Qantas and Jetstar slammed for ‘clearly unfair’ conditions of COVID flight credits deadline extension
- Replies 3
News about the pandemic was so abrupt and overwhelming that it made the whole world stop in its tracks. Lives were lost, businesses shut down, and heightened restrictions filled our days with doom and gloom. One of the industries that were hit hard by the effects of the pandemic was international and domestic travel – sudden flight cancellations and staff shortages made everybody miserable.
But now that restrictions have been lifted, and things are slowly going back to normal, many travellers have wondered whether they could still use their unused flight credits. Two airlines, Qantas and Jetstar, agreed and said they’d extended the expiry date on COVID flight credits – but there’s a catch.
National carrier Qantas, and budget subsidiary Jetstar Airlines, announced that customers have 12 more months to use their COVID flight credits for international and domestic travel.
Customers were given flight credits because of the constantly changing border closures and COVID-19 cases. This is the third time the deadline has been extended, with about $800,000 million of the $2 billion in credits still unused.
It was reported that Qantas customers who found their travel plans cancelled due to the pandemic would be required to book their flights by the end of this year.
This means that they can use the credits to travel until the end of 2024 if the trip is booked by December 31, 2023. For example, customers could plan ahead to travel for August next year but would need to book the flight in advance by the end of this year.
Even though they have been accused of inflexible refund policies and poor customer service since air travel resumed, Qantas stood by its refund and credit policies. They stated that all customers whose flights were cancelled because of border restrictions were eligible for a cash refund of their credit should they prefer.
However, this new credit system received criticism from the consumer advocacy group CHOICE, who said that the conditions of the new policy remain ‘clearly unfair’.
Patrick Veyret, Head of Policy and Government Relations at CHOICE, said: ‘The intense public outrage in response has clearly had some impact on the airline — but there's much more to do to make all credits workable for all consumers.’
But Qantas Group Chief Customer Officer Markus Svensson said the change was made to make it easier for customers who were upset by flight cancellations and border closures to use their credit.
‘We literally had millions of bookings that were cancelled during several waves of lockdowns and border closures,’ he shared.
Mr Svensson added: ‘No airline had systems that were designed to manage that in a seamless way, and we realise there's been frustration for some customers as a result. Our main goal is for everyone with COVID credits to be able to put it to good use, which is why we're doing one final extension of the travel expiry date by 12 months.’
A recent analysis showed that 76 per cent of flight credits are worth less than $500, 24 per cent of credits are worth between $500 and $5,000, and less than 1 per cent are worth more than $5,000.
According to CHOICE, ‘customers holding credits for international flights don't have the option of spreading the credits across several domestic flights’.
They explained: ‘For instance, if you have $500 worth of credits for a Sydney to Melbourne flight and the price is now $475, you wouldn't be able to use the credit, even if you waived the $25 loss. Instead, you'd have to buy a new ticket and leave your credit untouched.’
CHOICE added that customers holding credits for international flights don’t have the option of ‘spreading the credits across several domestic flights’ if they booked after September 30, 2021.
‘Some of these customers, for reasons such as advanced age or declining health, may no longer plan to fly internationally.’
Mr Veyret explained further: ‘Some Qantas flight credits can only be used for a booking of equivalent or greater value — so if you have a $300 flight credit, you can't use it to book a $290 flight.’
He claimed that this leads customers to complain that when they go to re-book a flight at the same time on the same route, they’re made to pay ‘significantly more’ when using credit than if they paid for the original flight.
‘Flight credits should work like gift cards. People should have the choice to transfer the credits to other people, as well as split the credits over a number of transactions,’ Mr Veyret stated.
CHOICE has filed a complaint with the ACCC, calling out potentially misleading and deceptive conduct in Qantas' credit redemption policy.
Do you have any Qantas or Jetstar credits left to use? Have you come across any issues or encountered any difficulties when trying to use them? Share your experiences below in the comments.
But now that restrictions have been lifted, and things are slowly going back to normal, many travellers have wondered whether they could still use their unused flight credits. Two airlines, Qantas and Jetstar, agreed and said they’d extended the expiry date on COVID flight credits – but there’s a catch.
National carrier Qantas, and budget subsidiary Jetstar Airlines, announced that customers have 12 more months to use their COVID flight credits for international and domestic travel.
Customers were given flight credits because of the constantly changing border closures and COVID-19 cases. This is the third time the deadline has been extended, with about $800,000 million of the $2 billion in credits still unused.
It was reported that Qantas customers who found their travel plans cancelled due to the pandemic would be required to book their flights by the end of this year.
This means that they can use the credits to travel until the end of 2024 if the trip is booked by December 31, 2023. For example, customers could plan ahead to travel for August next year but would need to book the flight in advance by the end of this year.
Qantas and Jetstar customers must book their flights this year and complete their travel by December 2024. Source: Pascal Borener/Pexels
Even though they have been accused of inflexible refund policies and poor customer service since air travel resumed, Qantas stood by its refund and credit policies. They stated that all customers whose flights were cancelled because of border restrictions were eligible for a cash refund of their credit should they prefer.
However, this new credit system received criticism from the consumer advocacy group CHOICE, who said that the conditions of the new policy remain ‘clearly unfair’.
Patrick Veyret, Head of Policy and Government Relations at CHOICE, said: ‘The intense public outrage in response has clearly had some impact on the airline — but there's much more to do to make all credits workable for all consumers.’
But Qantas Group Chief Customer Officer Markus Svensson said the change was made to make it easier for customers who were upset by flight cancellations and border closures to use their credit.
‘We literally had millions of bookings that were cancelled during several waves of lockdowns and border closures,’ he shared.
Mr Svensson added: ‘No airline had systems that were designed to manage that in a seamless way, and we realise there's been frustration for some customers as a result. Our main goal is for everyone with COVID credits to be able to put it to good use, which is why we're doing one final extension of the travel expiry date by 12 months.’
Consumer advocacy group CHOICE slammed the new policy. Source: Pascal Borener/Pexels
A recent analysis showed that 76 per cent of flight credits are worth less than $500, 24 per cent of credits are worth between $500 and $5,000, and less than 1 per cent are worth more than $5,000.
According to CHOICE, ‘customers holding credits for international flights don't have the option of spreading the credits across several domestic flights’.
They explained: ‘For instance, if you have $500 worth of credits for a Sydney to Melbourne flight and the price is now $475, you wouldn't be able to use the credit, even if you waived the $25 loss. Instead, you'd have to buy a new ticket and leave your credit untouched.’
CHOICE added that customers holding credits for international flights don’t have the option of ‘spreading the credits across several domestic flights’ if they booked after September 30, 2021.
‘Some of these customers, for reasons such as advanced age or declining health, may no longer plan to fly internationally.’
Mr Veyret explained further: ‘Some Qantas flight credits can only be used for a booking of equivalent or greater value — so if you have a $300 flight credit, you can't use it to book a $290 flight.’
He claimed that this leads customers to complain that when they go to re-book a flight at the same time on the same route, they’re made to pay ‘significantly more’ when using credit than if they paid for the original flight.
‘Flight credits should work like gift cards. People should have the choice to transfer the credits to other people, as well as split the credits over a number of transactions,’ Mr Veyret stated.
CHOICE has filed a complaint with the ACCC, calling out potentially misleading and deceptive conduct in Qantas' credit redemption policy.
Do you have any Qantas or Jetstar credits left to use? Have you come across any issues or encountered any difficulties when trying to use them? Share your experiences below in the comments.
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