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Qantas Group fights back over allegations it sold cancelled flights
October 31st 2023
Qantas Group has defended its conduct in response to a legal case brought against its airline, Qantas Airways, by Australia's competition regulator. Read More » It is arguing it made mistakes, but its actions were consistent with its obligations under Australia's consumer law and that the accusation “ignores a fundamental reality of aviation”. In August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) commenced legal action against Qantas alleging it engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct by advertising tickets for more than 8,000 flights it had cancelled but had not removed from sale. On October 30, Qantas announced it had filed its defence in the Federal Court of Australia against the ACCC's claims. “In purely legal terms, the ACCC’s case ignores a fundamental reality and a key condition that applies when airlines sell a ticket. While all airlines work hard to operate flights at their scheduled times, no airline can guarantee that,” Qantas said. “That is because the nature of travel – when weather and operational issues mean delays and cancellations are inevitable and unavoidable – makes such a guarantee impossible,” it said. “For this reason, our promise is to get customers on their way to their destinations as close as possible to the flight time they book, either on their original or on an alternative service at no additional cost. If not, we offer a full refund. This is consistent with our obligations under consumer law and it is what we did in the period the ACCC examined.”
