News
Australian government addresses failure of airlines and airports to put customers first
August 1st 2024
There are few things more important to Australia’s economy than aviation. Read More » It provides critical links across the vast reaches of the continent and to the rest of the world. It is crucial in enabling other sectors of the economy, including tourism, trade and higher education to grow.
Now, at last, the government has released its long-awaited Aviation White Paper, some 15 years after the previous Aviation White Paper. It sets out the government’s long-term vision for delivering a safe, competitive, sustainable, productive and efficient Australian aviation industry to 2050.
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Among its key proposals are:
• Legislation to establish an Aviation Industry Ombudsman Scheme that will provide the industry with an independent dispute resolution and performance monitoring service.
• Establishment of an Aviation Customer Rights Charter to improve the passenger experience by setting out fair and appropriate treatment of customers by airlines and airports.
• The creation of new aviation specific disability standards that will require airlines and airports to work together to facilitate the journeys of people with disability.
• Reduce barriers to competition in the aviation sector.
• The aviation sector will contribute to net zero emission goals to 2050 by fast tracking support for a low carbon liquid fuel industry with an initial focus on Sustainable Aviation Fuel and renewable diesel.
The White Paper, released by the national government on August 26, has been welcomed generally, but not everyone is happy. According to one pilot, it is a White Paper of which BBC’s Yes Minister’s Sir Humphrey Appleby would be very proud. “Whether it is a promised path to better consumer protection, well, we shall have to keep waiting.”
The White Paper specifies the Aviation Customer Advocate, the current industry self-regulator funded and run by the airlines, will be replaced by an Aviation Industry Ombudsman Scheme and Customer Rights Charter but not be until 2026.
And the question of categories of compensation airline customers should receive for such occurrences as flight delays and cancellations remains unclear.
It prompted one Qantas pilot to ask: “Wasn’t the point of the White Paper to come up with the compensation, not kick the can down the road?”
The government says the White Paper will make airlines more accountable to customers for delivering flights as scheduled, remove barriers to competition and support efficient investment in airports to cater for growth.
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It also will focus on maintaining reliable regional air services at accessible prices while ensuring the responsible use of taxpayer money.
It proposes to reduce barriers to competition, making it easier for airlines to enter the Australian market – particularly the key hub of Sydney Airport – and scrutinise more closely the behaviour of incumbent airlines and natural monopoly airports.
But how barriers to competition in the airline sector will be reduced - Qantas Group and Virgin Australia control more than 90% of the domestic market – is uncertain. Particularly so since the recent collapse of Bonza and the forced cancellation of REX Airlines inter-city jet services have revealed how difficult it is for new airlines to successfully operate in the market.
Qantas Group and Virgin Australia have agreed to support the ombudsman scheme, at least conditionally,
Speaking on a panel at the 2024 Australian Aviation Summit, Virgin Australia’s corporate affairs chief, Christian Bennett, signalled that carrier’s approval of several provisions of the White Paper, including the Ombudsman Scheme and Charter of Customer Rights. The airline believed the role of the Airline Customer Advocate needed to be strengthened, he said.
“We are really keen to see an outcome that restores community trust in Australia’s aviation sector so we can indeed continue to play this critical role in Australia’s way of life,” he said.
“This is such an important industry for Australia. We think the government has done a good job at navigating its way through a difficult set of issues.
“We are going to engage constructively to bring to life the changes that help people have the confidence they should have and the safety that must be paramount in the Australian aviation sector.”
All in all, however, many analysts have suggested the White Paper is big on promises but falls short on substance and any immediate action to improve competition and the sagging customer experience.
Australia’s Employment and Workplace Relations Minister, Murray Watt, insists the White Paper will ensure consumers have “more rights” than they currently do.
“It is really frustrating people have had their flights cancelled a lot and experience delays constantly without much information or customer service from the airlines,” he said.
“It is really about trying to restore a bit more balance to make sure consumers do have more rights.”
