Image of a flight by carrier Qantas on March 24, 2018. The airliner said it would set up a $20 million fund for passengers who paid for canceled flights. File Photo by Brent Winstone/EPA-EFE
Australian airline Qantas said on Monday reached a settlement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to resolve court proceedings over the carrier booking flights that had previously been canceled.
Under the deal, Qantas will create a remediation plan to compensate affected passengers from $149.16 to $289.31. That program is expected to cost Qantas $13.3 million along with a $66 million civil penalty. Advertisement
“When flying resumed after the COVID shutdown, we recognized Qantas let down customers and fell short of our own standards,” Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said in a statement. “We know many of our customers were affected by our failure to provide cancelation notifications ina timely manner and we are sincerely sorry.
“The return to traveling was already stressful for many and we did not deliver enough support for customers did not have the technology and systems in place to support our people.”
Last fall, Qantas ass hit with a lawsuit by Australian regulators accusing the carrier of selling tickets to more than 8,000 flights that had already been grounded. The court action came shortly after Qantas posted record annual earnings.
After the revelation, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce abruptly resigned, leaving Hudson, to be promoted from chief financial officer to CEO. Advertisement
“We have since updated our processes and are investing in new technology across the Qantas Group to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Qantas admitted that more than 86,000 passengers were affected, with the airlines allowing them to book flights days after it had canceled them. The flights included both domestic and international flights.
