By Jessica Yun and Amelia McGuire
Qantas has agreed to a $120 million settlement with the consumer watchdog for advertising and selling tickets for tens of thousands of “ghost flights” that had actually already been cancelled.
While most of the money – $100 million – will be paid in penalties to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, about 86,000 customers who were sold those tickets will receive a share of $20 million under the deal.
Qantas has committed to pushing ahead with compensation payments ahead of schedule.Credit: Jenny Evans/Getty Images
The country’s biggest airline has admitted it misled consumers by advertising the tickets to already cancelled flights without promptly telling people.
Qantas chief Vanessa Hudson said the carrier fell short of its own expectations. “We know many of our customers were affected by our failure to provide cancellation notifications in a timely manner, and we are sincerely sorry,” she said.
Those affected were already refunded or rebooked on alternate flights but will receive additional compensation after the airline accepted it failed to notify customers of cancellations within an adequate time period.
Qantas says the bulk of domestic passengers affected were rebooked within three hours of their originally scheduled departure time and that 60 per cent of international passengers were given an alternate flight within 12 hours. The ACCC withdrew its claim that the airline business accepted fees for no service.
While the settlement will still need approval from the Federal Court, Qantas has committed to pushing ahead with compensation payments ahead of schedule. Here’s everything we know so far about who gets what and when.
Who has been impacted, and how much will they get?
Between May 21, 2021 and August 26 last year, 86,597 Qantas customers booked or were re-accommodated on flights due to depart between May 1, 2022 and May 10 this year after Qantas had decided to cancel them.
Affected ticket holders who booked domestic flights during that period will get $225 and international ticket holders will get $450.
This payment comes on top of any remedies Qantas has already provided, like alternate flights or refunds.
How and when will customers receive compensation?
Customers who are entitled to compensation will be notified via email and SMS text and given instructions on how to lodge their claims through an online portal.
Qantas will begin notifying customers in June and must contact all those impacted by July 10.
Where should I go for more information?
The airline’s remediation program is being implemented by Deloitte, which has set up a webpage that includes an FAQ section for customers to sign up for email updates.
Impacted customers are advised not to contact Qantas’ customer support centre but to direct queries to Deloitte.
What else will consumers get?
As part of the settlement, the ACCC has secured a guarantee from Qantas and Jetstar that customers will be notified about cancelled flights “as soon as practicable” and no more than 48 hours after the airline decides to cancel the flight.
The Qantas group has also committed to stop selling cancelled flights as soon as practicable and within 24 hours after deciding to cancel it.
A word of caution
The competition watchdog is warning Australians against scammers who are looking to turn the news about Qantas’ compensation payments into an opportunistic cash grab.
“The ACCC is aware that scammers have been calling people, falsely claiming to help them get payments,” the regulator stated.
“If you receive a call from anyone offering to help you with a payment or refund, hang up immediately. Never give personal information to anyone calling you out of the blue, never give access to your computer or bank account, and never click on a link in a text message or open an attachment in an email if you were not expecting the text or email.”
Australians who have given any information to scammers or have lost money should contact their bank straight away. Scams can be reported to Scamwatch, which is operated by the ACCC.
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