service you provided to my son who purchased a business class ticket to Fiji. He purchased one way and upon check in was told that he had to purchase a return as this is part of the visa conditions of entry into Fiji.
At no stage of booking did it suggest to customer or inform him of the requirement of a return ticket. The return ticket then cost him more than the business class ticket. And it had no baggage allowance and no food or entertainment. I was shocked to say the least. Then he was told his return flight was canceled and he had an option of flying out the following day or the next 2 days. It was not a social visit my dad had suddenly passed and being upset and frazzled you can imagine his shock when he was asked to pay for a return. It's very unprofessional and he's only 22. What if he only had money for a one way fare. He was so disappointed and when he stressed this to the customer service lady on the phone she said she wouldn't charge for the change of flight thst you guys had canceled and no business clas was available therefore he traveled economy on a business class fare. He was distraught and felt ripped off. Can you offer how we rectify this mess
Or offer some sort of retribution for his extremely bad experience. I live in Australia and I met him there. I had advised him to come on a one way as my dad at that time was on life support and we weren't sure how long we woudl need to stay for as funeral arrangements had to be made. It's hard enough given the situation then expect your customers to pay extra and more then they did for business class on a return economy fare. Over $1200 for a young man whose only just started his career and he's never int in flying air NZ again.
He wanted to take this further but I have asked him to hold back whilst I get a response from you guys first. I have not long arrived back and still saddened at my loss but o have enough strength now to get to the bottom of this.

4 hour plane departure delay on January 21, 2020

My son, Will James Shumaker, was booked on NZ 28 on Jan. 21, 2020 from Auckland to IAH. This flight (NZ28) experienced 4 Flight Delays for a total of a 4 hour delayed departure! When I kept calling, the told me the reason for this delay were: "plane malfunctions". My son had a connecting flight on United with a 4 hour turnaround on the original arrival time for NZ28, but because of Air NZ's delay (their fault and not due to weather), I had to rebook a flight United 6120 (From IAH to AUS) to leave 4 hours later. Luckily I had booked a 'changeable' fare, but Air NZ's delay still cost me $75 to make the change online with United, not to mention the fatigue of the extra delay. Air NZ offered nothing, not even extra snacks for people delayed at the daparture gate for 4 EXTRA hours. I feel like Air NZ should compensate these passengers for any extra expense this delay generated because of their failure to have their planes in good working order. My son, Will James Shumaker, and I, Jill A. Maeder are both long time frequent flyer customers, but I will be looking for other options after being treated like this by Air NZ.
Sincerely,
Jill A. Maeder