Australia’s competition and consumer watchdog the ACCC has launched action against Qantas for allegedly false, misleading and deceptive behaviour in advertising tickets for sale for flights that were cancelled.
The ACCC says that it “alleges that for more than 8,000 flights scheduled to depart between May and July 2022, Qantas kept selling tickets on its website for an average of more than two weeks, and in some cases for up to 47 days, after the cancellation of the flights.”
It is also alleged that “for more than 10,000 flights scheduled to depart in May to July 2022, Qantas did not notify existing ticketholders that their flights had been cancelled for an average of about 18 days, and in some cases for up to 48 days. The ACCC alleges that Qantas did not update its “Manage Booking” web page for ticketholders to reflect the cancellation.”
The ACCC also 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.”
ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb 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.”
“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.
The ACCC is seeking orders including penalties, injunctions, declarations, and costs.
For corporations, the maximum penalties for each breach of the Australian Consumer Law before 9 November 2022 is the greater of:
- $10 million,
- three times the total benefits that have been obtained and are reasonably attributable, or
- if the total value of the benefits cannot be determined, 10 per cent of the corporation’s annual turnover.
In response in a statement, Qantas said it “takes these allegations by the ACCC seriously.”
“We have a longstanding approach to managing cancellations for flights, with a focus on providing customers with rebooking options or refunds. It’s a process that is consistent with common practice at many other airlines.
“It’s important to note that the period examined by the ACCC between May and July 2022 was a time of unprecedented upheaval for the entire airline industry. All airlines were experiencing well-publicised issues from a very challenging restart, with ongoing border uncertainty, industry-wide staff shortages and fleet availability causing a lot of disruption.
“We will examine the details of the ACCC’s allegations and respond to them in full in court.”
