The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has slapped Qantas with a lawsuit, alleging the airline engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by continuing to sell tickets for flights they knew would be cancelled.

These so-called 'ghost flights' left thousands of passengers high and dry, with some stranded overseas.

Specialist data analysts discovered that Qantas cancelled almost 25 per cent of its flights between May and July 2022. This equated to roughly 15,000 cancellations out of 66,000 domestic and international flights across Australia.

The ACCC also accused Qantas of keeping cancelled flights available for purchase for more than 48 hours.

Qantas has responded to the ACCC's accusation that it ripped off thousands of consumers last year. Credit: Shutterstock.

Qantas, however, insisted they did nothing illegal. The company had filed a legal defence denying that laws were broken.

In a press release, the airline accused the ACCC of failing to grasp the complex 'realities' of running an airline during a pandemic.

'While mistakes were made by Qantas, the ACCC's legal case ignores the realities of the aviation industry—airlines can't guarantee specific flight times,' said the company.

Qantas clarified that they didn't have 'ghost flights'. They explained that customers who paid for a flight were either provided with a flight or refunded, so there was no 'fee for no service' situation.

They also argued that during the period the ACCC investigated, it was a tough time for everyone due to the challenges of restarting flights after COVID shutdowns, not only for Qantas but the entire industry.

The disruptions were primarily due to COVID-related supply chain issues, which led to grounded aircraft, increased sick leave, and self-quarantine requirements for the airline's staff. To make matters worse, international borders remained uncertain at the time.

'That meant cancelling a lot of flights that were already in the system,' said Qantas, adding that they made these cancellations around two-and-a-half months before the originally planned departure.

'While we restarted safely, we got many other things wrong, and for that, we have sincerely apologised.'

This raises another question: why did it take so long for Qantas to inform customers about their cancelled flights?

Qantas explained that the delays in notifying passengers about flight cancellations were due to their efforts to find alternative options for customers.

'Our priority is always to find alternatives within hours or a day of their original departure time, focusing on those closest to their travel date first,' they said.

Qantas believed that informing customers about the cancellation earlier would have been more frustrating for them. Instead, they chose to wait until they could say, 'Your flight has changed,' rather than 'Your flight has been cancelled.'

​

To prevent similar issues from happening again, Qantas has made important changes. Now, when a flight is cancelled, it is promptly removed from sale, well within the 48 hours mentioned in the ACCC case.

This process is currently manual and wasn't feasible during the turbulent times the ACCC examined, given the disruptions. However, Qantas is working on a custom IT solution to automate this process, which would integrate with their third-party system.

After facing a slew of negative news following the pandemic, Qantas underwent major leadership changes.

After former CEO Alan Joyce's tenure ended, Chairman Richard Goyder announced he was stepping down due to ongoing problems and investor criticism.

Olivia Wirth, the CEO of Qantas Loyalty, is also leaving the company in February to explore new opportunities after five years in her role.

Key Takeaways

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed a lawsuit against Qantas, alleging the airline sold tickets on cancelled flights from May to July last year.
• Qantas has denied breaking the law and accused the commission of failing to understand the 'reality' of the airline industry.
• In its defence, Qantas states that customers were offered alternative flights or refunds and denied the notion of 'ghost flights'.
• Qantas has made changes to take cancelled flights off sale immediately and ensure affected domestic passengers are offered same-day flights departing within an hour of their scheduled time.

Members, what are your thoughts on this recent news regarding Qantas?

Were you, like many others, affected by the cancelled flights? Do you agree that the airline provided replacement flights and refunds to affected customers?

We'd love to read your opinions and experiences, so please share them in the comments section below!

 

[Robbo3006]

I used to only fly Qantas, bow I'd rather fly in a Cessna than.fly Qantas ever again

 

[Baz1960]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has slapped Qantas with a lawsuit, alleging the airline engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by continuing to sell tickets for flights they knew would be cancelled.

