Jetstar has suspended all domestic flights in NZ for the next week and a half. Photo / Supplied.
Jetstar has suspended all domestic flights in NZ for the next week and a half. Photo / Supplied.
A passenger impacted by Jetstar's flight cancellation says it is unfair that the airline is not giving a refund option.
Jetstar has suspended all domestic flights in New Zealand for the next week and a half following the Government's extension of alert level 3 restrictions in Auckland and alert level 2 for rest of the country.
Naomi Wadhwani, a Year 12 student from Auckland, was due to fly to Wellington to attend a Model of United Nations conference on August 26.
Deepak Wadhwani paid $205 for his daughter to fly to Wellington from Auckland on Jetstar, but the flight was cancelled. Photo / Supplied.
But both flight and event were cancelled as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
"I am disappointed to see that Jetstar has provided us with the options, but not a refund. How unfair is that," said her father Deepak Wadhwani.
Auckland will remain in alert level 3 until August 26. Photo / Alex Burton
Wadhwani said he paid $205 for the ticket and was offered a change to his daughter's travel dates or get a Jetstar credit voucher as the only options by the airline.
"My daughter has no reason to travel with this conference being cancelled and with an unprecedented situation of Covid-19, shouldn't any airline be kind enough to offer a full (cash) refund?" he asked.
"Every dollar counts, people have either lost their jobs or are sitting on the edge of redundancies."
A Jetstar spokesman said flights had been suspended following the extension of restrictions and "under circumstances that are outside" the airline's control.
"We have temporarily suspended our domestic flights from Wednesday 19 until at least the end of Wednesday 26 August," he said.
Impacted customers were contacted on Friday and told of their options, he said.
These include booking cancellation, moving their flights forward to before August 19 or travel between August 27 and September 11 at no additional charge.
They could also request a credit voucher, but there was no option for a cash refund.
Under alert level 3 in Auckland, inter-regional travel is highly limited to, for example, essential workers, with limited exemptions for others, according to Government rules.
Most Air NZ flights are through its main Auckland hub.
Under alert level 2 domestic travel is allowed but social distancing means that passenger loads on planes could be restricted.
Air New Zealand recently made mask wearing compulsory on all flights out of Auckland.
For the duration of the change in alert levels, Air New Zealand's front of house employees and domestic cabin crew will also wear masks and gloves, and pilots will wear masks when interacting with customers or walking through the terminal.
On Friday, Air NZ said it ''will endeavour'' to operate its current schedule as planned throughout the weekend and on Monday August 17 to allow people seeking to return home to do so.
From Tuesday it will operate a reduced domestic schedule to and from Auckland.
There will be 13 weekly returns to Christchurch, 3 to Gisborne, 7 to Kerikeri, 3 to Napier, 3 to Palmerston North, 3 to Tauranga, 7 to Wellington and 7 to Whangarei.
The remainder of the network - which is under level 2 - is unchanged.
Air New Zealand said that anyone affected by the alert level changes can have their booking held in credit to use towards future travel.
In July Jetstar dropped 25,000 flights to under $50.
Customers were able to pick up a one-way flight between Auckland and Queenstown for $49, between Christchurch to Wellington for $32 and from Auckland to Christchurch for $34.
Tickets sold from the July promotion included travel dates between mid-August 2020 to mid-September 2020.
