Qantas faces court test over duty of care to customers

A case before the Federal Court is testing airlines’ duty of care to their customers when things go wrong a long way from home.

A Qantas Boeing 787 takes off from Sydney Airport. The airline is being sued by a customer who believes Qantas should’ve picked up the tab for extra flights he had to book when his return journey was delayed by 12-days. Picture: Getty Images

A disgruntled Qantas customer is taking the airline to court in an effort to recoup over $10,000 he spent to return home to Australia after his South American flights were delayed by 12-days.

If successful, the case by Melbourne retail manager Christopher Hassett would set a significant legal precedent for the duty of care airlines show customers.

In early July, Mr Hassett was on his way to the airport in Bogota, Colombia when he learned a flight delay would make him too late for a connecting service in Santiago, Chile.

When he contacted LATAM airlines about the delay, he was told it was a matter for the carrier through which he had booked, which was Qantas.

After hours on the phone, Mr Hassett was told Qantas would not be able to re-accommodate him and his husband on an alternative flight home for 12-days.

Despite offering to travel separately and on indirect routes, the answer was the same, much to the couple’s frustration.

With some important meetings scheduled in Melbourne in that time, Mr Hassett took matters into his own hands and booked a five-sector flight home, via Spain, Italy, Qatar and Perth.

The trip cost the couple $10,177, plus almost $300 in accommodation along the way, on top of the $3980 they had already paid for the Qantas flights.

(L-R) Carlos Cardenas and husband Christopher Hassett who is taking legal action against Qantas over $10,000 in additional flights following a 12-day delay to his return service.

After spending more than 13-hours on the phone to Qantas call centres in an effort to recover the funds, Mr Hassett filed a claim in the Federal Circuit Court of Victoria.

Although he was eventually reimbursed the cost of the Qantas flights that were not taken, Mr Hassett believed the airline should also cover the cost of the additional flights.

“Qantas did not honour the service that was paid for (return flights from Colombia to Melbourne) and did not offer a reasonable outcome to replace flights and stated there was no availability for a minimum of 12-days,” said his application to the court.

The court documents also said Qantas “misled” Mr Hassett by stating he would receive a refund in three to five-days.

It’s understood he was not refunded the cost of his original flights for 40-days.

Qantas was expected to defend the matter which will have an initial hearing before Judge Heather Riley on October 20.

“We can’t say much now that this matter is before the Federal Court but we will always refund passengers if we cancel their flight and they don’t want to accept alternative flights,” said a Qantas spokesman.

“We make every effort to reaccommodate customers where we can.”

Adam Glezer from Consumer Champion said the case highlighted why Australia’s consumer laws needed to be strengthened to give people more options in these situations.

He said no reasonable person would consider it acceptable to have the date of their return flights pushed back by 12-days.

“The fact of the matter is Australia’s consumer laws are in desperate need of change to ensure consumers do have avenues of recourse when issues such as this arise,” Mr Glezer said.

“In the European Union for example, passengers adversely affected by flight delays and cancellations are entitled to compensation from the airline concerned. The laws are very clear, and that’s what we need here.”

Throughout the pandemic Mr Glezer advocated on behalf of thousands of consumers left out of pocket by travel industry disruption, in the absence of other options.

He declined to comment on Mr Hassett’s prospects of success but said a victory would set a legal precedent for airlines’ duty of care towards their passengers.

However Mr Glezer said almost anyone taking on Qantas in the Federal Court system faced an uphill battle, given the airline’s access to top legal representation.

“I think this shows the level of frustration about the current state of the airline industry and the way consumers are treated,” he said.