Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 4, 2015 16:54:17 GMT 12
Travellers unhappy with Air NZ 'shambles'
Sunday, 04 October 2015
One Twitter user on the flight reported a queue of 300 people waiting for accommodation. Photo / Supplied
By Jimmy Ellingham
An Air New Zealand aeroplane is stranded in Hong Kong, leaving hundreds camping at the airport and frustrated at a lack of communication from the airline.
One of the passengers on board the "jam packed" flight, Anita Easton, said it was due to take off at 7.10pm local time (12.10am NZT).
"But they had engine failure and we sat on the plane for about two hours."
There was then a wait for accommodation, but passengers were told the airline couldn't find rooms for everyone.
Ms Easton said 19 rooms were eventually found for families with children and some elderly people.
"The rest of us have been sleeping in the lounge all night," she said.
"They told us we would be on a flight out at 12.10 (5.10am NZT). It would have got us into Auckland at 4.40... They just keep shifting it. They've done the usual thing of not communicating with anyone."
Ms Easton said meal vouchers were handed out at 10.40pm (3.40am NZT), 20 minutes before the food stalls shut. To make matters worse, some didn't accept the vouchers anyway.
They then received HK$50 vouchers for breakfast.
"It took four or five hours for bottled water to be handed out.
"Nobody can get a shower. It took us ages to get water."
Ms Easton said she didn't get a wink of sleep and spent the night reading.
"It's just been a complete shambles."
Tony Carter, the chairman of the Air NZ board, is one of the passengers who spent the night in the terminal.
"He's not very impressed. He's sent very strongly-worded emails to a variety of people at the airline, including the chief executive."
Ms Easton said she wondered what had happened to the promises of better communication after passenger were stuck in Hawaii last year.
An Air NZ spokeswoman confirmed NZ80 is now scheduled to leave Hong Kong at 1.50pm (6.50 NZT).
She said it was delayed because of "an engineering issue affecting one of the engines".
"Unfortunately Hong Kong is currently extremely busy due to the Mid-Autumn Festival and national holiday and this has been compounded by very poor weather conditions in the region, which has caused the cancellation of a number of other carriers' flights out of Hong Kong.
"We have been unable to secure hotel rooms to accommodate all of the customers on this flight. We have accommodated as many customers as possible in the rooms we have been able to secure, and a number of locally-based customers returned home for the night," the spokeswoman said.
"Unfortunately around 80 customers remained in the terminal overnight and they have been provided with meal vouchers, blankets and pillows as well as water and snacks.
"They are also being offered a cash payment as a gesture of goodwill for their inconvenience.
"We appreciate this situation has been very frustrating for our customers and thank them for their continued patience."
Passengers also received an email update from Air NZ.
"Unfortunately there are very limited accommodation options currently in Hong Kong and as a result it has been challenging for our staff to deliver our usual high level of service during this delay," it says.
"We appreciate this has been disappointing for our customers and we very much regret the inconvenience you are experiencing.
"We do understand that delays of this nature can be very frustrating but please be assured that our staff are doing everything possible to ensure your comfort during this delay, especially those of you who are remaining at the terminal overnight."
Passengers initially complained about a lack of communication from Air NZ, comparing the situation to one in Hawaii last year, when 227 passengers were stranded for up to 56 hours when a Boeing 767 experienced problems and its takeoff had to be aborted.
It was then revealed some of the crew there went out drinking, making them unfit for duty if the plane had been made airworthy.
After the Hawaii incident Air NZ said it would set up a special team to fly overseas to deal with large-scale passenger disruptions.
Following an initial investigation, airline chief executive Christopher Luxon said last year it would invest in a new communication system to provide better contact with affected passengers.
"Overwhelmingly your feedback had three key themes: communication with passengers; a lack of clear leadership and support; and a lack of empathy for the situation our passengers found themselves in," Mr Luxon said.
The airline promised to improve training for "disruption management" for all international airport management teams.
