“I had to pay for the excess baggage again,” said Lucy, who was handed a bill for US$900 ($1472) for the four pieces of luggage, which were not included in their new fare.
“This was essentially $1600,” she said, including incidentals for the payment.
The traveller says she was told to submit a claim to Air New Zealand for a refund, which she did.
Six months later Lucy says the airline declined this claim, saying it was unable to refund her as the delays in LAX were out of their control, and they were not liable for the new carrier’s luggage charges.
The traveller called the wait “truly the worst experience”, having been out of pocket since June, and she found it “quite frankly baffling” she had been told to submit a claim to the airline.
The couple said they could really have done with the cash as they set up home in their new country.
A spokesperson for Air New Zealand said they had booked the passenger onward travel at their request on the next available flight, and that this had been an act of goodwill.
Given the airport delays had been out of their control it was their position that she should submit a travel insurance claim for the delay.
Transfer times via Los Angeles International LAX
Transferring via the US is a taxing process for international travellers.
Since 2001 all travelles must be individually checked by US Customs and Border Protection and recheck luggage to their next destination - even if they are in transit and ticketed through to another country.
The US has a lot of additional complications for transit passengers, particularly for passengers from New Zealand airports which are not part of the US’s preclearance schemes. There are no visa exemptions for transit passengers, and New Zealand passport holders must have an ESTA visa waiver, even if transferring immediately to another country.
This means there can be huge variations in processing time for transit passengers.
In this instance Air New Zealand said it had assigned two hours and 20 minutes for Lucy’s layover in Los Angeles. This is the minimum waiting time for a layover at LAX.
The airline’s customer GM, Alisha Armstrong, says the minimum transit time is normally worked out in consultation with the airport.
“Minimum connection times are usually set by the airport companies in consultation with airlines and vary from airport to airport. They are calculated to consider a range of factors including the size and layout of the airport, whether the flight is international or domestic, and boarding times of connecting flights.”
However, CBP processing can be a lottery and prone to long waits at peak times. This is shown by the Border Wait Times published by the US agency for all airports and ports of entry.
The average wait time for international travellers to clear border processing is 30 minutes, with an average maximum wait time of double that. However, there is a huge fluctuation.
During June last year, passengers experienced maximum wait times of over 120 minutes, 7 per cent of the time, making it an impossible transfer, especially if passengers have additional luggage to check.
In this incident, Air New Zealand says the delay was outside of their control.
“We recommend all customers purchase travel insurance as this will ensure that you are covered should an event outside the airline’s control occur that disrupts your travel and causes you to miss a connecting flight,” Armstrong said.
“We apologise for the time it took to respond to the customer.”
They advised Lucy to submit the excess luggage receipts to her insurer.
However, watchdog Consumer NZ says it was the airline’s responsibility to get the passenger and her luggage to her final destination, having ticketed the traveller through to London.
“If the airline allowed the passenger to book flights with a transit time of two hours 20 minutes, but this wasn’t sufficient, we think the airline is at fault under both the Consumer Guarantees Act, and the Montreal Convention,” Consumer’s communications and campaigns manager Jessica Walker said.
“In our view, Air NZ should cover the additional excess luggage fees charged by American Airways.”
If the airline did not agree, Consumer advised the passenger to take the matter to a Disputes Tribunal.
How much should you pay for excess luggage?
Sometimes you need to take an extra bag, when couriering items to the other side of the world is neither practical or cost-efficient.
Additional luggage can be a strain, especially if your trip involves more than one carrier.
On simple trips, involving just one airline, many carriers offer prepaid luggage services allowing you to change your allowance online.
In most cases it has to be added at the airport and depends on which airline is serving the majority of the route. International airline body IATA has rules for determining the “Most Significant Carrier (MSC)” for a multi-airline itinerary. This allows passengers and airports to work out whose baggage rules should apply for the route, and for a set excess luggage fees to be calculated and paid on ticketed through to a final destination.
Unfortunately, flying via the US also throws an additional spanner in the luggage conveyor.
All passengers transferring from international flights at LAX have to collect and recheck baggage - even if it has been checked through to their final destination.
Air New Zealand’s website says there is a special exception for luggage transferring via the US or Canada, saying “allowances and charges may differ between different carriers and throughout your journey,” even where Air New Zealand would normally be considered the MSC.
This can lead to different allowances being provided to the passenger for their journey, and excess charges that differ, which must be paid at the airport.
