Delays and Dismays *UPDATED* (Air New Zealand)

Member Name: MGirl

Product:	Air New Zealand
Date:	05/08/02 (320 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Leg Room

Disadvantages: Overall service, delays, lack of information

Air New Zealand is without a doubt the worst long haul airline I have ever had the misfortune to travel with. I should know, I spent 24 hours in total flying with them in a short space of time and even had a flight from Auckland to London (via LA).

Ok, why are they so bad? I must admit, they do have legroom in Economy but the fact is it’s still impossible to get comfortable in their Economy seats during long haul flights. I was fortunate on some of the journeys I had with them, there was an empty seat next to me so I could stretch out a bit. I still failed to sleep for longer than an hour though and woke up in pain each time. This can’t be due to leg space (I slept like a baby on Virgin which offer less room); I think their seats are just uncomfortable.

I suppose I was unlucky on my flights though. As we were landing in LA, the captain apologised to people carrying onto London and said the flight had been delayed for 21 hours due to staff illness. By this time, I’d been flying for 12 hours, I was tired (due to lack of sleep) and I really wanted to get home. I’m a confident, together woman but this just made me burst into tears. To be fair, they did put us up in a hotel but they refused to check if there was any availability on other carriers from LA to Heathrow. That’s just not on. They offered us no compensation for the delay and we didn’t see a member of staff again until the next day. This is important because the hotel kept f*?$ing up checking us in (they checked me into two different occupied rooms before I got one for myself) and several people had onward travel connections they needed to sort out. Air New Zealand didn’t even allow us a free call home so we could let our family know what was happening. Even people who’ve been arrested get that!

Okay, so far so bad. Yes, it’s annoying about the staff illness thing. Personally I think it should never happen but it di
d. The next day the planed left at the time they predicted and we got into Heathrow 21 hours late. Anyway, I had plenty of legroom and entertainment…

Oh sorry, off in dream world then for a moment. Maybe I finally managed to drop off! The entertainment on Air New Zealand long haul is disgusting. It is now fairly standard for Economy class customers to have an individual screen so they can watch their choice of films or play games (try Singapore Airlines or Virgin). Air New Zealand still has the poor system of the (impossible to see from all seats) shared screen. This is annoying but on the 2nd leg of my journey, from LA to Heathrow, they showed the same films they’d shown on the last leg rather than the ones advertised in the in-flight magazine. What’s more, most of the people on the flight had been on the Auckland – LA leg and had already been delayed by 21 hours.

Ok I thought. I’ll listen to the radio. Unfortunately, the radio “channels” (which are really tapes) were looped every hour.

The first 12-hour journey was bad but the second 10 hours were the longest of my life.

I’ve been fair. Before writing this opinion, I have given Air New Zealand a chance to respond. They have failed to do so. If they do so in the future, I’ll keep you updated by what they say.

**UPDATE**

I received a letter this morning from Air New Zealand. It was the most pompous irritating letter I have ever had. I quote to you…

“Regretfully no airline can guarantee the precise on time departure of its operations… I must advise that Air New Zealand is unable to offer you compensation in recognition of our delayed service and would respectfully suggest any expenses incurred be claimed against your insurance cover.”

How ridiculous is that? They admit they stuffed up royally in this letter but claim that they aren’t required to d
o things correctly and then have the cheek to say I should claim off my insurance.

(By the way, under my insurance, which is typical, I’d only be entitled to £20 as delay compensation comes in 12-hour packets, so 21 hours is worth no more than 12.)

What about their insurance? They could insure themselves against claims for delay or in an occasion unlike this, they could claim off whoever delayed them. The trains in the UK manage to do this, why not the air industry?

In my opinion, you really get a measure of a service provider when things go wrong, when they actually have to face a challenge. In my opinion, Air New Zealand failed spectacularly.

It's a shame, I love New Zealand and everybody we met there was polite and friendly. It was a really bad ending.

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