Passengers on that flight were each offered $1000 compensation.
Sunday, 04 October 2015
One Twitter user on the flight reported a queue of 300 people waiting for accommodation. Photo / Supplied
By Jimmy Ellingham
An Air New Zealand aeroplane is stranded in Hong Kong, leaving hundreds camping at the airport and frustrated at a lack of communication from the airline.
One of the passengers on board the "jam packed" flight, Anita Easton, said it was due to take off at 7.10pm local time (12.10am NZT).
"But they had engine failure and we sat on the plane for about two hours."
There was then a wait for accommodation, but passengers were told the airline couldn't find rooms for everyone.
Ms Easton said 19 rooms were eventually found for families with children and some elderly people.
"The rest of us have been sleeping in the lounge all night," she said.
"They told us we would be on a flight out at 12.10 (5.10am NZT). It would have got us into Auckland at 4.40... They just keep shifting it. They've done the usual thing of not communicating with anyone."
Ms Easton said meal vouchers were handed out at 10.40pm (3.40am NZT), 20 minutes before the food stalls shut. To make matters worse, some didn't accept the vouchers anyway.
They then received HK$50 vouchers for breakfast.
"It took four or five hours for bottled water to be handed out.
"Nobody can get a shower. It took us ages to get water."
Ms Easton said she didn't get a wink of sleep and spent the night reading.
"It's just been a complete shambles."
Tony Carter, the chairman of the Air NZ board, is one of the passengers who spent the night in the terminal.
"He's not very impressed. He's sent very strongly-worded emails to a variety of people at the airline, including the chief executive."
Ms Easton said she wondered what had happened to the promises of better communication after passenger were stuck in Hawaii last year.
An Air NZ spokeswoman confirmed NZ80 is now scheduled to leave Hong Kong at 1.50pm (6.50 NZT).
She said it was delayed because of "an engineering issue affecting one of the engines".
"Unfortunately Hong Kong is currently extremely busy due to the Mid-Autumn Festival and national holiday and this has been compounded by very poor weather conditions in the region, which has caused the cancellation of a number of other carriers' flights out of Hong Kong.
"We have been unable to secure hotel rooms to accommodate all of the customers on this flight. We have accommodated as many customers as possible in the rooms we have been able to secure, and a number of locally-based customers returned home for the night," the spokeswoman said.
"Unfortunately around 80 customers remained in the terminal overnight and they have been provided with meal vouchers, blankets and pillows as well as water and snacks.
"They are also being offered a cash payment as a gesture of goodwill for their inconvenience.
"We appreciate this situation has been very frustrating for our customers and thank them for their continued patience."
Passengers also received an email update from Air NZ.
"Unfortunately there are very limited accommodation options currently in Hong Kong and as a result it has been challenging for our staff to deliver our usual high level of service during this delay," it says.
"We appreciate this has been disappointing for our customers and we very much regret the inconvenience you are experiencing.
"We do understand that delays of this nature can be very frustrating but please be assured that our staff are doing everything possible to ensure your comfort during this delay, especially those of you who are remaining at the terminal overnight."
Passengers initially complained about a lack of communication from Air NZ, comparing the situation to one in Hawaii last year, when 227 passengers were stranded for up to 56 hours when a Boeing 767 experienced problems and its takeoff had to be aborted.
It was then revealed some of the crew there went out drinking, making them unfit for duty if the plane had been made airworthy.
After the Hawaii incident Air NZ said it would set up a special team to fly overseas to deal with large-scale passenger disruptions.
Following an initial investigation, airline chief executive Christopher Luxon said last year it would invest in a new communication system to provide better contact with affected passengers.
"Overwhelmingly your feedback had three key themes: communication with passengers; a lack of clear leadership and support; and a lack of empathy for the situation our passengers found themselves in," Mr Luxon said.
The airline promised to improve training for "disruption management" for all international airport management teams.
Passengers on that flight were each offered $1000 compensation.