These so-called 'ghost flights' left thousands of passengers high and dry, with some stranded overseas.

Specialist data analysts discovered that Qantas cancelled almost 25 per cent of its flights between May and July 2022. This equated to roughly 15,000 cancellations out of 66,000 domestic and international flights across Australia.

The ACCC also accused Qantas of keeping cancelled flights available for purchase for more than 48 hours.

View attachment 33471

Qantas has responded to the ACCC's accusation that it ripped off thousands of consumers last year. Credit: Shutterstock.

Qantas, however, insisted they did nothing illegal. The company had filed a legal defence denying that laws were broken.

In a press release, the airline accused the ACCC of failing to grasp the complex 'realities' of running an airline during a pandemic.

'While mistakes were made by Qantas, the ACCC's legal case ignores the realities of the aviation industry—airlines can't guarantee specific flight times,' said the company.

Qantas clarified that they didn't have 'ghost flights'. They explained that customers who paid for a flight were either provided with a flight or refunded, so there was no 'fee for no service' situation.

They also argued that during the period the ACCC investigated, it was a tough time for everyone due to the challenges of restarting flights after COVID shutdowns, not only for Qantas but the entire industry.

The disruptions were primarily due to COVID-related supply chain issues, which led to grounded aircraft, increased sick leave, and self-quarantine requirements for the airline's staff. To make matters worse, international borders remained uncertain at the time.

'That meant cancelling a lot of flights that were already in the system,' said Qantas, adding that they made these cancellations around two-and-a-half months before the originally planned departure.

'While we restarted safely, we got many other things wrong, and for that, we have sincerely apologised.'

This raises another question: why did it take so long for Qantas to inform customers about their cancelled flights?

Qantas explained that the delays in notifying passengers about flight cancellations were due to their efforts to find alternative options for customers.

'Our priority is always to find alternatives within hours or a day of their original departure time, focusing on those closest to their travel date first,' they said.

Qantas believed that informing customers about the cancellation earlier would have been more frustrating for them. Instead, they chose to wait until they could say, 'Your flight has changed,' rather than 'Your flight has been cancelled.'

View attachment 33488​

To prevent similar issues from happening again, Qantas has made important changes. Now, when a flight is cancelled, it is promptly removed from sale, well within the 48 hours mentioned in the ACCC case.

This process is currently manual and wasn't feasible during the turbulent times the ACCC examined, given the disruptions. However, Qantas is working on a custom IT solution to automate this process, which would integrate with their third-party system.

After facing a slew of negative news following the pandemic, Qantas underwent major leadership changes.

After former CEO Alan Joyce's tenure ended, Chairman Richard Goyder announced he was stepping down due to ongoing problems and investor criticism.

Olivia Wirth, the CEO of Qantas Loyalty, is also leaving the company in February to explore new opportunities after five years in her role.

Key Takeaways

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed a lawsuit against Qantas, alleging the airline sold tickets on cancelled flights from May to July last year.
• Qantas has denied breaking the law and accused the commission of failing to understand the 'reality' of the airline industry.
• In its defence, Qantas states that customers were offered alternative flights or refunds and denied the notion of 'ghost flights'.
• Qantas has made changes to take cancelled flights off sale immediately and ensure affected domestic passengers are offered same-day flights departing within an hour of their scheduled time.

Members, what are your thoughts on this recent news regarding Qantas?

Were you, like many others, affected by the cancelled flights? Do you agree that the airline provided replacement flights and refunds to affected customers?

We'd love to read your opinions and experiences, so please share them in the comments section below!

Qantas may argue its not illegal. Though at the very least their actions are misleading and disruptive. This leads to stress, anxiety, loss of income and time. Not to mention people travelling for one off events like weddings and funerals, never being able to attend these events is truly devastating and unacceptable as a Service company. In a nutshell, Qantas has made individual's and companies, sicker, poorer and unable to achieve their goals, due to Qantas Ghost Flights. Heads must role and be made accountable for every mis-step... Millions, if not billions of dollars have been lost from their actions.

