Air New Zealand\u2019s Boeing 777 and 787<\/a> long-range aircraft are striking on Thursday and Friday after failing to agree on pay and conditions.<\/p>\nAir New Zealand chief customer and digital officer, Jeremy O\u2019Brien, told RNZ\u2019s Morning Report the airline had proactively contacted all customers affected by the flight cancellations and offered alternative flights across its airline as well as its partner airlines.<\/p>\n
The \u201cvast majority\u201d had been offered travel dates within a few days either side of the strike action.<\/p>\n
Flights most affected were heading to North America and Asia, he said.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien said he appreciated that not all offered flights would suit every customer, and a full credit or refund was available for those in that situation.<\/p>\n
They could also claim \u201creasonable costs\u201d involved with the disruption, such as accommodation being affected by the changes.<\/p>\n
A Consumer NZ spokesperson said that in its view, an international cabin crew strike was an event within the airline\u2019s control and should be covered by the Montreal Convention.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the Montreal Convention, if a flight is cancelled or delayed, impacted passengers can ask for a refund or an alternative flight. They can also claim back any additional costs they incur as a result of the disruption \u2013 up to set limits. Passengers should retain receipts for any extra costs they incur to ensure they can get this back from the airline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Massey University marketing expert Bodo Lang said the strike could be an issue for Air New Zealand\u2019s brand.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the one hand, passengers have been vocal about rising fares, with some complaints attracting headline coverage. On the other hand, staff are seeking improved conditions, including higher pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor some consumers, this creates a perceived inconsistency: if ticket prices are increasing, why are staff arguing that pay and conditions need improvement? The inference some may draw is that Air New Zealand is generating excessive profits.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, the financial reality is more nuanced. Profit expectations for Air New Zealand have recently been revised downward, not upward. Explaining the intricacies of Air New Zealand\u2019s financial statements to the public in an engaging manner is difficult. Some consumers may interpret the current strikes as profiteering, which could reduce the brand\u2019s equity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 RNZ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lia said it seemed to be very poor customer service, and no compensation had been offered. Flight attendants…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[68,95325,138,3595,813,70,78,7973,80652,117,111,139,69,4485,812,41182,80],"class_list":{"0":"post-279933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-air","9":"tag-attendants","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-by","12":"tag-edmunds","13":"tag-flight","14":"tag-in","15":"tag-leaves","16":"tag-limbo","17":"tag-new","18":"tag-new-zealand","19":"tag-newzealand","20":"tag-nz","21":"tag-strike","22":"tag-susan","23":"tag-traveller","24":"tag-zealand"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}