Customer places ad in NZ Herald in desperate attempt to get Air NZ's attention

A classified advertisement placed in today's NZ Herald.

A frustrated Air New Zealand customer has taken out a NZ Herald newspaper ad asking the airline to contact them after being unable to get hold of the airline.

The classified ad placed in Monday's NZ Herald said all previous attempts to contact Air NZ had been futile. The ad asked the airline to contact the person flying on the passenger code RWZLSH. The ad did not elaborate on the passenger's issue.

Their elaborate approach has worked, with Air NZ reaching out to them.

An Air NZ spokeswoman said they were working through the customer's query and acknowledged it had been difficult for people to get in touch with them while they worked through thousands of flight cancellations.

"Our Contact Centre has been extremely busy with our teams working extra shifts to help clear backlogs. We would like to thank all of our customers for their patience and understanding over the past two months."

The national carrier has been hugely impacted by Covid-19 and has laid off hundreds of staff as a result of countries closing its borders forcing it to cancel both domestic and international flights.

Consumer NZ this morning lodged a complaint with the Commerce Commission over Air New Zealand's ongoing refusal to refund passengers booked on its cancelled US flights.

Under US regulations, passengers on flights to or from the United States, including transiting passengers, are entitled to refunds where flights are cancelled but Duffy said Air New Zealand was still not refunding passengers who were to transit in the US.