NZ Bubble Cancellations

[fifo]

I've got a return SYD CHC in a few weeks, I am assuming the bubble with NZ will not be open by that time. What happens? Does qantas cancel you or do they play 'chicken' with you and its your problem as you can't fly, vs them being able to still operate flights (as in they can fly NZ > SYD so may still be running planes). Thereby forcing you to loose your flight due to now show or use the fly flexible offer (which I dont want to do as I dont want to pay more on new flights to rebook, which is highly likely for my future avail dates)?

 

[blackcat20]

If the bubble is shut they will cancel a day or two before in my experience.

 

[fifo]

If the bubble is shut they will cancel a day or two before in my experience.

Cheers, thanks.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I've got a return SYD CHC in a few weeks, I am assuming the bubble with NZ will not be open by that time. What happens? Does qantas cancel you or do they play 'chicken' with you and its your problem as you can't fly, vs them being able to still operate flights (as in they can fly NZ > SYD so may still be running planes). Thereby forcing you to loose your flight due to now show or use the fly flexible offer (which I dont want to do as I dont want to pay more on new flights to rebook, which is highly likely for my future avail dates)?

I just had a SYD-AKL scheduled at end July moved forward about 10 days by QF.
No email, no communication at all.

Was a weekend trip and the return AKL-CNS was sent to a voucher without my consent although I did get an email about that and can apparently request a refund when the voucher arrives (it hasn’t yet)

 

[fifo]

I just had a SYD-AKL scheduled at end July moved forward about 10 days by QF.
No email, no communication at all.

Was a weekend trip and the return AKL-CNS was sent to a voucher without my consent although I did get an email about that and can apparently request a refund when the voucher arrives (it hasn’t yet)

thats a reasonably hilarious outcome. sorry for the hassles

 

[RooFlyer]

What happens? Does qantas cancel you or do they play 'chicken' with you and its your problem as you can't fly, vs them being able to still operate flights (as in they can fly NZ > SYD so may still be running planes).

I had HBA-xSYD-xBNE-CHC and return booked. J sale fare. Three weeks out, obviously wasn't going to happen so I called well before any of the flights cancelled, intending to ask for a credit. Was told I could get a refund or aTravelPass with DSC ( See that thread). Happy.

I guess YMMV depending on fare conditions, but cancelling pro actively can be done successfully.

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

I've had 3 trips cancelled since the start of the trans-Tasman bubble, so far.

When QF cancels the flight they default to issuing a credit. You need to call if you want a refund. Then wait 2-3 months for the refund to be processed.

 

[Anna]

I had a J flex booking and rang QF to cancel. No problem getting through, no attempt to dissuade me from a refund. Was told the refund will take 'up to 8 weeks'. The CSA was very pleasant to talk to.

I had deliberately booked J flex even though it was more expensive than other fares on offer which were cheaper but not refundable. Along the way with the booking, when timing changes needed to be made by QF, there was quite a lot of pressure from QF to switch me to a slightly cheaper J fare which they described as giving me a partial refund - they omitted to mention I would lose the fully refundable aspect of the fare if I got sucked in by that. So watch out for that if refundability is important to you.

Before deciding to cancel I had attempted to change dates via the QF website MMB. I got annoyed when each individual sector was shown for flex fares as -$14 or -$16 or similar small refund amounts, but when I got to the total calculation it would never give me a refund figure of ~$30 but would always default to me having to pay an extra $2. Every single time. So I just gave up despite it being a DSC booking. I absolutely hate nickel and diming on expensive purchases So I cancelled because of the combination of that, the constant bubble pauses (it was my second cancelled trip due to bubble issues), and the NZ negative covid test requirement which adds an extra $150 for each pax and is a pain to organise.

So now I'm wondering what happens to all the FF points I earned through making my bookings on my credit card - do they disappear when the refunds get processed?

 

[henrus]

I've found Qantas to be much better than Air New Zealand when it comes to fewer cancelations however Air NZ is better with changes.

I was over in NZ when the bubble pause with the whole of Australia occurred on 26 June. I had a flight out with QF from CHC-BNE on the 27th of June and I was expecting it to be canceled but instead, they flew over an empty plane just to operate the flight back with about 30 people. They continued to do this for a few weeks and more recently even from SYD and MEL.

Air New Zealand has been canceling a lot more flights (especially to the South Island) which meant last week my booked OOL-CHC on Air New Zealand turned into a next day BNE-AKL-CHC instead.

When Qantas cancels the flight technically you're eligible for a refund (just takes time). Air New Zealand has a different approach, they don't provide refunds (unless you booked a refundable fare) however they allow rebooking via the app for a date up to a month in the future (without any extra charges) or they provide a credit for the full amount regardless of fare. Credits on Air New Zealand can be requested anytime and are instant so if the flight you're booked on drops in price then simply request a credit and rebook (using the remainder at a later date - valid until July 2022).

 

[fifo]

I had a J flex booking and rang QF to cancel. No problem getting through, no attempt to dissuade me from a refund. Was told the refund will take 'up to 8 weeks'. The CSA was very pleasant to talk to.

I had deliberately booked J flex even though it was more expensive than other fares on offer which were cheaper but not refundable. Along the way with the booking, when timing changes needed to be made by QF, there was quite a lot of pressure from QF to switch me to a slightly cheaper J fare which they described as giving me a partial refund - they omitted to mention I would lose the fully refundable aspect of the fare if I got sucked in by that. So watch out for that if refundability is important to you.

Before deciding to cancel I had attempted to change dates via the QF website MMB. I got annoyed when each individual sector was shown for flex fares as -$14 or -$16 or similar small refund amounts, but when I got to the total calculation it would never give me a refund figure of ~$30 but would always default to me having to pay an extra $2. Every single time. So I just gave up despite it being a DSC booking. I absolutely hate nickel and diming on expensive purchases So I cancelled because of the combination of that, the constant bubble pauses (it was my second cancelled trip due to bubble issues), and the NZ negative covid test requirement which adds an extra $150 for each pax and is a pain to organise.

So now I'm wondering what happens to all the FF points I earned through making my bookings on my credit card - do they disappear when the refunds get processed?

yes they do if anz, i was heavily negative last yr. balance is internal to anz only, not qff.

 

[Anna]

yes they do if anz, i was heavily negative last yr. balance is internal to anz only, not qff.

Were yours already in your QFF account and then got reversed? Mine go into QFF automatically each month, not from ANZ Bank.

 

[fifo]

Were yours already in your QFF account and then got reversed? Mine go into QFF automatically each month, not from ANZ Bank.

As I said, this is internal to anz only. You just go negative with anz. Nothing removed from qff. I considered canceling my card it was so bad one month

 

[ole nimeton]

I had a SYD-AKL flight for early August cancelled by Qantas on Monday. Oddly they only cancelled the departing flight and not the returning flight.

Phoned them up and they processed a cash refund for both flights promptly with no dissuasion. Now to see how long it takes to show up back on my card…

 

[TheInsider]

Looks like an 8 week halt to going to NZ - quarantine free.

PM says wait time between Pfizer doses will be extended to six weeks in NSW — as it happened

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the wait time between receiving Pfizer doses in NSW will increase from three weeks to six, in an attempt to deliver more first doses sooner.

www.abc.net.au