What Air NZ is telling travel agents about tough new rules for US flight disruption

The rule also covers journey to or from Britain, Europe or Canada, which transit via the US. Air NZ flies to five US destinations which provide transit stops to other countries.

Customers are entitled to a full refund of any unused fares, taxes and ancillary product fees when their flight is either cancelled or significantly changed and they choose not to travel.

A significantly changed flight is defined where:

This rule applies to both schedule change and disrupted scenarios, from any time after a booking is ticketed, the airline advises agents.

The refund rule applies to situations which are both controllable and uncontrollable – so the airline must advise customers of their rights to a refund, regardless of the reason for the disruption.

“As an agent, you must inform customers of their eligibility to receive a refund if they choose not to travel, at the same time we/you offer an alternative flight schedule.”

This information on a customer’s eligibility to receive a refund, (should they choose not to travel) will be included in all scheduled change and disrupt communications to customers (where there is a delay or flight time change of six hours or more).

“Please note, as an agent, your customer will not receive schedule change communication from Air New Zealand.”

Where a customer is eligible, a refund must be provided for any unused fare, taxes or fees for ancillary products relating to the flight. Service fees are not required to be refunded under this rule.

If the customer commences their journey on the new flight schedule, then they have accepted the alternative flight schedule and are not eligible for a refund.

But if a flight is diverted on-route for refuelling or a medical emergency, customers are not eligible for any refund.

Automated refunds

Customers are now entitled to a refund when a US or foreign carrier cancels or makes a significant change to a scheduled flight under the following parameters:

“It is important if assisting a customer with alternate transportation arrangements in this scenario that you must now advise the customer of their right to a refund before making an offer for alternative transportation, travel credits, vouchers or other compensation. Air New Zealand will continue to notify customers of their entitlement in a disrupt situation. For a schedule change, you are now required to inform the customer of their right to a refund under the above scenarios.”

No authority is required from Air NZ to refund under this scenario.

The refund can then in turn be requested by an agent’s GDS flight booking system within 12 months from the date of issue.

Delayed baggage

Customers are now entitled to a refund if their baggage is significantly delayed under the following conditions:

The airline that took the payment for the baggage is responsible for providing the refund to the customer. It is the airline that files the mishandled report that is responsible for telling the carrier who took the payment to facilitate the refund.

For these scenarios, Air NZ says its centralised baggage department will contact the customer/agent to notify of the refund (dependent on if the customer paid baggage fees through an agent or directly with Air NZ).

As an agent, they would only be involved for refunding pre-paid bags, as excess baggage will be paid directly to the customer.

Add-on services not provided

Customers are entitled to a refund if their add-on services are not provided under the following:

If the customer hasn’t been re-allocated a seat or is unhappy with their new seat assignment, no authority is required from the airline to refund under this scenario, Air NZ told agents.

When the DOT changes were announced, AirHelp, a Berlin-based company that assists passengers with airline claims, called it a “massive step forward and huge improvement in consumer rights and protection”.

Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.