Photo: 123rf
A consumer advocacy group is backing allegations against Jetstar, saying the law should make it mandatory for airlines to tell customers of their rights.
The Commerce Commission is filing charges against Jetstar, saying it discouraged people from seeking compensation when flights were disrupted for reasons within its control in 2022 and 2023.
Under the Civil Aviation Act, passengers affected by such disruptions are entitled to claim for costs incurred, such as accommodation, meals and alternative travel.
Consumer New Zealand campaigns manager Jessica Walker said her organisation alerted the commission to the problem in 2022 after receiving numerous complaints.
"Specifically with Jetstar, we were worried that it was not being upfront about its liability or perhaps throwing caps in there, saying people could claim accommodation up to a certain amount or meals up to a certain amount and that's not prescribed under the Civil Aviation Act at all."
She said airlines were starting from scratch when pandemic restrictions started to lift.
"We kind of had this perfect storm then of another wave of Covid hit the country, which was impacting airlines ability to to man their flights. There was also awful weather, which is obviously reasons is outside the airlines control, but what we saw at Consumer New Zealand was a real spike in the number of complaints we were getting about about airlines and the information that was being passed on to disrupted passengers.
"That really became an incentive for us... trying to help people understand their rights and challenging the airlines when we thought they were getting it wrong."
Walker said it was great to see Jetstar reimbursing affected customers but she wants it to be mandatory for all airlines to tell passengers their consumer rights.
"The airlines don't actually have to tell people their rights and I think that's what what has led us to this situation where there's mass confusion."
She said the government needs to step in and require airlines to provide that information publicly.
In a statement, Jetstar said it was cooperating with the commission and apologised for errors made regarding compensation in 2022 and 2023.
"We're deeply sorry to have let our New Zealand customers down by errors made in assessing some compensation claims for disrupted flights in 2022 and 2023, as our operations restarted following Covid.
"Since becoming aware of this issue, we've been focused on making things right for our customers and improving our communication and processes."
It was working through past claims and contacting customers to ensure they are reimbursed. Any further claims could be made on the Jetstar website.
Com Com filing charges against Jetstar
Commerce Commission general manager competition, fair trading, and credit Vanessa Horne told Checkpoint it was hard to tell how widespread the problem was within Jetstar.
"Probably quite a few customers of Jetstar in 2022 and 2023 didn't get the compensation that they should have received from Jetstar and that's around flights that were cancelled or delayed for reasons that were within Jetstar's control - so not because of snow but because of staffing and mechanical issues."
Jetstar had a page on their website where people could make a claim or check whether they had already done so and whether they were due any further compensation, she said.
Horne said the commission's claim against Jetstar included the fact the airline was limiting compensation, for example by telling consumers they could only receive $150 per night for hotel accommodation when the hotel may have cost $400 per night.
Other cases included rental cars and increased flight costs not being reimbursed, she said.