‘Spirit of disappointment’: Qantas tops CHOICE Shonky Awards list

In the latest embarrassment to Qantas, the airline has topped the CHOICE list of Shonkys for disappointing customers.

Qantas has topped the CHOICE Shonky Awards list and been described as the “spirit of disappointment” over a series of alleged failings including unusable credits, delayed flights, lost baggage and lengthy call wait times.

It comes after the consumer advocacy group earlier this year filed a complaint with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

CHOICE asked the ACCC to determine if Qantas’ terms and conditions for flight vouchers amounted to unfair contract terms, and if the airline’s communications to customers about flight credits could be classified as misleading. A determination is yet to be made.

“If there was ever a company that appeared to deliberately be going out of its way to win a Shonky award, it’s Qantas,” CHOICE travel expert Jodi Bird said.

“People are still paying premium prices to fly Qantas but it’s clear from the complaints we’ve heard, they’re not getting a premium service.”

CHOICE travel expert Jodi Bird said people were still paying premium prices to fly Qantas but were not getting a premium service. Picture: CHOICE

CHOICE chief executive Alan Kirkland said Qantas deserved a Shonky award this year.

“Qantas might call itself the Spirit of Australia, but we think Spirit of Disappointment is more appropriate,” he said.

The 17th annual CHOICE Shonky Awards recognises the worst of the worst products and services uncovered by the group’s experts.

Queenslander Michael Harding said he lost more than $1000 worth of travel credits to Qantas last year when the vouchers the airline gave him expired before he could use them due to border closures.

Mr Harding and his wife also lost almost $700 because flights they booked earlier this year were cancelled by Qantas due to bad weather.

“If I had the money, I would take legal action. The problem is that I have no idea how to resolve my complaint,” he said.

According to CHOICE, issues around travel credits were a particular concern since the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Qantas has made it difficult and confusing for their customers to use flight credits for cancelled travel,” Mr Bird said.

“This includes forcing many people to spend extra money, putting limits on available flights, being unable to make bookings using credits online – the list goes on.”

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has been criticised by some customers. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images

CHOICE research also revealed on average people spent 21 minutes on the phone before their call was answered, with some waiting as long as 50 minutes.

“By comparison, Virgin came in under a quarter of that average time with five minutes wait, and a maximum of 13 minutes,” Mr Bird said.

Mr Kirkland said the cancellation chaos from 2020 remained today and called for stronger consumer protections for all travellers.

“Businesses are allowed to write the rules, so anyone who has paid for travel that is then cancelled needs to wade through unclear terms and conditions, as thousands of Qantas customers have been left to do,” he said.

“CHOICE has put forward a clear plan to governments about how to ensure that people are treated fairly in the travel market.

“We now need federal, state and territory governments, and industry to work together to make travel easier and fairer.”

A Qantas spokesperson fired back at CHOICE. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

A Qantas spokesperson fired back at CHOICE, claiming the “awards are clearly out of date”.

They said the data CHOICE was using was “a bit shonky”.

“We had several months of poor performance earlier in the year, but it’s improved significantly since August and we’re back to our pre-Covid level of service,” they said.

“We’ve been very transparent with our performance figures, both good and bad, but CHOICE issuing figures that are just wrong.

“We’ve beaten Virgin for on-time flights eight out of the past 12 months, and in some months that’s been by a significant margin.”

They also disputed the call wait times, claiming they were less than half what CHOICE claimed.

They went on to say it was disappointing that CHOICE failed to acknowledge the impact that Covid and border closures have had on the entire aviation industry.

On average, people spent 21 minutes on the phone before their call was answered, with some waiting as long as 50 minutes. Picture: NewsWire/Monique Harmer

Other Shonky award winners were:

• VetPay — for a finance product targeting distressed pet owners;
• Steggles Chicken Nuggets Boosted with Veggies — for hiding veggies so well that they could barely be found;
• Bloomex — for flowers that do not deliver; and
• Zega Digital cookware — for an expensive “self-cooking” smart pot that does not properly cook.

In a statement, Zega co-founder and director Brian Mooney said the company was proud to have designed the world’s first intelligent, walk-away cookware.

“Since our launch last year, we have sold thousands of units and the consumer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” he said.

“We offer a 30-day, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee, and from thousands of units sold, we have only had between one to two per cent returns.

“We recognise the role CHOICE plays in safeguarding consumer interests. However, on this occasion, CHOICE has got it wrong.”