AIR - Air NZ.

[blackcap]

"Air traffic volumes have collapsed in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, and Airways forecasts it will take up to two years for traffic to return to just 60% of pre-pandemic levels."

From the NBR this morning.

[samjaynz]

Is this in addition to the already announced redundancies? Or part of the existing 'package'?:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/ind...ant-union-says

[winner69]

Is this in addition to the already announced redundancies? Or part of the existing 'package'?:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/ind...ant-union-says

More / extra by sounds of it

Somewhere in that story it mentions 3750 staff to go all up

[Beagle]

More / extra by sounds of it

Somewhere in that story it mentions 3750 staff to go all up

So they had 12,500 and will have about about 8,750 = 70% of staff but are doing about 10% of previous business but Couta1 tells me they won't answer their phone, (despite sitting in a queue for well over an hour) to action the credit they promised him for cancelling his tickets for flights that are actually happening but they have forced him to rebook at 3 times the price for exactly the same flights ! (Breech of fair trading act right there !)

Seeing as they have staff "for Africa" with nothing to do seeing as they're not flying much the mind boggles as to why they can't answer their phone in a timely manner ? Coutts tells me he emailed them and got an automated response that he can expect a response within 21 working days. For goodness sake a business with so many staff sitting around picking their noses and watching flight radar takes a whole month to reply to emails or hours to answer the phone....its beyond pathetic, the wheels have well and truly fallen off.

This is a company that is now both financially and morally almost bankrupt. The Govt should just let it fail, nationalise it and create a type of ministry of air works. At least then you might get a response within 14 days or your phone enquiry answered within an hour. The way this is being run, honestly I think I'd rather fly JetStar.
At least that way there is no pretence that you will get anything other than appalling bad service, its simply a known fact and the price you pay reflects that.

[Cyclical]

Is this in addition to the already announced redundancies? Or part of the existing 'package'?:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/ind...ant-union-says

More / extra by sounds of it

Somewhere in that story it mentions 3750 staff to go all up

Seems the union don't even know...

"In an email to Stuff, a spokesman for E tū said it was unclear if the cuts were in addition to those previously announced."

[Cyclical]

So they had 12,500 and will have about about 8,750 = 70% of staff but are doing about 10% of previous business but Couta1 tells me they won't answer their phone, (despite sitting in a queue for well over an hour) to action the credit they promised him for cancelling his tickets for flights that are actually happening but they have forced him to rebook at 3 times the price for exactly the same flights ! (Breech of fair trading act right there !)

Seeing as they have staff "for Africa" with nothing to do seeing as they're not flying much the mind boggles as to why they can't answer their phone in a timely manner ? Coutts tells me he emailed them and got an automated response that he can expect a response within 21 working days. For goodness sake a business with so many staff sitting around picking their noses and watching flight radar takes a whole month to reply to emails or hours to answer the phone....its beyond pathetic, the wheels have well and truly fallen off.

This is a company that is now both financially and morally almost bankrupt. The Govt should just let it fail, nationalise it and create a type of ministry of air works. At least then you might get a response within 14 days or your phone enquiry answered within an hour. The way this is being run, honestly I think I'd rather fly JetStar.
At least that way there is no pretence that you will get anything other than appalling bad service, its simply a known fact and the price you pay reflects that.

This poor response to calls and emails, or lack of as the case may be, is unfortunately probably by design. I hope the ones that are brave enough to answer the phone get a special Covid19 subsidy for the extra work related stress atm!

[Beagle]

This poor response to calls and emails, or lack of as the case may be, is unfortunately probably by design. I hope the ones that are brave enough to answer the phone get a special Covid19 subsidy for the extra work related stress atm!

LOL I suspect you are absolutely right.
Flying is now something to be "endured" rather than enjoyed. If one is endure the whole thing one might as well minimise the price. Auckland to Queenstown on JetStar for as little as $56 each way, BYO gloves, hand sanitizer, face mask, drink, snack and magazine is probably about as good as flying gets these days.

[Cyclical]

LOL I suspect you are absolutely right.
Flying is now something to be "endured" rather than enjoyed. If one is endure the whole thing one might as well minimise the price. Auckland to Queenstown on JetStar for as little as $56 each way, BYO gloves, hand sanitizer, face mask, drink, snack and magazine is probably about as good as flying gets these days.

Is that current pricing? Damn, that's quite appealing...I'll get the wife to pack the bags. Will I need to book a rental car in advance do you think?

[Beagle]

Is that current pricing? Damn, that's quite appealing...I'll get the wife to pack the bags. Will I need to book a rental car in advance do you think?

Yeap, I just had a look for mid September. These guys are cheap. Leave your booking until August if you're going in Sept. I got a current model Toyota Corolla for just over $30 a day last year.
https://www.gorentals.co.nz/
www.jetstar.com

[samjaynz]

Seems the union don't even know...

"In an email to Stuff, a spokesman for E tū said it was unclear if the cuts were in addition to those previously announced."

Glad to see I'm not the only one who's confused.

One thing I will say is the way Air NZ have carried on with delaying refunds, forcing people to rebook at higher cost etc has really put me off them. Pre Covid I flew a fair bit for work ... was a real eye opener to look back in my Xero on the last FY and see just how much I've given them (all those 5.30am CHC - AKL really add up!).

I will admit that I overspent on flights when I could have flown Jetstar for cheaper (or Qantas/Virgin/Emirates trans tasman) because I liked the lounges, the frequent flyer points, the status upgrades etc ... fool me once, right? I was a bit suckered in by the 'prestige', as it were. I'd book the premium seat for $10 extra ... because who doesn't want that bit more leg room, or I'd pay for the Works when flying to Aussie.

Although my flying is unlikely to return to the quantity it had pre-Covid, I'm now going to go with whoever is the cheapest that fits my schedule.

As others have pointed out, flying is likely to be a lot more 'grim' of a prospect in the near future. Queue up, get on board, sit there in your seat ... all that matters when the added extras are removed like meal service etc then is just the price.

Furthermore, I've been appalled at the way some members of my family have been treated trying to get refunds. I've got a couple of relatives who had a big overseas trip booked, have been promised refunds and nothing after weeks - they are out of work now so could really use the money.