NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Covid 19 coronavirus: STA Travel insolvency makes for anxious wait for would-be travellers, 'worst nightmare' as tens of thousands at stake

By Chelsea Boyle
Chelsea Boyle is a reporter for the New Zealand Herald·NZ Herald·
24 Aug, 2020 07:51 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Robbie Skilton with his wife Alison at their home in Torbay, Auckland. Photo / Greg Bowker

Robbie Skilton with his wife Alison at their home in Torbay, Auckland. Photo / Greg Bowker

A family who spent nearly $40,000 on a stymied world trip are among Kiwis who now fear they've lost money after the parent company of STA Travel New Zealand filed for insolvency.

And Consumer NZ is warning STA customers they will be treated as unsecured creditors and may never see their hard-earned cash.

Robbie Skilton, who lives in Auckland's Torbay, was expecting to get a refund of nearly $40,000 after a holiday had to be cancelled because of Covid-19.

Skilton, his wife Alison and their two adult children all booked with STA Travel last year for a 5-month international excursion.

The main drawcard was a wedding in Scotland but included travel in central Europe and America.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It was an extensive trip, we were doing things we didn't have time to do in the past," said Skilton, 69, recently retired.

He claimed a STA Travel website used to say refunds from providers would be passed on to customers and that he was told the same thing on the phone.

In March, via email he was told the company position on refunds was to offer a credit note - something the Skiltons repeated they were not happy with.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Later emails from an agent acknowledged he had previously been told refunds were possible but said as things had changed drastically they could only rebook or hold credit.

He was gutted to hear the parent company STA Travel Holding AG had filed for insolvency.

"I said to my wife that is our worst nightmare."

There was now an information void and he said he was concerned for other STA customers. Jacqueline Engelbrecht and her husband Greg, who live in Army Bay in Whangaparaoa, spent three years saving to pay for a family trip to Japan.

Discover more

Opinion

Derek Cheng: What Govt says is happening v what Health Ministry is actually doing

18 Aug 05:00 PM
Kahu

A virtual visit to Auckland Art Gallery

22 Aug 09:00 PM
Opinion

Derek Cheng: Sorry, not sorry - why Nats are removing welcome mat for many overseas Kiwis

20 Aug 11:49 PM
New Zealand

Aucklanders flout level-3 rules: 'Every chance of killing more people'

23 Aug 05:52 PM

Countless weekends were spent researching and practising Japanese with their 9-year-old son Daniel, rather than going out.

The family paid a year in advance to ensure the trip aligned with the blooming of cherry blossoms.

Greg and Jacqueline Engelbrecht with their 9-year-old son Daniel. Photo / Supplied
Greg and Jacqueline Engelbrecht with their 9-year-old son Daniel. Photo / Supplied

Their STA Travel booking included The Dragon Trip, a nearly two-week tour from Tokyo to Osaka and Kyoto.

The total cost of the vacation including flights, the tour and day excursions came to about $19,000.

In March, after the pandemic hit, their agent confirmed STA Travel had received a refund on most of their items, with an exception of the tour.

In May, Engelbrecht, who works in recruitment, emailed asking for some kind of refund.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"During this challenging time, we are doing our best to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on our customers and suppliers that we work alongside," STA Travel replied in an email.

"In order to do so we are trying to adapt and follow advice from airlines, land partners, local governments, regulators and travel trade bodies internationally."

Therefore credit measures had been taken to address the situation in the "fairest way possible".

Engelbrecht was concerned to read in the Herald that a Christchurch couple who booked a trip with STA feared they could be $20,000 out of pocket.

When the parent company had filed for insolvency last week it had reportedly said the pandemic had "brought the travel industry to a standstill".

While the parent company in Switzerland was affected, local operations by STA Travel "may continue around the world", it read.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Engelbrecht fears they might never see their money again.

"It's been a bit of a rollercoaster. Sometimes, I think it will great when we can travel again we will have this trip that will be ready and waiting for us but I think it's false optimism.

"It was a lot of saving and hard work. It's pretty devastating to be honest."

Many other couples, families and groups are also feeling left in the lurch.

Jennifer Allan, a gym manager in Hawera, said she was a part of a group of nine who had booked with the agency to go to Fiji to celebrate a friend's 40th in May.

Jennifer Allan. Photo / Supplied
Jennifer Allan. Photo / Supplied

Allan and her husband spent close to $3000 on the trip.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The group was told they could not get a refund and were instead given a two-year credit, which Allan was not happy with.

It did not seem fair during a pandemic, she said. "Travel isn't going to be safe for a long time."

Auckland couple Christine and Ross Blue spent just over $16,000 on business-class flights with STA Travel for a five-week trip to France.

The couple, who live in an Ellerslie retirement village, said towards the end of July their agent confirmed they had received a refund from Emirates.

They were told it could take 60 days for the refund to go through, as of yet the money has not reached their bank account.
The couple had earlier asked about what would happened to the money if STA Travel ceased trading but were told not to worry.

Christine Blue said: "My question is what have they done with our money? It wasn't theirs to keep."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Attempts by the Herald to reach STA Travel, including by email and phone, have been unsuccessful. Its nz website is "down for maintenance".

Today the companies register showed the New Zealand arm had appointed Deloitte in Auckland as a voluntary administrator.

Consumer New Zealand's CEO Jon Duffy told Newstalk ZB this morning because STA isn't part of the New Zealand Travel Agent Association, some people might not get any money back.

He said those who had booked travel with the company were unsecured creditors, meaning they would have to wait their turn.

Duffy said it might not be possible for some people to get their money back directly from the travel agency.

He advised people to go directly to the travel providers they booked with or through their bank if they paid with a credit card.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

live
New Zealand

Fibre outage and evacuations top of South Island, Auck Harbour Bridge hit by high winds

02 Jul 09:20 PM
New ZealandUpdated

Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

02 Jul 09:19 PM
OpinionUpdated

NZ Herald comments: The stories open for discussion today

02 Jul 09:17 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Fibre outage and evacuations top of South Island, Auck Harbour Bridge hit by high winds
live

Fibre outage and evacuations top of South Island, Auck Harbour Bridge hit by high winds

02 Jul 09:20 PM

Rain started falling at the top of the country before dawn.

Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

02 Jul 09:19 PM
NZ Herald comments: The stories open for discussion today

NZ Herald comments: The stories open for discussion today

02 Jul 09:17 PM
NZ Herald Severe Weather Update 3rd July

NZ Herald Severe Weather Update 3rd July

From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP