Choice complained to the ACCC about Qantas. An Australian Aviation article reports that the ACCC had opened a public consultation after being reported on the media that people where having issues redeeming their flight credits. Those reports claimed that prices for tickets purchased with these credits doubled recently. Apparently, Qantas has denied such allegations claiming that any discrepancies were due to recent rules that force people to buy tickets for the same class or higher, but Australian Aviation says Rex or Virgin do not apply any such rules.
Using the flight credits
During the pandemic, lots of flights had to be cancelled because of lockdowns and border restrictions. Airlines then issued flight credits to be used in future tickets. According to the article, passengers took to social media to complain that Qantas was charging double for the same flight when they tried to use their credits. Qantas claims they can only use their credits for flights in the same class or higher.
ACCC made a public consultation
After the matter attracted some attention from the media, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) opened a public consultation asking those who had been affected by the alleged price gauging to answer a few questions and provide some proof they had been ripped off.
Choice launched a formal complaint with the ACCC
According to the Australian Aviation’s article, the consumer group Choice has now launched a formal complaint with the ACCC, after the results of consumer surveys showed the airline’s passengers were facing several issues when trying to use their flight credits. Choice alleged that many customers had difficulty using their flight credits and a recent survey revealed that one in five could not redeem their credit altogether.
Bad publicity to our Flying Kangaroo
This is not ideal for the airline that had recently been on the news for all the good reasons. The last 3 years have been quite difficult for this industry and airlines have suffered massive losses in the process. However, the sector is starting to recover and we have hope for a brighter future.
But was not only airlines that suffered from the pandemic, passengers did too. Some had their flights booked and trips planned when they got hit by the necessary restrictions imposed by governments. They also want to be compensated for their loss. Something like this will damage Qantas’ reputation and keep passengers away. Just what no airline needed now.