Air NZ apologises after elderly woman’s flight to Bay of Islands cancelled

New Zealand’s national carrier has come under fire from furious Northland residents fed up with last-minute cancellations.

Lise Strathdee, from Kohukohu in the Hokianga, said her 83-year-old mum Barbara Strathdee flew from Wellington to Auckland on October 11 then drove four hours to Kerikeri after her connecting flight was cancelled.

Strathdee said her mum received an email from Air New Zealand saying her Kerikeri flight was cancelled the night before the scheduled departure.

Air New Zealand offered her a flight on October 12, arriving in the late afternoon, but that meant her mum would have missed the family event she was travelling north for.

“She was so angry, she thought ‘I’m not letting Air New Zealand stop me from going up north’ so without ringing me she organised a rental car which she paid through the nose for.

“I got a text from her saying she was driving up from Auckland – I was freaking out because that [Puhoi to Warkworth] motorway has changed and it’s all new for her.

“I checked to see if there were seats available on the Intercity bus, but they were completely sold out.”

Despite missing the turn-off at Kawakawa and ending up in Paihia, Strathdee’s mum arrived safely.

“We’re thrilled she made it up safely ... but she is still recovering now.

“She’s been tired the whole weekend.”

Strathdee said her friend also experienced cancelled flights “at the eleventh hour” twice this year when trying to fly from Auckland to Kerikeri.

Her friend also paid for a rental car and drove north, including one time when the Brynderwyns were closed, and she was forced to take a detour through Mangawhai and Langs Beach in heavy rain.

The reason given for all three cancellations was due to “technical issues”, Strathdee said.

Lise Strathdee is angry her 83-year-old mum had to drive from Auckland to Kerikeri after her flight was cancelled by Air NZ.

Strathdee said the behaviour was “unacceptable”, especially for her mother, who booked in advance.

“If you can’t guarantee you’re going to fly ... when people are booking the ticket, they need to say ‘please be aware the flight may be cancelled at the last minute’.

“My mother booked well in advance.

“Had she known at the time of booking, she might have thought I won’t risk it I’ll book myself on the Intercity.

“In the old days if it was bad weather the airline would put you on a bus.

“We were taken to destinations, not stranded.

“They need to be more upfront.”

Air New Zealand regional affairs manager Jason Dawson said flight NZ5276 from Auckland to Kerikeri was cancelled as the aircraft “required engineering attention”.

“Customers were notified of the cancellation at 6.30pm the previous evening and rebooked on to the next available flight.

“Unfortunately in this case, the customer’s rebooking options were limited as they were connecting from Wellington, and with reduced seat availability due to the school holidays, the earliest alternative flight was on October 12.”

This year, Air NZ has cancelled 112 out of 2532 flights to and from Kerikeri, making for a cancellation rate of 4.4%.

Of the cancellations, more than half were due to weather conditions at Auckland or Kerikeri Airport, Dawson said.

This year, Air NZ has cancelled 112 out of 2532 flights to and from Kerikeri, making for a cancellation rate of 4.4%.

“Our schedule reliability is incredibly important to us and our teams are working hard to reduce the number of cancellations within our control, such as engineering issues.

“Our team takes pride in connecting New Zealanders with each other, and we’re sorry that on this occasion we weren’t able to get this customer where they needed to be.”

Hundreds of Northlanders have complained about flights being cancelled between either Whangārei and Auckland, or Bay of Islands and Auckland, coupled with poor customer service to follow-up.

Strathdee has written a letter of complaint to Air New Zealand’s chief executive team, which she also sent to Northland MP Grant McCallum and senior New Zealand First minister Shane Jones.

She said she and her mum were not aware of Barrier Air’s new service between Kerikeri and Auckland which began in August.

Barrier Air chief executive Grant Bacon said the airline is now fulfilling around 70% of its capacity for its route between Auckland and Kerikeri and is “paying its way”.

“There’s a fair amount of robustness we need to see with Kerikeri in terms of making sure the model does work but as the days and months go on we’re seeing that a complementary service in line with the national carrier is actually proving to be great for consumers and has a viable business case as well,” he said.

Barbara Strathdee had her flight cancelled from Auckland to the Bay of Islands recently.

Jones, who lives in Kerikeri, said he’s had “several” cancelled flights with Air New Zealand, including recently when he was on his way to a press conference at Parliament.

Jones said he often drives to Auckland now because cancellations happen with a “nauseating level of frequency”.

“It has become an awful situation where flights are regularly cancelled from Kerikeri.

“I’m fortunate I’ve got my wife or driver to help but I do feel for the scores of Northlanders who have shared their tales of woe with me.

“There seems to be a chronic failure in regional connectivity with Air New Zealand.”

Jenny Ling is a news reporter and features writer for the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering roading, lifestyle, business, and animal welfare issues.