Offer of delay too late

Press, 2 April 1980, Page 24

Offer of delay too late

By

LES BLOXHAM

• travel editor

The Adelaide businessman who planned to bring 134 of his employees and other guests to Christchurch for Easter has said he would not have cancelled the trip had he known Air New Zealand was willing to delay the ‘departure of its earlymorning flight to Auckland next Monday. He was commenting on a statement by the airline’s sales manager (Southern), Mr G. H. Anderson, in “The Press” of March 17 that a proposal to delay the 7.15 a.m. flight until 8.45. aun. specially for the group was “not accepted by Adelaide.” .“The Press” reported the same day how Mr Keith Bowden, managing director of Adelaide’s biggest electrical contracting firm, had applied last April for seats on flights direct from Melbourne to Christchurch and back to Sydney. Instead,, they were ultimately booked on a flight returning to Melbourne through Auckland. V After months of frustration caused by repeated tran s-Tasman schedule changes by both Qantas and Air New Zealand, Mr Bowden cancelled the trip on February 29 when told that his group would have to be up at 5.30 a.m. to catch the early morning domestic flight to Auckland. He is now taking his

guests to Perth for the week-end. Air New Zealand, which has been . investigating the matter, reported this week that further inquiries nad shown the airline’s offer to delay the Christchurch to Auckland flight apparently did not reach Adelaide until after Mr Bcrivden had cancelled tbe trip. However, the Adelaide agencies acting on Mr Bowden’s behalf maintain that the first they knew of the proposal was when they received a cutting of “The Press” report quoting Mr Anderson. “We knew nothing of it until then,” a spokesman said. “If, in fact, this inf or-, mation had been passed on, the group would not have cancelled.” The airline’s general manager (commercial), Mr M. A. Ramsden, said he had been unable to find why the information did not get through. “Perhaps it got held up along the pipeline,” he said. Mr Bowden, who each year takes his staff on a long week-end. incentive holiday, had booked 70 rooms at the Chateau Regency Hotel and paid a 86000 deposit. His agencies report that because of the “airline hassles” he is not prepared to ccfntemplate taking the group out of Australia again,