Cancelling Air New Zealand Flight
 

The ANZ flight from Houston to Auckland is still running, but it looks like I won't really be able to get a visa or enter the country on 7/3, when my flight is scheduled. As far as I can tell, their cancellation policy says that I have to pay $300/ticket to cancel. I'd like to just get credit and take the flight next year, but I booked through Chase Freedom Rewards, so it appears that isn't an option.

It seems like all the agents from ANZ are new and don't even know all the rules and all the agents from Chase have no clue, other than clicking the button. I was wondering if anyone knew of the right way to turn my flight into a credit or if maybe the refund policy isn't quite as draconian as it appears.

Welcome to Fodors. Hopefully some of our Kiwi/Aussie members will have info for you. But I might also post on the Air Travel Forum -- there are several threads there about strategies for cancellations etc on various airlines and someone might be able to help you

I don't know how much I can help. Different Air New Zealand policies apply to residents or citizens of New Zealand. If you live in the U.S. and are a U.S. citizen, U.S. Dept. of Transportation regulations apply to you and it seems you are entitled to a refund or credit.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/mon...is-consumer-nz
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018744010/air-nz-confirms-refunds-available-for-its-cancelled-us-flights-consumer

According to this page from U.S. Dept. of Transportation website: https://www.transportation.gov/brief...carrier-refund
"The obligation of airlines to provide refunds, including the ticket price and any optional fee charged for services a passenger is unable to use, does not cease when the flight disruptions are outside of the carrier’s control (e.g., a result of government restrictions)."
Not an expert, but my guess is not being able to get a NZ travel visa would qualify as a govt. restriction. At least, that is how I would interpret this.

If you feel you're getting the run-around from the airlines or that the agents are not listening to you or that well-informed, try filing a DOT complaint:
https://www.transportation.gov/airco...umer-complaint

Good luck.

You are definitely entitled to a credit and most likely a refund. We are from NZ and had a flight booked to the US, which was cancelled by Air NZ and we were given a credit and have two years to redeem it. If we pushed it I think we could get an actual refund, as the flight is to US so refunds are mandated by US law.

This is from the AirNZ website

Managing your flights with Air New Zealand

We are offering customers the option to change or credit their domestic flights within New Zealand when booked to travel before 30 June, or international flights booked to travel before 31 July 2020.

If you booked through a travel agent, please ask them to manage your changes.

Please note, if you purchased a non-refundable ticket, it remains non-refundable unless local legislation requires a refund to be made available.

Arrange a credit for your impacted travel - it's online and fast

We've extended credit validity. You now have until 30 June 2021 to rebook, and 12 months to complete your travel from the time you made the booking.

Redeeming your credit

We are building a way for you to easily access your credit online and rebook in the future. If you wish to rebook and use your credit once we move to Alert Level 2, please call our Contact Centre.

Change the date or destination of your flight online

You can make one change without paying any change fees or service fees. You will need to pay for any difference in the fare.

To request a credit or make changes online, please enter your booking details below:

Booking Reference

Family name

I would definitely try getting the credit online.

Have you tried Flyer Talk?. The website is clunky (kind of like Fodor's) but there are posts re Chase UR refund questions.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/chas...lidated-2.html

Chase regular CS is horrible right now, their call centers are minimally staffed due to COVID. I think they are in New York. Not sure if you can find a nonphone contact (Facebook or Twiitter) for Ultimate Rewards but I'd look for one.

If you can get elevated to a supervisor at Air NZ, that might be a place to start.

Thanks,

I got back in contact with ANZ, they couldn't do anything with my booking and confirmed that they would not cancel it, since the Houston/AUK route would not be cancelled, but that I could get credit.

I called into Chase and finally got over to the travel agency, went through a few reps there and finally got someone that could turn my ticket into credit. They confirmed that even if I had booked an earlier flight, that I wouldn't be able to cancel without penalty, because the route was still running.

I think the real issue is that both places seem to have hired on a bunch of new CSRs and they don't have access to enough information on how to do this stuff. So, now I'm trying to find someone to credit me back the skycouch upgrades that I did... The credit process apparently takes a while and no one could tell me if the purchase upgrades would be included. Also, even though the flight is tied to my ANZ account, they couldn't tell me if that's where my credit will go. So, I guess I'm halfway there.

This from Air NZ website We are offering customers the option to change or credit their domestic flights within New Zealand when booked to travel before 30 June, or international flights booked to travel before 31 July 2020.

Your flight is booked to travel before 31 July 2020. Just go online and click on the link to cancel the flight if you don't want to wait for Air NZ to cancel it. You will get a credit not a refund this way though.

nelsonian -

I pointed this out the the OP yesterday on a different thread, quoting the same section from the Air NZ site and including a link. It looks pretty simple to me, not sure what the problem is. Looks like an easy fix on the website, so why bother calling them?

devinedmiston1201, glad you got your credit.
This is an update for others who are in New Zealand and had tickets to transit through the U.S.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/...ing-through-us

Air New Zealand Cancellation Policy
 

the of Air New Zealand cancellation policy Help at 1-808-865-4114 may vary based on factors such as the type of ticket, fare class, and specific terms associated with the booking. Here are general guidelines, but it's crucial to check the latest information on the official Air New Zealand website or contact their customer service for the most accurate details:

1. Refundable Tickets: Refundable tickets typically allow cancellations with a refund, although there might be applicable fees.
   
2. Non-Refundable Tickets: Non-refundable tickets may not be eligible for a refund, or they might incur cancellation fees.
   
3. FlexiTime and FlexiDate Tickets: Some fare classes may offer flexibility, allowing changes or cancellations with reduced fees.
   
4. Timeframe for Cancellations: The amount of refund or fees often depends on how far in advance the cancellation is made.

Thank you Traveloblog. And Welcome to Trip Advisor.

I'm reasonably sure the OP of this nearly 4 year old thread would have found a solution or given up by now, but good information for others unsure of how to cancel Air NZ bookings.