There are a lot of occasions where the Air New Zealand pilots can't land/takeoff either and the airport is shut completely.
The mountains surrounding this airport are fairly significant, anybody who has driven to the remarkables ski field I am sure would agree.
The Air NZ prices can actually be cheaper than DJ and are generally cheaper than QF and due to the fact that the weather can change quickly and the proximity of those mountains I will only use Air NZ when flying to Queenstown. Its there part of the world. I don't use Air NZ anywhere else.
There was an incident this year and I have attached a link to the news clip which I think you might find interesting.
Pacific Blue under investigation for risky flight - Business - Video - 3 News
I’m not sure why it sounds like you assumed it was my first time there? I’ve been going yearly to Queenstown since I was 8, and lived in Wanaka throughout 2006, I know the mountains, I know the area, I know the airport sometimes shuts… but for the majority of the time, everyone else diverts and Air NZ doesn’t. That might seem like reason enough to pay more, but I’d rather have the delay and cash in my pocket, and whatever airline points
I recall the taxi drivers there once telling me if there’s a cloud in the sky, the roo wont fly, and that’s what faith they had in QF before they handed over to JQ.
I don’t even need to click that link, I will assume it’s the flight that left too soon to dusk, I know the rule. It’s there for a reason, but a lot was made of that story when it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. They’re installing lights soon anyway, and they (the locals) reckon night flights wont be far away.
Here is a link to a good video clip on what the airport is like when it snows. The airport probably would have been closed for at least a day and a half after this fall. A lot of the people that would have been delayed by this snow fall would have had to catch connecting flights out of Auckland/Christchurch on other airlines that would not have cared a zot that they were stuck in Queenstown
Moral - if you are flying to Queenstown in winter plan on there being a flight delay.
For the vast majority of people there won't be, but there are worse places to be stuck in as long as you know you are going to be looked after when the airport re-opens.
YouTube - Queenstown Airport in the Snow Aug 08
That is a pretty awesome video. It always amazes me how unprepared most of the people that holiday in Queenstown are when it snows. Generally the town is one big car crash, with people underestimating how slick the road is. Great fun to be out in that weather, or after the snowfall though, especially around Arrowtown.
My post was not a flame but a genuine surprise because of the entire letter I saw very little that was appreciation and lot that sounded like complaint. Evidently I was not the only one who also thought so.
Sure wouldn't it be nice if all staff everywhere were exactly the same and handled people in exactly the same manner and never had an off day. But we're talking people here, and as anyone knows the service provided on a given day or situation depends upon the individual sitting behind the desk not the company itself. You can't mandate a positive attitude through company policy. It just doesn't work that way.
Sure wouldn't it be nice if status pax got extra perks in times of disrupt but have you ever considered how that would actually come off in such a situation. One person gets a free taxi ride to a hotel while a family with a baby get the tough luck scenario? It's difficult to provide one level of service to some people and not others when everyone is crowding around asking questions and demanding a solution.
There just isn't a way for the company to win in this situation as inevitably everyone thinks they should get more than they did and everyone has been equally inconvenienced. For you, your status means you should get special treatment, for someone else their small children means the same and still others their elderly relative etc...There will not be a single person on that flight who doesn't think they deserve special treatment. The only solution is for the company to draw the line somewhere.
I guess I should have posted here first with an extended version and asked for help slimming it down to balance it out more. Sure there was a fair bit of complaint, but not all about the hotel, which is what everyone seemed to just latch onto. Did anyone say the seat allocation on the flight over was strange? Why would they give 2 pax the entire first row, that seems odd.
No offence, but I did comment on a few things, and had hoped the letter would be taken on everything that was said, instead I’m sat here defending what I wrote on small points that ultimately travel insurance cleared up.
There are lots of complaints on here about bad staff, and the general response is take a name and make a complaint, and conversely, when you get good staff, do the same and make sure they are noticed by the airline. So I’m saying, in Sydney and Queenstown, they were brilliant, more so in Queenstown though. In Christchurch though, they really sucked. Take note Virgin!
And sorry, didn’t mean to seem like you were personally flaming me, it just seems all I’ve done is try get my point across as every time I try I get it wrong again
