Letters to the Travel Editor

On Air New Zealand’s Antarctic safety video Dear Sir, When an Air France A330 disappeared on a flight from Rio to Paris, Air France didn’t wipe the South Atlantic from all future considerations and scheduling.

Erebus was awful, but it was a long time ago and it is surely time to stop mourning the dead. David Stevens Dear Sir, As someone who was sent out to the airport by my editor the night the Erebus flight was announced as overdue, to see the utter anguish on families’ faces when they trooped out of the room after being briefed by airline officials, and then finding that a dear friend had lost her husband whom she had “shouted” a trip on the flight, I totally agree with you about the airline’s shocking misreading of how people still feel about that disaster.

It shows an appalling blindness by Air NZ’s usually good PR policies. They have committed a disgraceful blot on the airline’s mana.

The other thing that really churns me, is that the survey inserted into your piece has figures that show the vast majority of the public who have read it still think it’s all right.

It is not, and no amount of PR flak from the airline about the good work that is being done on the ice will forgive them for opening an old wound that still throbs 38 years on. Tony Potter Vegetable mash Dear Sir I’d like to share what we didn’t like in the world of travel over the past year.

My husband and I were travelling from Auckland to Port Vila, Vanuatu, and came back in January. When buying the Economy Class tickets six months prior to the departure, we requested two vegetarian meals. During the first flight we were informed the crew didn’t have the request in their record and they had beef or chicken to offer. After showing the tickets we were assured it would not happen during the return flight. Unfortunately it did. This time we were assured by (the same) crew member who even remembered us, that someone from the Air Vanuatu office would contact us. Unfortunately again, nothing happened for a few weeks, so we contacted Air Vanuatu.

It took them three weeks to respond, when they said they were sorry and that they “will make sure that this will not happen again in the future as they try to provide best service to the customers”. We didn’t want to be apologised to again. We were apologised to already three times and promised an improvement, what we got instead were sausage pancakes during the return flight. Maybe it’s just Air Vanuatu policy — “making sure” and “promising” instead of actually providing a good service. There will be “no next time in the future”, thank you. Natalia Jaranowska