Flexi fare refundable ticket -what a joke!

[Captain hum]

Hi
I want to book a fully refundable ticket. Couldn't find one online so rang the booking centre. They advised that the option to upgrade to a refundable fare is in the extras section.
Great, I think and proceed to book. An extra $57 per person to get a flexi fare. Not bad,I think, so decide to go ahead.
I just happen to read the fare rules before I proceed and see this
"If upgraded from an Australia Smart Saver fare, only the upgrade portion is eligible for a refund."

so I call them back for some clarification. They tell me that if I cancel , they will only refund the $57 that I paid to upgrade to a refundable fare. I am incredulous at this point and say that this makes no sense. Why eould I pay $57 more on ly to get $57 back if I cancel? :shock:
They simply repeat the rule to me. I try to explain that that there would be no point in doing this as the fare remains non- refundable ( other than the $57 paid to make it non- refundable) but they cant see what I am getting at.

Anyone else had any joy with this ?

 

[N860CR]

Hi
I want to book a fully refundable ticket. Couldn't find one online so rang the booking centre. They advised that the option to upgrade to a refundable fare is in the extras section.
Great, I think and proceed to book. An extra $57 per person to get a flexi fare. Not bad,I think, so decide to go ahead.
I just happen to read the fare rules before I proceed and see this
"If upgraded from an Australia Smart Saver fare, only the upgrade portion is eligible for a refund."

so I call them back for some clarification. They tell me that if I cancel , they will only refund the $57 that I paid to upgrade to a refundable fare. I am incredulous at this point and say that this makes no sense. Why eould I pay $57 more on ly to get $57 back if I cancel? :shock:
They simply repeat the rule to me. I try to explain that that there would be no point in doing this as the fare remains non- refundable ( other than the $57 paid to make it non- refundable) but they cant see what I am getting at.

Anyone else had any joy with this ?

Just to clarify, you are looking to book a new ticket? Or upgrade your existing cheapie ticket to a refundable one? If the latter, then it makes sense. Otherwise everyone would just call and upgrade to a refundable fare when they want to cancel a restricted one.

 

[Captain hum]

Just to clarify, you are looking to book a new ticket? Or upgrade your existing cheapie ticket to a refundable one? If the latter, then it makes sense. Otherwise everyone would just call and upgrade to a refundable fare when they want to cancel a restricted one.

I'm looking at a new booking. That's why it doesn't make sense

 

[oz_mark]

Although the implementation varies, most airlines operate this way. The original conditions hold.

 

[Captain hum]

Although the implementation varies, most airlines operate this way. The original conditions hold.

but why would a anyone pay $57 only to get $57 back? Its like having an insurance policy for which you pay $1000 per year for your home and them saying you can only have $1000 back if anything happens...

 

[AviationNZ]

but why would a anyone pay $57 only to get $57 back? Its like having an insurance policy for which you pay $1000 per year for your home and them saying you can only have $1000 back if anything happens...

If it's a new ticket, then you'll be able to book the flexible fare from the start and have the entire cost refunded.

 

[Captain hum]

If it's a new ticket, then you'll be able to book the flexible fare from the start and have the entire cost refunded.

Not according to the AirNZ call centre team. I'm currently trying to get a reasonable answer out of them via their DM service on Twitter...Watch this space

 

[Captain hum]

If it's a new ticket, then you'll be able to book the flexible fare from the start and have the entire cost refunded.

it would appear not. This is from the horses mouth -
[FONT=&quot]Thank you for that Jo. If you book online, you are automatically quoted the lowest economy fare class which provide you the lowest available prices at the time. As there are quite a few seats left on this flight, the lowest fare available online is an Australia Smart Saver fare. If you purchase this fare and upgrade it to Economy Flexi Fare, only the upgrade portion is eligible for a refund as advised before. If you want to purchase a Economy Flexi Fare (without upgrading it from an Australia Smart Saver fare), you will need to ring through to our team at 0800 737 000 to get this done. This will give you a full refundable ticket. Please note that booking an Economy Flexi Fare will cost more than purchasing online due to more flexibility you'll be getting with this ticket[/FONT]

It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Why pay $57 only to have $57 refunded? I cannot believe this option even exists...

 

[AviationNZ]

It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Why pay $57 only to have $57 refunded? I cannot believe this option even exists...

I wonder, is the $57 paying for flexibility and not just refundability (i.e. If you wanted to change to a different day)?

 

[serfty]

I wonder, is the $57 paying for flexibility and not just refundability (i.e. If you wanted to change to a different day)?