 

[Mrtnst]

What is not mentioned in the above article is that, despite selling already cancelled flights two and a half months before departure the passengers were not notified until the day before departure.

This alone should be illegal.

Failure to provide adequate notice of the cancellation prevents the affected person from making any alternative arrangements.

Refunds or credits are useless if you have missed out on attending a one-off planned event.

 

[Free.lander]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has slapped Qantas with a lawsuit, alleging the airline engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by continuing to sell tickets for flights they knew would be cancelled.

These so-called 'ghost flights' left thousands of passengers high and dry, with some stranded overseas.

Specialist data analysts discovered that Qantas cancelled almost 25 per cent of its flights between May and July 2022. This equated to roughly 15,000 cancellations out of 66,000 domestic and international flights across Australia.

The ACCC also accused Qantas of keeping cancelled flights available for purchase for more than 48 hours.

View attachment 33471

Qantas has responded to the ACCC's accusation that it ripped off thousands of consumers last year. Credit: Shutterstock.

Qantas, however, insisted they did nothing illegal. The company had filed a legal defence denying that laws were broken.

In a press release, the airline accused the ACCC of failing to grasp the complex 'realities' of running an airline during a pandemic.

'While mistakes were made by Qantas, the ACCC's legal case ignores the realities of the aviation industry—airlines can't guarantee specific flight times,' said the company.

Qantas clarified that they didn't have 'ghost flights'. They explained that customers who paid for a flight were either provided with a flight or refunded, so there was no 'fee for no service' situation.

They also argued that during the period the ACCC investigated, it was a tough time for everyone due to the challenges of restarting flights after COVID shutdowns, not only for Qantas but the entire industry.

The disruptions were primarily due to COVID-related supply chain issues, which led to grounded aircraft, increased sick leave, and self-quarantine requirements for the airline's staff. To make matters worse, international borders remained uncertain at the time.

'That meant cancelling a lot of flights that were already in the system,' said Qantas, adding that they made these cancellations around two-and-a-half months before the originally planned departure.

'While we restarted safely, we got many other things wrong, and for that, we have sincerely apologised.'

This raises another question: why did it take so long for Qantas to inform customers about their cancelled flights?

Qantas explained that the delays in notifying passengers about flight cancellations were due to their efforts to find alternative options for customers.

'Our priority is always to find alternatives within hours or a day of their original departure time, focusing on those closest to their travel date first,' they said.

Qantas believed that informing customers about the cancellation earlier would have been more frustrating for them. Instead, they chose to wait until they could say, 'Your flight has changed,' rather than 'Your flight has been cancelled.'

View attachment 33488​

To prevent similar issues from happening again, Qantas has made important changes. Now, when a flight is cancelled, it is promptly removed from sale, well within the 48 hours mentioned in the ACCC case.

This process is currently manual and wasn't feasible during the turbulent times the ACCC examined, given the disruptions. However, Qantas is working on a custom IT solution to automate this process, which would integrate with their third-party system.

After facing a slew of negative news following the pandemic, Qantas underwent major leadership changes.

After former CEO Alan Joyce's tenure ended, Chairman Richard Goyder announced he was stepping down due to ongoing problems and investor criticism.

Olivia Wirth, the CEO of Qantas Loyalty, is also leaving the company in February to explore new opportunities after five years in her role.

Key Takeaways

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed a lawsuit against Qantas, alleging the airline sold tickets on cancelled flights from May to July last year.
• Qantas has denied breaking the law and accused the commission of failing to understand the 'reality' of the airline industry.
• In its defence, Qantas states that customers were offered alternative flights or refunds and denied the notion of 'ghost flights'.
• Qantas has made changes to take cancelled flights off sale immediately and ensure affected domestic passengers are offered same-day flights departing within an hour of their scheduled time.

Members, what are your thoughts on this recent news regarding Qantas?

Were you, like many others, affected by the cancelled flights? Do you agree that the airline provided replacement flights and refunds to affected customers?

