Air New Zealand apologises for charging couple US$8,000 to change flight after cancer diagnosis
- American tourists Todd and Patricia Kerekes cut their holiday short after the woman was diagnosed with terminal gallbladder cancer
- Todd said he was charged US$8,000 to have their flight moved forward. The airline refunded him, saying it ‘fell short of expectations’
Air New Zealand has apologised after it charged a married couple US$8,000 to change their flight.
American tourists Todd and Patricia Kerekes cut their holiday short after Patricia was diagnosed with terminal gallbladder cancer, according to Radio New Zealand.
Todd told the radio station they booked return tickets in business class from New York to Auckland, which cost nearly US$23,000.
The husband and wife reportedly flew to New Zealand in January and intended to stay until April, before Patricia was diagnosed six weeks into the trip.
On their surgeon’s advice to head home, Todd said he contacted Air New Zealand to have their flight moved forward. They flew home on Monday, RNZ reported.
Todd told RNZ’s “Checkpoint” programme he spent four hours trying to get a more reasonable price – and that the new seats were only about US$60 more than the ones he’d previously booked.
Patricia, 75, has about four months left to live, Todd said.