Claims for historical delay/cancellation events
Under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, Interislander passengers can claim compensation for costs incurred as a result of delays or cancellations that are within the reasonable control of Interislander, or put plainly, delays or cancellations that are Interislander’s fault.
Please see our Conditions of Carriage for more details on what is within our reasonable control and outside our reasonable control. For the avoidance of doubt weather related delays are outside Interislander’s reasonable control.
In early 2023, Interislander ferries suffered mechanical issues which unfortunately took our ferries out of service for a period of time.
There were three events that occurred between January 28 2023 and 12 April 2023 that caused delays and/or cancellations. These events included:
a) Loss of power incident on the Kaitaki ferry (28 January to 4 March 2023)
b) A heat exchanger issue on the Kaiarahi ferry (February 2023)
c) A gearbox issue with the Kaitaki ferry (4 March 2023 to 12 April 2023)
These events took some time to investigate and whilst we investigated the cause we treated them as if they were outside of Interislander’s control and told passengers that they were not entitled to compensation. In addition, the wording on our website may have led some passengers to believe that they could not make a claim for compensation.
This was wrong. Our investigation subsequently showed that there were things that Interislander could have done that may have avoided these mechanical issues. All non-commercial passengers have the right to claim compensation in accordance with the Consumer Guarantees Act.
If your Interislander sailing was delayed or cancelled due to reasons within Interislander's control between 28 January 2023 and 12 April 2023 and either you did not make a claim at the time or you consider it was not properly addressed, please submit a request for compensation through the link below.
If your Interislander sailing was delayed or cancelled as a result of an event that may have been within Interislander’s reasonable control (i.e. was Interislander’s fault) during another time period, we couldn't get you on another sailing in a reasonable period of time and you incurred costs, you may be entitled to compensation under the Consumer Guarantees Act. Please see our Conditions of Carriage for more information and, if you want to make a claim in respect of any other incident, please submit a request for compensation through the link below or contact us at claims@interislander.co.nz.
To allow our team to properly assess your claim, please let us know if you have made a claim before and provide supporting documentation (to the extent you have not already done so), including your ticket or booking details, details of the disruption (e.g. the cancellation notification you received), proof of payment related to reasonable expenses you incurred as a result of the cancellation or delay and your contact details.
We have made changes
The Interislander ferries are New Zealand’s ferries. Our passengers are the heart of our service and we should have done better in 2023.
So, we’ve made changes. First to our policies and procedures:
- When we have mechanical issues, unless it’s clear at the time that the incident was outside Interislander’s reasonable control (i.e. definitely not Interislander’s fault), we are going to treat those incidents as if they are within our reasonable control – we recognise that it’s not fair to make passengers wait for the outcome of lengthy investigations to receive compensation.
- Every incident will be looked at individually and decisions on compensation will take into account all of the circumstances at the time e.g. we will look at the time of the sailing that was delayed or cancelled and the consequences of the delay or cancellation for our passengers. We will not apply a set timeframe for compensation to apply.
We are also investing in new technology and processes. This will enable us to communicate with passengers earlier and more clearly about delays so they can make decisions that are better for them.
We have also refreshed our refund policy, which makes it easier for passengers to seek compensation when their booked travel is disrupted by something deemed within Interislander’s control.
We are relentlessly focused on improving customer experience and hope these changes will give customers confidence when booking their Cook Strait journey with Interislander. If you have any feedback on our processes or your experience, please let us know by contacting us at feedback@interislander.co.nz.