Into thin air: Qantas hit with legal case after selling seats on flights that didn’t exist
Qantas will face court for false, misleading and deceptive conduct for advertising ticket sales for more than 8000 flights that it had already cancelled between May and July last year.
Qantas has apologised for its standards falling short (File image)
The court action was being taken by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which said Qantas had continued to sell tickets on the flights for two weeks after they were cancelled. In some cases the sales occurred 47 days after the cancellation.
“It is also alleged that, for more than 10,0o0 flights scheduled to depart in May to July 2022, Qantas did not notify ticketholders that there flight had been cancelled,” the ACCC.
The court action is another blow for the airline which has suffered damaging public relations from about $470 million in Qantas and Jetstar credits yet to be refunded and its refusal to pay back any of the Jobseeker funds of $2 billion paid out during the pandemic despite a monster profit of $2.5 billion.
In the latest case, the ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the conduct affected a substantial proportion of flights cancelled by Qantas between May to July 2022.
“The ACCC alleges that for about 70 per cent of cancelled flights, Qantas either continued to sell tickets for the flight on its website for two days or more, or delayed informing existing ticketholders that their flight was cancelled for two days or more, or both,” it said.
“The ACCC has conducted a detailed investigation into Qantas’ flight cancellation practices. As a result, we have commenced these proceedings alleging that Qantas continued selling tickets for thousands of cancelled flights, likely affecting the travel plans of tens of thousands of people,” Cass-Gottlieb said.
“We allege that Qantas’ conduct in continuing to sell tickets to cancelled flights, and not updating ticketholders about cancelled flights, left customers with less time to make alternative arrangements and may have led to them paying higher prices to fly at a particular time not knowing that flight had already been cancelled.”
“There are vast distances between Australia’s major cities. Reliable air travel is essential for many consumers in Australia who are seeking to visit loved ones, take holidays, grow their businesses or connect with colleagues. Cancelled flights can result in significant financial, logistical and emotional impacts for consumers,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb said.
