Qantas and ACCC agree to $120 million settlement after airline misled customers

1 week ago 6

Qantas has agreed to wage $100 cardinal successful penalties to the user watchdog aft admitting it misled customers implicit advertizing tens of thousands of airfares for flights which had already been cancelled past year.

The country’s biggest hose concern is besides preparing to wage a further $20 cardinal successful payments to 86,000 customers who were sold the tickets nether its colony woody with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which is present taxable to support by the Federal Court.

Qantas brag Vanessa Hudson said the colony statement was an important measurement to reconstruct lawsuit assurance successful Qantas.

The ACCC launched ineligible enactment against Qantas successful August past year, alleging the concern advertised and sold tickets connected 8000 flights that had already been cancelled implicit a two-month play successful 2022.

The user watchdog walked backmost its claims against the hose astir wrongful acceptance of outgo for these flights but Qantas agreed it should not person misled customers by advertizing the “ghost flights” careless of whether those affected received a refund.

Qantas brag Vanessa Hudson, who started successful the apical relation 2 months early aft the fallout from the allegations, said the colony statement was an important measurement to reconstruct lawsuit assurance successful Qantas.

“When flying resumed aft the COVID-19 shutdown, we recognise Qantas fto down customers and fell abbreviated of our ain standards. We cognize galore of our customers were affected by our nonaccomplishment to supply cancellation notifications successful a timely manner, and we are sincerely sorry.

“The instrumentality to travelling was already stressful for many, and we did not present capable enactment for customers and did not person the exertion and systems successful spot to enactment our people,” Hudson said.

Qantas said 94 per cent of the affected passengers were flying connected home oregon trans-Tasman routes, with the remaining 6 per cent flying internationally. It besides said much than 80 per cent of passengers connected the home routes were offered an alternate formation departing anterior to oregon wrong 3 hours of their scheduled departure time. It besides said much than 60 per cent of the planetary passengers were offered an alternate formation which departed earlier oregon wrong 12 hours of the primitively scheduled flight.

The ACCC seat Gina Cass Gotlieb said the admissions Qantas misled its customers is an important milestone successful enforcing the Australian Consumer Law.

“Qantas’ behaviour was egregious and unacceptable. Many customers volition person made holiday, concern and question plans aft booking connected a phantom formation that had been cancelled. We expect that this penalty, if accepted by the Court, volition nonstop a beardown deterrence connection to different companies,” Cass-Gotlieb said.

The ACCC said Qantas besides admitted its misconduct continued from May 2021 until August 2023 connected flights scheduled to depart up until May 10 this year.

The watchdog’s allegations were 1 of a string of scandals which decimated Qantas’ ASX listed stock terms astatine the extremity of past twelvemonth and led to the aboriginal exit of Qantas’ past main executive, Alan Joyce, who announced helium would discontinue 2 months up of docket days aft the lawsuit was launched.

The hose agreed to wage $225 to home summons holders and $450 to planetary summons holders. The payments volition beryllium successful summation to immoderate remedies the consumers person already received from the airline, including alternate flights oregon refunds.

The ACCC and Qantas volition present jointly inquire the Federal Court to o.k. the colony woody and penalties.

More to come

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