Family’s anguish as Air New Zealand passenger misses father’s funeral in horror journey

Jenny Kim's family were concerned to learn she had not made it to her father's funeral. Photos / Brett Phibbs

A bereaved Air New Zealand passenger spent more than 30 hours in transit, stuck in Hong Kong Airport instead of attending her father’s funeral.

Jenny Kim, 59, was travelling from Auckland to Seoul, South Korea, last weekend on short notice, after learning of her father’s passing.

Her son Paul said that the news was sudden and he was relieved that his mother would be able to represent their family at the funeral. However, this soon turned to concern after learning that his mother had not arrived, he told the Herald.

“I had been on a hike and expected her to have landed, but [I had] texts and missed calls from my sister. She was worried that Mum had not made it to the funeral.”

Flying out of Auckland on March 24, Jenny’s original travel journey had included a layover in Sydney.

A maintenance issue with Pratt & Whitney engines last year meant Auckland to Seoul Incheon was one of the services suspended by Air New Zealand last month, due to an aircraft shortage.

What could have been a direct 11-hour flight eventually became a 30-hour nightmare after a late-running service added another layover to the route.

After being held on the tarmac in Auckland for two-and-a-half hours, the delayed service meant that she missed her original connection. Instead, Jenny was offered a replacement flight via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, which gave her the narrowest margin for a layover.

When she got there she was held in customs because she had not been issued with a boarding pass for onward travel. The confusion saw her miss another connection, this time with Asiana Airlines (another Star Alliance member).

Instead of catching the late flight shortly after midnight, Jenny had to wait overnight in the airport for another flight with Cathay at 8am - knowing already she would arrive too late for her father’s funeral on the Monday.

Travelling solo and not completely fluent in English, she had just trusted the airline her son Paul said.

Jenny had been told that the boarding pass would not be an issue and that there would be staff at Hong Kong airport to help. None of which turned out to be the case.

“If it was a holiday it would have been a different matter, but they knew she had a funeral to get to,” Paul said.

The route was not even the most efficient option he said, pointing out there were several other airlines with direct routes from Sydney to Korea.

To add to these issues, Jenny discovered her luggage had been lost in transit.

Having arrived in Seoul too late for the funeral she had to fly back to Auckland without her belongings. It took three days to discover her case was still in Sydney.

International travel and compassionate fares

A spokesperson for Air New Zealand said they had been in touch with the Kims to apologise.

“We’re incredibly sorry for this customer’s loss and apologise for being unable to get her from Sydney to Seoul in time for the funeral,” said Air New Zealand GM for customer care Alisha Armstrong.

The airline said it was aware of the reason why Jenny was travelling and had booked her on a replacement service with a partner airline, that should have seen her arrive in Seoul in time.

“When a flight is disrupted, customers travelling on compassionate fares are prioritised for rebooking on the next available flight, either with us or one of our partner airlines.”

Air New Zealand currently only offers compassionate fare rates for flights within New Zealand.

However, the airline says it encourages customers to contact them regarding their travel plans after an unexpected medical emergency or bereavement.

“Air New Zealand prides itself on the care and consideration we show for our customers, and we’re disappointed that we were unable to deliver for this customer in her time of need. Our thoughts are with the customer at this time.”