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Australia’s regulator sues Qantas over ticket sales for cancelled flights.

ReutersAugust 30, 2023

Qantas Airways Faces Lawsuit for ⁤Selling Cancelled Tickets

By Byron Kaye

Sydney (Reuters)⁢ – Australia’s competition regulator, the Australian Competition⁢ and Consumer Commission ⁢(ACCC),‌ has filed a lawsuit against Qantas Airways. The airline ⁤is accused of selling tickets to thousands of flights⁣ that had‍ already been ‌cancelled, potentially exposing it to significant fines and damage to ‍its ⁣reputation.

In its court filing, the ACCC alleges that Qantas violated consumer law by selling tickets to⁣ over 8,000 flights between May and July⁢ 2022 without disclosing their cancellation ‌status. The airline continued to sell tickets for an average of ‌16 days ‍after cancelling the flights, often ⁢due‍ to reasons within its control,‍ such as “network optimisation.” The⁣ ACCC ⁤also highlighted that Qantas sold tickets to a Sydney-to-San Francisco flight that had been cancelled 40 days prior.

If found guilty, Qantas could face a maximum penalty of ⁢10% of‌ its annual turnover, which amounted⁤ to A$19.8 billion in the year to June. However, the ACCC did not specify the exact⁣ amount it is seeking.

Rico Merkert, deputy director of Sydney University’s Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, commented that the ACCC lawsuit⁣ could have a detrimental⁣ impact on the Qantas brand,⁣ which‌ has already ⁤faced challenges due to recent flight⁣ cancellations ⁣and customer complaints.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, who is set to retire in November, revealed during a recent Australian ‍Senate hearing that the airline has nearly A$500 million in unused credits for‌ cancelled‍ flights, which are set ⁣to expire‌ in December.

Qantas⁤ has yet to respond to the ‍ACCC’s allegations, but it stated that the period examined by the ACCC ‌was a time of “unprecedented upheaval for the entire airline industry.”