A consumer group has accused Jetstar of misleading passengers and blasted the airline's attitude to cancellations.

Consumer NZ said when flights were delayed or cancelled for reasons within an airline's control, the airline should refund flights and reimburse costs incurred.

Consumer NZ chief executive Jon Duffy said Jetstar could be misleading passengers by saying it was not liable to pay for overnight accommodation in such circumstances.

He said things defined as being within the airline's control included overbooking, mechanical issues and staff sickness.

Costs incurred could include accommodation and rental car hire.

"Part of the issue is that Jetstar is claiming its liability is limited when consumers could be entitled to more," Duffy added.

The Herald has approached Jetstar for comment.

Duffy said Jetstar was currently claiming it only had to provide up to $150 reimbursement per room for accommodation costs and up to $30 per person for meals after a delay or cancellation within the airline's control.

"This is misleading because Jetstar is misrepresenting the limits of its liability under the Civil Aviation Act," he added.

Consumer said it had contacted Jetstar about consumer rights and flight disruptions.

"Concerningly, Jetstar referred to the potentially misleading information on its website as evidence to show it is advising passengers of their rights," Consumer NZ added.

The organisation said in contrast, Air New Zealand had met with Consumer, updated its website and produced new guidelines for passengers affected by domestic flight disruptions.

Consumer NZ said the Commerce Commission should investigate this matter as soon as possible to stop Jetstar from "continuing to mislead" passengers about their rights.

A Jetstar spokesperson has since commented the following:

We take our obligations under New Zealand consumer and aviation law seriously and firmly reject Consumer NZ’s claim that we are misleading our customers.  

Specific information about passenger rights under the Civil Aviation Act has been available on Jetstar’s website for many years and we regularly review the information provided to customers on our website and via text and email in the event of a disruption.  

No airline wants to cancel or delay a flight, and our teams do everything they can to get customers to their destination on time, however sometimes, for a variety of reasons, disruptions can't be avoided and we will always put our customers’ safety first.   

In the event of a delay or cancellation, we provide customers with a range of assistance including rebooking them on next available flights and depending on the circumstances, refunds or flight credits, reimbursement for accommodation, meals and other reasonable expenses.