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But the company’s managing director, David Coombes, has announced that he will remove some cancellation processing fees after hearing the “positive and negative” comments.
“This is because of the changes we made last week to reduce cancellation fees for groups and families who have been unable to travel due to the impact of COVID-19,” he said.
“Today’s change means that we will waive reimbursement rates for all customers in situations where the third-party provider, usually the airline, has canceled the service reserved for the customer.”
This hindsight only applies to Flight Center cancellation fees, not those that may be imposed by airlines or other third parties. If these third parties have not canceled a service, but customers decide to cancel anyway, a fee will apply.
The company predicts it will process around 15,000 refunds as a result of the virus, which has infected millions of people worldwide and killed hundreds of thousands.
The decision to waive the fees will cost Flight Center about $ 7 million, but Coombes said it is an investment in his clients that he acknowledges is under considerable stress.
“We have taken very positive steps to strengthen the company’s liquidity position and we are in a good financial position to withstand a prolonged drop in demand as a result of unprecedented government and unforeseen restrictions on travel and trade.”
He also said the move was not made for fear of legal action and that the cancellation policy was in line with the requirements of the Commerce Commission.
“There will be other independent agencies and operators, including many that we supply, that are simply not in a position to make this move. It is important for Kiwis to understand that there is a considerable cost associated with serving customers in the travel industry at this time, and very little income comes in to cover those costs, “he said.
“I urge the New Zealand Trade and Consumer Commission to work with us to understand this situation. A strong agency community will be in the best interest of Kiwi clients when we travel again.”
The company emphasizes that it has no control over the time it takes for third-party providers to process customer reimbursements, and some providers quote up to six months to return funds to people due to unprecedented demand.
In April, Flight Center said it would temporarily close 58 stores in New Zealand and lay off 300 employees.