We'd love to read your opinions and experiences, so please share them in the comments section below!

The over paid ceo's and others of QANTAS some how cannot differentiate between buying a ticket and the having the flight cancelled to cancelling flights and then selling tickets for the cancelled flights
Argue as they might, when flight is cancelled on a ticket holder, there is a refund but when a ticket is sold for a flight that has been cancelled , that is straight out criminal fraud. There is no difference in law to going in and buying a car and then finding out that it can not be delivered so you get your money back to going in paying for a car that never existed and then claiming that noting illegal was done
Come on people of QANTAS, do you honestly believe that we are that stupid.

 

[Countryjohn]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has slapped Qantas with a lawsuit, alleging the airline engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by continuing to sell tickets for flights they knew would be cancelled.

These so-called 'ghost flights' left thousands of passengers high and dry, with some stranded overseas.

Specialist data analysts discovered that Qantas cancelled almost 25 per cent of its flights between May and July 2022. This equated to roughly 15,000 cancellations out of 66,000 domestic and international flights across Australia.

The ACCC also accused Qantas of keeping cancelled flights available for purchase for more than 48 hours.

View attachment 33471

Qantas has responded to the ACCC's accusation that it ripped off thousands of consumers last year. Credit: Shutterstock.

Qantas, however, insisted they did nothing illegal. The company had filed a legal defence denying that laws were broken.

In a press release, the airline accused the ACCC of failing to grasp the complex 'realities' of running an airline during a pandemic.

'While mistakes were made by Qantas, the ACCC's legal case ignores the realities of the aviation industry—airlines can't guarantee specific flight times,' said the company.

Qantas clarified that they didn't have 'ghost flights'. They explained that customers who paid for a flight were either provided with a flight or refunded, so there was no 'fee for no service' situation.

They also argued that during the period the ACCC investigated, it was a tough time for everyone due to the challenges of restarting flights after COVID shutdowns, not only for Qantas but the entire industry.

The disruptions were primarily due to COVID-related supply chain issues, which led to grounded aircraft, increased sick leave, and self-quarantine requirements for the airline's staff. To make matters worse, international borders remained uncertain at the time.

'That meant cancelling a lot of flights that were already in the system,' said Qantas, adding that they made these cancellations around two-and-a-half months before the originally planned departure.

'While we restarted safely, we got many other things wrong, and for that, we have sincerely apologised.'

This raises another question: why did it take so long for Qantas to inform customers about their cancelled flights?

Qantas explained that the delays in notifying passengers about flight cancellations were due to their efforts to find alternative options for customers.

'Our priority is always to find alternatives within hours or a day of their original departure time, focusing on those closest to their travel date first,' they said.

Qantas believed that informing customers about the cancellation earlier would have been more frustrating for them. Instead, they chose to wait until they could say, 'Your flight has changed,' rather than 'Your flight has been cancelled.'

View attachment 33488​

To prevent similar issues from happening again, Qantas has made important changes. Now, when a flight is cancelled, it is promptly removed from sale, well within the 48 hours mentioned in the ACCC case.

This process is currently manual and wasn't feasible during the turbulent times the ACCC examined, given the disruptions. However, Qantas is working on a custom IT solution to automate this process, which would integrate with their third-party system.

After facing a slew of negative news following the pandemic, Qantas underwent major leadership changes.

After former CEO Alan Joyce's tenure ended, Chairman Richard Goyder announced he was stepping down due to ongoing problems and investor criticism.

Olivia Wirth, the CEO of Qantas Loyalty, is also leaving the company in February to explore new opportunities after five years in her role.

Key Takeaways

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed a lawsuit against Qantas, alleging the airline sold tickets on cancelled flights from May to July last year.
• Qantas has denied breaking the law and accused the commission of failing to understand the 'reality' of the airline industry.
• In its defence, Qantas states that customers were offered alternative flights or refunds and denied the notion of 'ghost flights'.
• Qantas has made changes to take cancelled flights off sale immediately and ensure affected domestic passengers are offered same-day flights departing within an hour of their scheduled time.

