Air New Zealand suspended direct flights between Chicago and Auckland because of maintenance issues with the engines on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners - starting a stressful experience for a US-based family. Photo: Supplied / Air New Zealand
It's the vacation from hell and it hasn't even got off the ground yet ... literally.
One Kiwi family has been battling with Air New Zealand since April over its Christmas flights that were cancelled, rebooked and then cancelled again.
The saga began when the airline suspended its direct flights between Chicago and Auckland in March because of maintenance issues with the Rolls Royce engines on its Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Rupert, a New Zealander living in the US and his extended family, six people in total, were booked on the Chicago flight to come to New Zealand for Christmas. Their booking included three Skycouches.
When Air New Zealand cancelled the direct service Rupert just wanted to get the equivalent tickets and Skycouches on another Air New Zealand flight.
After hours on hold to the call centre queue and Checkpoint intervening his flights were eventually rebooked via a different route, with an apology from the airline.
However, now those flights have been cancelled too.
The alarm was raised last week when Rupert checked his booking, could not see anything and contacted the call centre.
He was told there had been a plane change, the sky couches would no longer be available for which he would receive a refund, however, this now meant their 15-month-old child would have to sit on their laps for the 12-hour flight.
"I'm kind of gobsmacked by that [no notification]. I trust that we were going to be notified but I'm not sure when, given that we fly in less than a month.
"It would seem like that would be an urgent situation."
Rupert and his family wanted to have the sky couches not just because they had two young children. His inlaws are elderly and have back and knee problems that require them "to lay flat if possible".
All up, he paid $US15,000 ($NZ25,300) for the tickets, so he had been left "frustrated" by the service.
"What frustrates me the most is that they're unwilling to offer a like-for-like replacement or make things right."
As a compromise, he wanted the airline to provide extra seats but it had so far been unwilling.
Rupert has downgraded Air New Zealand to a one or two for service.
"I don't see what they could be doing much worse to make this a more unpleasant service."
It was stressful for him and his in-laws who had never done such a lengthy flight.
"It's turning into a very sour taste for their first time in New Zealand."
A Boeing Dreamliner Photo: Supplied/ Air NZ
4th Dreamliner out of action - airline
Air New Zealand's general manager of customer care Alisha Armstrong has apologised to Rupert for the frustration and stress caused.
In a statement to Checkpoint, she said the airline was being significantly impacted by global engine challenges across its fleet.
"As of last week, our fourth 787 Dreamliner went out of service, meaning four of our 14 787 aircraft are now unable to fly.
"Our team has been closely managing these challenges to limit the impact on our customers, however unfortunately, due to the unexpected change last week, we have been forced to rework our schedule to manage the impact. We have minimised the impact as much as possible, however, we understand that this is less than ideal for customers and we share this frustration.
"We accept that on this occasion, Rupert has not received the level of service we pride ourselves on and we will continue to work with them to find a suitable solution."
She said Air New Zealand has added three additional dry lease Boeing 777s to its fleet and customers travelling on the aircraft will still receive the usual food, beverage and entertainment offerings throughout the flight, but may notice small differences like no Skycouches.
