Australia: Australia’s flag carrier Qantas has agreed to pay 120 million Australian dollars ($79 million) to resolve a lawsuit regarding the sale of tickets for flights that have already been cancelled.
After advertising seats for thousands of “ghost flights” in 2021 and 2022, the airline will pay a fine of 100 million Australian dollars ($66 million) and compensate more than 86,000 passengers with 20 million Australian dollars ($13 million).
“Qantas’ conduct was egregious and unacceptable. Many consumers will have made holiday, business and travel plans after booking on a phantom flight that had been cancelled,” said Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairperson Gina Cass-Gottlieb in a statement on Monday.
“Importantly, it demonstrates that we take action to ensure that companies operating in Australia communicate clearly, accurately and honestly with their customers at all times,” Cass-Gottlieb added.
CEO of Qantas Group Vanessa Hudson described the deal as a “significant step forward as we work towards restoring confidence in the national carrier.” The payment is pending judicial approval.
“When flying resumed after the COVID shutdown, we recognise Qantas let down customers and fell short of our own standards. We know many of our customers were affected by our failure to provide cancellation notifications in a timely manner and we are sincerely sorry,” Hudson stated.
“The return to travelling was already stressful for many and we did not deliver enough support for customers and did not have the technology and systems in place to support our people,” the CEO remarked.
Qantas has faced a huge number of controversies in recent years over rising ticket prices, claims of poor service standards, and the firing of 1,700 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the company reported an annual profit of $1.1 billion last year.
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