Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / John Weekes: New Zealand Herald Aviation Journalist on Labour promising greater transparency on airline fees

Transcript

John Weekes: New Zealand Herald Aviation Journalist on Labour promising greater transparency on airline fees · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: So they're promising to force the airlines to be more
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: upfront about the full cost of a ticket. So instead
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: of waiting to hit you with hidden ends until the
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: very end, hidden fees until the very end, you know
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: about things right up front. They also reckon customers should
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: get an automatic refund if your flight gets cancelled. So
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: John Weeks is New Zealand Herald's aviation journalist and has
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: got up early for us this morning. Good morning to you, John.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Andrew.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: So was there a problem here that needed fixing?
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: Well, Consumer Indeed certainly thought so because they've been campaigning
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: on some quite similar issues for several months. They have
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: effectively argued that people just don't always get told as
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: transparently as they should. If their flight is cancelled or delayed,
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: they say it's important for people to know what their
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: rights are. And there is a bit of a sort
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: of hodgepodge of different possibly applicable rules You know, the
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Consumer Guarantees Act covers some of these issues. In some cases,
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: if an airline rejects your claim or you're not satisfied
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: with its response, Consumer Engines says you can lodge a
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: claim at the Dispute Tribunal. And then if you think
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: you've been misled, you can complain to the Commerce Commission.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: And the ComCom, you know, the one that sometimes has
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: the teeth, can potentially prosecute an airline in extreme cases.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Other than being charged for a carry-on, I've never hit
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: these hidden fees. What are these hidden fees that you're
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: talking about?
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: Well, previously Air New Zealand some time ago was taken
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: a call by the Commerce Commission. The person I was
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: talking to yesterday said that this was some time ago
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: and the various other fees that airlines at times have
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: to pay include landing system costs, Air New Zealand, when
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: we went to them yesterday for comments, said that it
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: already does provide its fees up front. It said it
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: doesn't use search history to manipulate the fares that you
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: will be asked to pay. And they say that when
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: you get the quoted price, that includes GST. Okay. But, yeah. Yeah, right.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: So, of course, Labour's saying you should get an automatic
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: refund if your flight gets cancelled. A lot of people
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: are saying, well, the downside of that is wouldn't you
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: rather just have them rebook your flight?
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Exactly. In some circumstances, you know, you might be on
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: your way from Christchurch to Auckland for a wedding. You've
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: got to be there at a certain time. You've made
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: those plans and you have your itinerary ready and then
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: the flight is cancelled for whatever reason, whether it's within
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: the airline's control, such as pilot sickness or crew being unavailable,
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: or whether it's beyond their control, such as a freak
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: weather event or something of that nature, you would rather
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: probably just say, hey, get me on the next flight.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: I don't necessarily want a refund, but it will vary
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: from person to person.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: If the refund was offered automatically, but giving you the
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: option to opt out and demand a rebooking, that would
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: be a better, a more elegant solution, wouldn't it?
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: Well, that's what consumers in Z said. They say that
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: any policy in this area should really put the flyer
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: first in the sense that it should really be the
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: consumer's choice in most scenarios. How exactly that would play
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: out practically, what sort of protocols will be in place
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: to enshrine that is yet to be seen.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: Good stuff, John Weeks. I thank you for getting up.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: John Weeks is the Herald's aviation journalist.