Members, what are your thoughts on this recent news regarding Qantas?

Were you, like many others, affected by the cancelled flights? Do you agree that the airline provided replacement flights and refunds to affected customers?

We'd love to read your opinions and experiences, so please share them in the comments section below!

It’s amazing how other airlines managed to get back to flying post covid. Although flights were canceled it did not cause the problems that Qantas caused. They got over 2 billion from US to keep them going in covid. Once again other airlines did not get that support from their respective governments.
Bring Alan Joyce back to face upto what he has done wrong. I don’t blame the new CEO C for leaving. Bringing Qantas back to where it used to be is a gigantic task.
I know I will never fly Qantas again for all the problems they caused me.

 

[Sandrine]

Not being illegal does not excuse being immoral, misleading, manipulating for profit. Where is the line drawn to illegal? Qantas has only ever caused us stress and missed family events. Their response to our complaints was that air travel can have somme issues and they have not responsibility to bear...not illegal I suppose...

 

[Ronloby]

I don't believe anything Qantas says or does. They were once the airline to go to not anymore.

 

[Staffordshire Whippet]

Verrrrry thin ice.
Qantas's conduct may, by some incredible verbal gymnastics, not be found strictly illegal, but it is certainly unethical; worse still, in business terms it is economically suicidal. The punters have no sense of humour at all when they are stranded thousands of kilometres from home and even less when it costs them an arm and a leg to redeem devalued points and credits.

Then again, it is highly likely that the Board never considered The Pub Test while they quaffed the champers in the Chairman's Lounge, right, Albo & Son?

 

[nvines]

I lost my trust in QANTAS years ago when I drove my daughter from mid NSW to Townsville QLD, left the car with her, booked and paid for my QANTAS flight home. QANTAS changed my flight 6 six times. My husband stayedon the phone ALL NIGHT waiting to speak to someone to book me another flight. Ditched QANTAS for another airline and had absolutely no trouble with this airline. Then had all the trouble under the sun trying to get a refund which never happened. So I will NEVER trust QANTAS again for flying anywhere. A NOT HAPPY customer.

 

[Roysta]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has slapped Qantas with a lawsuit, alleging the airline engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by continuing to sell tickets for flights they knew would be cancelled.

These so-called 'ghost flights' left thousands of passengers high and dry, with some stranded overseas.

Specialist data analysts discovered that Qantas cancelled almost 25 per cent of its flights between May and July 2022. This equated to roughly 15,000 cancellations out of 66,000 domestic and international flights across Australia.

The ACCC also accused Qantas of keeping cancelled flights available for purchase for more than 48 hours.

View attachment 33471

Qantas has responded to the ACCC's accusation that it ripped off thousands of consumers last year. Credit: Shutterstock.

Qantas, however, insisted they did nothing illegal. The company had filed a legal defence denying that laws were broken.

In a press release, the airline accused the ACCC of failing to grasp the complex 'realities' of running an airline during a pandemic.

'While mistakes were made by Qantas, the ACCC's legal case ignores the realities of the aviation industry—airlines can't guarantee specific flight times,' said the company.

Qantas clarified that they didn't have 'ghost flights'. They explained that customers who paid for a flight were either provided with a flight or refunded, so there was no 'fee for no service' situation.

They also argued that during the period the ACCC investigated, it was a tough time for everyone due to the challenges of restarting flights after COVID shutdowns, not only for Qantas but the entire industry.

The disruptions were primarily due to COVID-related supply chain issues, which led to grounded aircraft, increased sick leave, and self-quarantine requirements for the airline's staff. To make matters worse, international borders remained uncertain at the time.

'That meant cancelling a lot of flights that were already in the system,' said Qantas, adding that they made these cancellations around two-and-a-half months before the originally planned departure.

