The Air Line Pilots' Association said Air NZ breached a clause in their contracts that says they are entitled to receive a breakfast allowance for a two-pilot flight crew which worked from their home base for periods of less than 11 hours.
The association said the pilots were not paid the breakfast allowances which they were entitled to, from about July 2009, and sought for them to be paid from now and to receive back pay.
It also said that between 2004 and 2009, Air NZ paid for pilots' breakfasts in those circumstances.
However, Air NZ said those payments were an error, and the pilots were mistaken about their contracts. The company said it was not required to re-fund pilots for the amount they spent on their breakfasts.
The association took the matter to the Employment Relations Authority, which ruled the issue needed to be taken to the Employment Court.
ERA member Robin Arthur said in his report the issue was a confusion of the terms of the contract and said how the terms were understood by a judge would be the final ruling.
"I have not set out the full wording of all the relevant [contract] terms meal provision and allowance entitlements. To do so would need some explantation of how they should or may be read together - which is really the interpretation dispute - and would require some commentary on the relative merits of each party's arguments.
"That is now best left for court."
Mr Arthur also said that because both parties were not able to resolve the issue it was best the matter was heard before the court.
