An Air New Zealand customer in Australia told the Herald that he had been trying to reach customer service for two days and had waited more than two and a half hours for a single call.
“I eventually got through it, but the waiting times are absolutely horrendous,” he said.
“This is an ongoing problem with Air New Zealand.”
The customer said the airline had offered a callback service in the past as an alternative to waiting, but that now seemed to be gone.
Another Air New Zealand customer tweeted about a similar experience.
“It appears that Air New Zealand has discontinued their callback service,” they wrote.
The person waited on the phone for over an hour in the “priority line” and had to make flight changes.
Consumer NZ CEO Jon Duffy said he was concerned that Air New Zealand was still letting its customers down.
“We get a lot of complaints from people who have had flights disrupted and then have to wait hours to speak to Air New Zealand for help,” he said.
“Furthermore, we have learned that passengers affected by flight delays and cancellations are being misled about their rights and the airline’s obligations.
“Air New Zealand has a responsibility to provide accurate information and not mislead its passengers. We keep hearing that refunds are excruciatingly slow and sometimes denied when required by law.
Duffy said Consumer NZ appreciated that the airline was in a recovery phase and businesses needed to turn a profit.
“However, it is frustrating that domestic airfares have increased by almost 20 percent in a year and people have no choice but to accept these airfares – there is a lack of competition in the market.
“Consumers would like to see Air New Zealand step up its game and reinvest some of its significant profits into better customer service.”
Earlier this week, it was reported that Air NZ was on track for a profit of $468 million in the 12 months to June, compared to its loss of $507 million last year, mainly due to strong travel demand and reduced competition.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson said recent severe weather conditions had a major impact on operations, with around 50,000 customers affected.
Last May, Air New Zealand was on the hunt for an additional 200 contact center agents after customers had to wait for hours.
The airline said at the time that the wait times were due to an increase in contact center calls as Kiwis started booking flights and had more complex queries than before the pandemic.