'While we restarted safely, we got many other things wrong, and for that, we have sincerely apologised.'

This raises another question: why did it take so long for Qantas to inform customers about their cancelled flights?

Qantas explained that the delays in notifying passengers about flight cancellations were due to their efforts to find alternative options for customers.

'Our priority is always to find alternatives within hours or a day of their original departure time, focusing on those closest to their travel date first,' they said.

Qantas believed that informing customers about the cancellation earlier would have been more frustrating for them. Instead, they chose to wait until they could say, 'Your flight has changed,' rather than 'Your flight has been cancelled.'

View attachment 33488​

To prevent similar issues from happening again, Qantas has made important changes. Now, when a flight is cancelled, it is promptly removed from sale, well within the 48 hours mentioned in the ACCC case.

This process is currently manual and wasn't feasible during the turbulent times the ACCC examined, given the disruptions. However, Qantas is working on a custom IT solution to automate this process, which would integrate with their third-party system.

After facing a slew of negative news following the pandemic, Qantas underwent major leadership changes.

After former CEO Alan Joyce's tenure ended, Chairman Richard Goyder announced he was stepping down due to ongoing problems and investor criticism.

Olivia Wirth, the CEO of Qantas Loyalty, is also leaving the company in February to explore new opportunities after five years in her role.

Key Takeaways

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed a lawsuit against Qantas, alleging the airline sold tickets on cancelled flights from May to July last year.
• Qantas has denied breaking the law and accused the commission of failing to understand the 'reality' of the airline industry.
• In its defence, Qantas states that customers were offered alternative flights or refunds and denied the notion of 'ghost flights'.
• Qantas has made changes to take cancelled flights off sale immediately and ensure affected domestic passengers are offered same-day flights departing within an hour of their scheduled time.

Members, what are your thoughts on this recent news regarding Qantas?

Were you, like many others, affected by the cancelled flights? Do you agree that the airline provided replacement flights and refunds to affected customers?

We'd love to read your opinions and experiences, so please share them in the comments section below!

Mr Joyce needs to be charged, along with the rest of the board, is it legal to sell cars etc that you don't have, I think not, Qantas has a lot of explaining to do.

 

[Glen44]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has slapped Qantas with a lawsuit, alleging the airline engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by continuing to sell tickets for flights they knew would be cancelled.

These so-called 'ghost flights' left thousands of passengers high and dry, with some stranded overseas.

Specialist data analysts discovered that Qantas cancelled almost 25 per cent of its flights between May and July 2022. This equated to roughly 15,000 cancellations out of 66,000 domestic and international flights across Australia.

The ACCC also accused Qantas of keeping cancelled flights available for purchase for more than 48 hours.

View attachment 33471

Qantas has responded to the ACCC's accusation that it ripped off thousands of consumers last year. Credit: Shutterstock.

Qantas, however, insisted they did nothing illegal. The company had filed a legal defence denying that laws were broken.

In a press release, the airline accused the ACCC of failing to grasp the complex 'realities' of running an airline during a pandemic.

'While mistakes were made by Qantas, the ACCC's legal case ignores the realities of the aviation industry—airlines can't guarantee specific flight times,' said the company.

Qantas clarified that they didn't have 'ghost flights'. They explained that customers who paid for a flight were either provided with a flight or refunded, so there was no 'fee for no service' situation.

They also argued that during the period the ACCC investigated, it was a tough time for everyone due to the challenges of restarting flights after COVID shutdowns, not only for Qantas but the entire industry.

The disruptions were primarily due to COVID-related supply chain issues, which led to grounded aircraft, increased sick leave, and self-quarantine requirements for the airline's staff. To make matters worse, international borders remained uncertain at the time.

'That meant cancelling a lot of flights that were already in the system,' said Qantas, adding that they made these cancellations around two-and-a-half months before the originally planned departure.

'While we restarted safely, we got many other things wrong, and for that, we have sincerely apologised.'

This raises another question: why did it take so long for Qantas to inform customers about their cancelled flights?

