By Rebecca Styles
Research Lead | Hautū Rangahau
If your flight has been disrupted by Cyclone Gabrielle, Air NZ and JetStar are offering to change or credit your booking.
If a flight’s cancelled or delayed because of bad weather or something else outside the airline’s control, like a mandatory government shutdown, the Civil Aviation Act doesn’t require the airline to refund your ticket or reimburse your costs. You’ll only be entitled to a refund if you purchased a fully refundable fare.
However, Air New Zealand and Jetstar are offering some flexibility with fares in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle.
If you’ve booked a domestic flight with Air New Zealand to, from or via affected North Island locations up to Friday, 17 February 2023, you can change your travel date to any time up to and including Wednesday, 22 February 2023, without paying any fare difference, penalty or service fees.
Affected locations include Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Kerikeri, Whangarei, Rotorua, Taupo, Gisborne, Napier and New Plymouth.
For international travel, you can change your travel date up to and including Wednesday, 8 March 2023, without paying any fare difference, penalty or service fees. However, if you’re upgrading to a higher cabin class, you will need to pay the difference.
Alternatively, if you no longer wish to travel, you can get a credit online through the Manage Bookings page. The credit will be valid for up to 12 months.
Jetstar is also offering some flexibility. For those flying to Auckland and Wellington between 14 and 19 February 2023, you can change your travel days up to 14 days from the date of travel, subject to availability.
There’s also the option of cancelling your booking to get a credit. You can alter or cancel your booking online.
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