Customer Service Plan - Korea

Last updated 28 August 2019

Air New Zealand has a guiding principle that "we will be the customers' airline of choice when travelling to, from, and within, New Zealand". To help us achieve this for our Korean customers, we set out below the Customer Service Plan for our flights to and from Korea, provided in accordance with the requirements of Article 61-8 of the Aviation Business Act and is applicable for flights to and from the Republic of Korea.

In addition to the information below, further details of our internal policies and procedures can be found in our customer service and tarmac delay plan and in our conditions of carriage.

1. FLIGHT CANCELLATION OR DELAY

Our priority is to get you to your destination on time. Unfortunately, there will be times when weather, air traffic control restrictions, operational or safety reasons result in delays, cancellations or diversions.

We will attempt to minimise the inconvenience of customers by contacting you if there is a flight delay. Within 30 minutes of becoming aware of a flight delay, cancellation or diversion that exceeds a delay of 30 minutes, we ensure information is available:

At the boarding gate
In our lounges
On our website
Via our contact centre.

For the most up to date details on flight changes automated travel alerts via Air New Zealand mobile app, SMS or to your email are available via subscription.

More information on assistance our customer service plan for delay and cancellations, including assistance with alternative travel arrangements, see our customer service page.

2. LOSS OR DAMAGE OF LUGGAGE

We will make every effort to ensure your bags arrive at your destination on schedule and in the condition we received them. Despite all care being taken, baggage sorting systems are complex and involve both human and mechanical interaction which can occasionally result in checked baggage being delayed, damaged or inspected.

For further details, please see our recommendations for speedy resolution of issues with delayed and damaged baggage, and other lost property.

For any loss, damage or delay of your luggage, Section 8 of the Conditions of Carriage and Article 5 of the Standards for Protection of Air Traffic Users will be applicable. Article 5 stipulates:

For damage sustained in case of loss of or damage to checked baggage, we shall be liable only if the event which caused such loss or damage occurred on board or while the checked baggage was under our charge. However, we shall not be liable if the damage resulted from an inherent defect, unique characteristic or hidden defect of the baggage.
For damage sustained in case of loss of or damage to carried baggage, we shall be liable only if such damage resulted from intent or fault of us or our servants or agents.
We shall be liable for the damage arising out of loss of or damage to baggage within the limit provided by the applicable international convention or domestic law, unless the passenger has made, at the time when the checked baggage was handed over to us, a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination, in which case, we shall be liable for a sum not exceeding the declared interest, unless we prove that the declared interest s greater than the passenger's actual interest in delivery at destination.
We shall be liable for damage resulted by delay in the carriage by air of baggage. Nevertheless, we shall not be liable for damage resulted by delay if we prove that we and our servants and agents took all measures that are reasonably necessary to avoid the damage or that it was impossible for us to take such measures.

3. OVERBOOKING AND DENIED BOARDING

Specialist forecasting and careful planning means that denied boarding due to overbooking rarely happens. If it does, we are committed to providing a fair and consistent approach to how we compensate and determine boarding priority.

In all overbooking situations we will ask for volunteers before denying travel involuntarily to any customer. Where your offer of volunteering to travel on an alternative flight is accepted by Air New Zealand, you will be compensated in the same way as those who may be denied travel involuntarily.

If denied boarding is caused by oversales of tickets in flights departing from airports located within the Republic of Korea, we will provide compensation in accordance with the Consumer Dispute Resolution Standards.

4. INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR FLIGHT

For bookings made online directly with Air New Zealand or through our contact centre, we will provide you with an Electronic Ticket Itinerary and Receipt, which contains information regarding your flight including flight number and booking reference, departure and arrival times, check-in time, baggage allowances and other important information. If you book with a travel agent they should provide you with similar information. Information about flights can also be found on our website and mobile app, and you can manage your booking online.

If your flight is a codeshare flight, we will notify you of the operating carrier at the time of booking, which airline you should use for check in and the applicable baggage policy. There may be a difference between the fare paid for an Air New Zealand codeshare flight and the same flight booked with the operating carrier.

Once you complete check-in (either online or in person), you will receive a boarding pass for the ticket, which includes information about the flight and its departure gate. If the boarding gate is not available at the time of check in, or subsequently changes, this will be updated on our website, mobile apps, airport departure boards, and there may be public announcements at the departure airport.

Information on aircraft configuration including seat locations and emergency exits is available on our website.

5. CANCELLATION AND REFUNDS

If you need to cancel a flight booking, the rules of the fare class booked will apply. Some fares once ticketed are non-refundable and become non-changeable on the day of departure. Please refer to your fare conditions. The fare conditions, which include the conditions related to ticket cancellation, refund or change (including the relevant fees and penalty, exceptional conditions to such fees and penalty, the period during which ticket cancellation, refund or change is available, etc.) will be clearly notified to you before the purchase.

You can view most bookings made online and cancel refundable bookings online for Flexi, Global Flexi and Business Class fares (excluding Business Saver fares) that were booked online. To retrieve your booking and enter your Air New Zealand booking reference and the family name used to make the booking.

Where the fare rules of your ticket permit a refund, either in full or in part, Air New Zealand will ensure that once a refund request has been received, any refund due will be processed as quickly as possible.

To enquire about cancelling any other booking, please call the Air New Zealand Contact Centre on 02 737 4025.

6. TARMAC DELAY

Despite our very best intentions and efforts, there are many factors that can contribute to us not departing on time or be able to permit customers to disembark on arrival. Our procedure for tarmac delays for flights operating to and from Korea is set out below, although this policy is subject to safety or security issues that might arise from returning to boarding gate or unloading passengers at an area other than the boarding gate.

We will not delay on the tarmac with passengers on board for more than 3 hours in the case of a domestic flight and 4 hours in the case of international flight but this is subject to certain exceptions including:

in case the pilot-in-command determines that the safety and security of the passengers are not guaranteed due to weather conditions, air traffic control issues or government directive, etc.
In case government agency including air traffic control advises that returning to the gate or deplaning passengers at a location other than the gate would significantly disrupt airport operations.

Delay shall mean the time from close of aircraft door to departure until landing, or until opening of aircraft door to unload passengers.

We will notify you of the cause of any tarmac delay and give you updates on our progress every 30 minutes.

Where a tarmac delay lasts more than 2 hours, we will endeavour to ensure that urgent medical attention is available and that where possible water and food is available along with lavatory facilities.

7. DAMAGE REDRESS APPLICATION

If you need to tell us about something we haven't got quite right, or ask us a question, there are number of ways you can contact us:

Please fill out the Damage Redress form here and send to us by email to koreares@airnz.co.nz or by post/in person to Level 12, Twin Tree Tower A, 6 Yulgok-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul, 03142, Korea.
You can call us on 02-737-4025 to discuss your experience. We have a number of staff available to deal with your queries.
For any general enquiries or comments, we have an online form at the bottom of this page which you can fill out.

We work on responding to all enquiries and claims within 14 days from receipt of the claim for relief or within 60 days (60 days) in case of special reasons. In order to allow us to best respond to any claim, please provide us with your booking reference, as much detail as possible about your claim including evidence of any loss you may have incurred, and the preferred method by which you would like us to respond to you.

Some delays and disruptions are caused by reasons outside our control (e.g. weather, non-Air New Zealand/Star Alliance industrial action, natural disasters). In such cases, the normal terms and conditions of your Air New Zealand ticket apply. See here for further details.