Qantas explained that the delays in notifying passengers about flight cancellations were due to their efforts to find alternative options for customers.

'Our priority is always to find alternatives within hours or a day of their original departure time, focusing on those closest to their travel date first,' they said.

Qantas believed that informing customers about the cancellation earlier would have been more frustrating for them. Instead, they chose to wait until they could say, 'Your flight has changed,' rather than 'Your flight has been cancelled.'

View attachment 33488​

To prevent similar issues from happening again, Qantas has made important changes. Now, when a flight is cancelled, it is promptly removed from sale, well within the 48 hours mentioned in the ACCC case.

This process is currently manual and wasn't feasible during the turbulent times the ACCC examined, given the disruptions. However, Qantas is working on a custom IT solution to automate this process, which would integrate with their third-party system.

After facing a slew of negative news following the pandemic, Qantas underwent major leadership changes.

After former CEO Alan Joyce's tenure ended, Chairman Richard Goyder announced he was stepping down due to ongoing problems and investor criticism.

Olivia Wirth, the CEO of Qantas Loyalty, is also leaving the company in February to explore new opportunities after five years in her role.

Key Takeaways

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed a lawsuit against Qantas, alleging the airline sold tickets on cancelled flights from May to July last year.
• Qantas has denied breaking the law and accused the commission of failing to understand the 'reality' of the airline industry.
• In its defence, Qantas states that customers were offered alternative flights or refunds and denied the notion of 'ghost flights'.
• Qantas has made changes to take cancelled flights off sale immediately and ensure affected domestic passengers are offered same-day flights departing within an hour of their scheduled time.

Members, what are your thoughts on this recent news regarding Qantas?

Were you, like many others, affected by the cancelled flights? Do you agree that the airline provided replacement flights and refunds to affected customers?

We'd love to read your opinions and experiences, so please share them in the comments section below!

Different CEO same lies

 

[Pommyoz]

I cry crocodile tears for poor Qantas and the Covid affair. MANY MANY businesses suffered, but only Qantas has the utter right to keep complaining how it affected them.
Alan Joyce should be brought back to face charges of every sort. He is or was a wheeling, dealing, smiling crook if there ever was one. Hang on, didn't Alan Bond and Christopher Skase face charges for treating Aussie terribly. Somebody jog my ailing memory!

 

[Margaret47]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has slapped Qantas with a lawsuit, alleging the airline engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by continuing to sell tickets for flights they knew would be cancelled.

These so-called 'ghost flights' left thousands of passengers high and dry, with some stranded overseas.

Specialist data analysts discovered that Qantas cancelled almost 25 per cent of its flights between May and July 2022. This equated to roughly 15,000 cancellations out of 66,000 domestic and international flights across Australia.

The ACCC also accused Qantas of keeping cancelled flights available for purchase for more than 48 hours.

View attachment 33471

Qantas has responded to the ACCC's accusation that it ripped off thousands of consumers last year. Credit: Shutterstock.

Qantas, however, insisted they did nothing illegal. The company had filed a legal defence denying that laws were broken.

In a press release, the airline accused the ACCC of failing to grasp the complex 'realities' of running an airline during a pandemic.

'While mistakes were made by Qantas, the ACCC's legal case ignores the realities of the aviation industry—airlines can't guarantee specific flight times,' said the company.

Qantas clarified that they didn't have 'ghost flights'. They explained that customers who paid for a flight were either provided with a flight or refunded, so there was no 'fee for no service' situation.

They also argued that during the period the ACCC investigated, it was a tough time for everyone due to the challenges of restarting flights after COVID shutdowns, not only for Qantas but the entire industry.

The disruptions were primarily due to COVID-related supply chain issues, which led to grounded aircraft, increased sick leave, and self-quarantine requirements for the airline's staff. To make matters worse, international borders remained uncertain at the time.

'That meant cancelling a lot of flights that were already in the system,' said Qantas, adding that they made these cancellations around two-and-a-half months before the originally planned departure.

