Air New Zealand has flown into a storm over passengers being downgraded from premium cabins. Photo / Grant Bradley
Two friends who were bumped from Air New Zealand Business Class seats to Economy and told it was a result of overbooking are still upset by the airline’s response to their complaints.
The pair say they felt “embarrassed and humiliated” after being told at the check-in counter at Nadi they were being downgraded at the end of a holiday they had planned for years.
In correspondence seen by the Herald, the airline initially told Christine Walker and Linda Hendra the seat shift was a result of overbooking the plane but following inquiries this week, it said the women were moved because pilots needed to be urgently re-positioned for operational reasons.
Reports show the airline’s New York-Auckland NZ1 flight that day had faced strong headwinds and pilots were scrambled to Fiji in case the aircraft had to touch down to refuel. The “gas and go” stop wasn’t necessary that day but this appears to have still created knock-on effects when pilots were flown back to Auckland.
“In this case, we were urgently required to position pilots on the aircraft to ensure we had rested pilots available to operate a disrupted service, and as a result, the customers were asked to move cabins. As a policy, we do not overbook our premium cabins, so this is a rare occurrence,” said the airline’s chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty.
The downgrade happened last September 24 but stories this week about passengers facing similar problems as a result of planes being switched from routes, prompted Walker to share her experience. The pair say they’re still waiting for a satisfactory resolution.
The 62-year-old says she works hard to take holidays and the upgrade to Business was done with credits held with the airline during the pandemic.
“We were the second passengers to check in at Nadi when we were approached by the Air NZ airport operation manager who proceeded to tell us our seats were no longer available. This happened very publicly at check-in with a line of people behind us. While discussing the situation with the airport operation manager we were verbally abused by a female passenger for holding the line up.”
The friends - who are not in the upper tiers of the airline’s loyalty programme - were offered Business Class seats the next day but couldn’t change their travel schedule after a 16-day holiday. While they didn’t have the same phone number on which the airline said it tried to contact them earlier, Walker said she had the same email and was checking that regularly and had access to the Air NZ app.
“We were left feeling bullied and belittled for questioning the situation and we were both upset. We were promised Business service (when moved to Economy) and had access to the lounge prior to handing us over to the flight crew but that’s pretty much where it ended. The flight and service was less than average.”
So far the women have been offered just $330 each, which the airline says is the difference between the Business and Economy fares. This is less than the $350 being offered to some passengers over the past fortnight who have been shifted further back in Air NZ planes due to aircraft being switched for operational reasons.
Walker said the pair paid for the initial flights in October 2019 for travel in May 2020. Covid happened and Air NZ kept the money in credit. They were re-booked in November 2021, for travel to Fiji in September 2022 using this credit.
“Linda and I normally holiday every year in the Pacific and this was our first holiday away together in four years so it was a pretty special holiday. We should have come home relaxed and happy. Instead, we arrived home distracted and upset with our treatment by Air NZ,” said Walker, who lives in Auckland. Hendra lives in Marton.
“We have always been huge supporters of Air NZ. In fact, during Covid we were more than happy to leave our money in credit with (the airline). We knew one day Covid would be over and we would be flying again and we were happy to support Air NZ in this small way.”
She has now researched taking the case to the Disputes Tribunal.
Geraghty said the airline acknowledged that changing cabins can be inconvenient for customers.
“Occasionally, we’ll have to change the aircraft used for a service or position our crew on flights last minute to protect our operating schedule.”
Aircraft seating configurations can vary, and this means customers who have booked in one cabin might have to move to another due to limited seats in the original booking class.
“Our teams communicate cabin changes to customers as early as possible. We offer reimbursement for any price point difference as a result of the change and compensation as a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience,” she said.
But special refunds were causing problems.
Geraghty said the airline was sorry for the time it’s taking to process refunds.
“If a customer has booked a refundable flight the process is automated, and refunds are processed quickly. However, in situations where a customer is seeking a refund that doesn’t happen automatically, for example, for accommodation reimbursement or cabin change compensation, their request has to be assessed before the payment is made,” she said.
It was a manual process.
“We’re still working through a backlog from weather disruptions earlier in the year, which has meant there’s been a significant delay in processing some requests. We’re working as fast as we can and thank customers for their patience.”
Airlines do at times overbook flights on the assumption some passengers won’t turn up on the day and they don’t have to fly with empty seats - revenue they can never recover. However, that can turn into a problem for customers and airlines if demand for seats spikes such as when there are operational issues.
On its website, Air NZ has set rules in the case of downgrades:
If you’re booked to travel in Business class or Premium Economy and we are unable to accommodate you in the class of travel you are booked on we will in addition to offering you compensation:
· Accommodate you in the next lower class of travel
· Provide you with a “downgrade” certificate entitling you to a refund of the difference of the class paid and the class travelled for the applicable flight sector
· Offer to rebook you on the next available flight in the class of travel paid for
Consumer NZ says essentially, passengers should be able to choose between the downgrade or being booked on the next available flight.
“They can also insist on compensation. However, it’s unclear how much they’ll receive. It’s also unclear at what point in time the price difference will be determined. We think the price difference should be calculated based on the prices at the time the customer made their booking,” said Jessica Walker, communications and campaigns manager.
“If anyone considers the airline isn’t offering a fair deal after being downgraded, they can take their case to the Disputes Tribunal.”
New Zealand has relatively weak consumer protection for air travellers.
“In Europe, if a passenger is downgraded, their rights are clearly set out in legislation. We’ve been calling for similar laws to apply here, However, unfortunately, the new Civil Aviation Act doesn’t incorporate our suggestions.”
Passengers on all airlines flying to, from and within Britain could soon be better protected when travel disputes arise, if new proposals published by the government go ahead. It has unveiled plans which include giving stronger enforcement powers to regulators and giving access to faster and cheaper dispute resolution for passengers.
In the United States, the Department of Transport has plans to require airlines to provide compensation and cover expenses for amenities such as meals, hotels, and rebooking when airlines are responsible for stranding passengers.
Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.
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