That would be the case, but I suspect it would still be tied to original fare bucket availability.

It seem AirNZ basically wont sell a "Fully Flexible" fare online unless there are only those fare buckets left.

 

[NZflygirl]

I think it's a matter of wires crossed.

I just had a quick look at BNE-AKL on a random date. Towards the end of the booking process there's usually the option to make even a seat fare fully flexible by paying $144 - see link for Flexi fare rules. That's if you book that fare initially.

https://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/tasman-pacific-fare-conditions-flexi?_ga=2.171769128.907153608.1501303780-542670389.1483408558



I have enquired previously about paying to make a cheap fare flexible (I think I was angling for the refund if I cancelled). I had booked a nonrefundable fare initially and later wanted to pay the difference to make it a Flexi/refundable fare.

In that case I'd only be eligible the difference I paid between the cheap nonflexi fare and the Flexi fare if I cancelled, not the ENTIRE original cheap fare.

Sounds like you're just trying to book a Flexi from the outset in which case the above link applies. You'll get a full refund.

 

[AviationNZ]

Just browsed the mobile website, and it spells it out pretty simply there, so you could always book it that way....

 

[Captain hum]

I think it's a matter of wires crossed.

I just had a quick look at BNE-AKL on a random date. Towards the end of the booking process there's usually the option to make even a seat fare fully flexible by paying $144 - see link for Flexi fare rules. That's if you book that fare initially.

https://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/tasman-pacific-fare-conditions-flexi?_ga=2.171769128.907153608.1501303780-542670389.1483408558



I have enquired previously about paying to make a cheap fare flexible (I think I was angling for the refund if I cancelled). I had booked a nonrefundable fare initially and later wanted to pay the difference to make it a Flexi/refundable fare.

In that case I'd only be eligible the difference I paid between the cheap nonflexi fare and the Flexi fare if I cancelled, not the ENTIRE original cheap fare.

Sounds like you're just trying to book a Flexi from the outset in which case the above link applies. You'll get a full refund.

Not according to AirNZ -this is what they wrote
Thank you for that Jo. If you book online, you are automatically quoted the lowest economy fare class which provide you the lowest available prices at the time. As there are quite a few seats left on this flight, the lowest fare available online is an Australia Smart Saver fare. If you purchase this fare and upgrade it to Economy Flexi Fare, only the upgrade portion is eligible for a refund as advised before. If you want to purchase a Economy Flexi Fare (without upgrading it from an Australia Smart Saver fare), you will need to ring through to our team at 0800 737 000 to get this done. This will give you a full refundable ticket. Please note that booking an Economy Flexi Fare will cost more than purchasing online due to more flexibility you'll be getting with this ticket

 

[Captain hum]

Just browsed the mobile website, and it spells it out pretty simply there, so you could always book it that way....

View attachment 102860

Interesting that the option of flexi -fare doesn't come up on the desk top site......

 

[NZflygirl]

I think I found the discussion on twitter. The answer still doesn't sound right but I don't have any personal experience to negate this.

If you're on flyertalk you should post the question there. There are people that have been flying Air NZ much longer than I have that probably know more about some of NZ's rules than the agents. It is an interesting question. It doesn't quite make sense to me to pay to make a fare Flexi to protect against cancellation but .... it doesn't. Sometimes agents say no but personal experience tells us the answer is actually yes although things like status, cabin class etc may be the swaying factors which aren't necessarily applicable to everyone in which case you need to find the answer for your situation.

I haven't specifically cancelled a TT fare so don't have any personal experience to add. I guess at the end of the day it would be good to know from Air NZ what the fare difference is between the smart saver fare and the cheapest base fare to pay to make it flexible and fully refundable. Hopefully the difference isn't too much and this may give you some peace of mind.

I flew Scoot SIN-SYD then VA under an NZ marketed ticket as NZ's rules meant I could change to a later flight easily without losing my entire fare if we were late on the inbound. Also chose Sydney as there are loads of flights TT to change to. VA needed changes made 24hrs or more prior to departure so I couldn't book via them however their freedom fare you can cancel up to 24hrs AFTER departure with refund to original form of payment without fee (looks like other fares A$100 fee and can travel credit only for cancellations).


So, call NZ, ask what the cost is of the most basic fare to get a full refund and how far out from departure at the latest you can cancel, then compare that to booking the same flight via VA website at the Freedom fare rate and see who is cheaper. I don't know if there are other carriers you can book through with better cancellation policies. QF will let you put it into travel credit with a significant reissue fee. I guess depending on the reason you're thinking about cancelling also check your travel insurance.