Air New Zealand review by Trevor 2014-07-30

My wife and I were scheduled to fly on Air New Zealand NZ7 (San Francisco to Auckland) on 29 March. This flight was delayed due to mechanical problems and then cancelled. We were offered hotel accommodation an hours drive from the airport, but at 12:30 AM the bus transport to the hotel had not arrived and was in some doubt. I then checked with ground staff and was told that we could obtain compensation for an SFO airport hotel, by claiming online. We then checked back into the airport Hyatt Regency where we had been staying and were in bed by 1:20, unlike those who waited for the bus They got to bed after 3:00 AM. (They had to get up at 5AM for the bus back to the airport) When we finally arrived home I contacted Air New Zealand online and was advised to contact their customer relations team. This I did, also forwarding copies of my receipts, via Fax. I was then asked for bank details, which I also provided, and was advised that payment would take 5- 6 weeks. That was on the 1st May. Now after 12 weeks no payment has been received. Interestingly I found the following comment on the internet about the aircraft that was to fly our original flight, and I quote My husband and I flew San Francisco to Auckland, NZ 7 on 30th March. Flight delayed due to an electrical fault, due to board at 7.45pm but were eventually seated at 10.15e. Then informed that the paperwork required to had not been produced and waited a further 1 hour 45 mins, this at least gave the pilot time to reboot the entertainment units which weren't working. We had purchased seats with extra leg room which had the entertainment units folded into the seat frame. We were aware that the units would have to be folded away during take off and as the system required rebooting we entertained ourselves by reading. As the safety instruction began a stewardess suddenly snapped at us to "please pay attention to the safety video" which she only then seemed to realise we hadn't accessed. My husband however was quite happy to follow the video, right up to the point where you're asked to check if you've turned all your electrical equipment to flight mode. It was at this point that the stewardess roundly set upon him as he, as per instruction checked his iPod. It was demanded that he turn it off immediately, followed by a barked demand to know if he'd done so. This set the tone for the rest of the flight. At no stage before or during our flight did we say or do anything to warrant this sort of attitude. Also my husbands entertainment systems kept cutting out during the flight. I'd like to say that the ground staff who rescheduled our connecting flight, and the members of that crew were great.