'While we restarted safely, we got many other things wrong, and for that, we have sincerely apologised.'

This raises another question: why did it take so long for Qantas to inform customers about their cancelled flights?

Qantas explained that the delays in notifying passengers about flight cancellations were due to their efforts to find alternative options for customers.

'Our priority is always to find alternatives within hours or a day of their original departure time, focusing on those closest to their travel date first,' they said.

Qantas believed that informing customers about the cancellation earlier would have been more frustrating for them. Instead, they chose to wait until they could say, 'Your flight has changed,' rather than 'Your flight has been cancelled.'

View attachment 33488​

To prevent similar issues from happening again, Qantas has made important changes. Now, when a flight is cancelled, it is promptly removed from sale, well within the 48 hours mentioned in the ACCC case.

This process is currently manual and wasn't feasible during the turbulent times the ACCC examined, given the disruptions. However, Qantas is working on a custom IT solution to automate this process, which would integrate with their third-party system.

After facing a slew of negative news following the pandemic, Qantas underwent major leadership changes.

After former CEO Alan Joyce's tenure ended, Chairman Richard Goyder announced he was stepping down due to ongoing problems and investor criticism.

Olivia Wirth, the CEO of Qantas Loyalty, is also leaving the company in February to explore new opportunities after five years in her role.

Key Takeaways

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed a lawsuit against Qantas, alleging the airline sold tickets on cancelled flights from May to July last year.
• Qantas has denied breaking the law and accused the commission of failing to understand the 'reality' of the airline industry.
• In its defence, Qantas states that customers were offered alternative flights or refunds and denied the notion of 'ghost flights'.
• Qantas has made changes to take cancelled flights off sale immediately and ensure affected domestic passengers are offered same-day flights departing within an hour of their scheduled time.

Members, what are your thoughts on this recent news regarding Qantas?

Were you, like many others, affected by the cancelled flights? Do you agree that the airline provided replacement flights and refunds to affected customers?

We'd love to read your opinions and experiences, so please share them in the comments section below!

 

[Margaret47]

Everybody, please remember that at the end of this enquiry our federal government were in bed with Joyce and the rest of the Qantas board . Our prime minister has got a lot of questions to answer about the whole of the government arrangements with Qantas.
I have a flight booked as part of a holiday package to NZ and found out about the hearing. Had I known what Qantas were doing to the public, I would have asked for a different airline company.

 

[FrankS]

What a load of complete and utter CRAP !!!
This has the dirty green fingerprints of the Irish Leprechaun all over it !
What's the betting on him never setting foot in Australia, again. ???
And it's not just the Jolly Green Leprechaun, THE WHOLE BOARD ( Including the current incumbent) went right along with him, and are just as GUILTY as he was ! They should all be included in charges for Deception and Theft.
Fly QANTAS ??? I'd rather walk !

 

[Shane/#]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has slapped Qantas with a lawsuit, alleging the airline engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by continuing to sell tickets for flights they knew would be cancelled.

These so-called 'ghost flights' left thousands of passengers high and dry, with some stranded overseas.

Specialist data analysts discovered that Qantas cancelled almost 25 per cent of its flights between May and July 2022. This equated to roughly 15,000 cancellations out of 66,000 domestic and international flights across Australia.

The ACCC also accused Qantas of keeping cancelled flights available for purchase for more than 48 hours.

View attachment 33471

Qantas has responded to the ACCC's accusation that it ripped off thousands of consumers last year. Credit: Shutterstock.

Qantas, however, insisted they did nothing illegal. The company had filed a legal defence denying that laws were broken.

In a press release, the airline accused the ACCC of failing to grasp the complex 'realities' of running an airline during a pandemic.

'While mistakes were made by Qantas, the ACCC's legal case ignores the realities of the aviation industry—airlines can't guarantee specific flight times,' said the company.

Qantas clarified that they didn't have 'ghost flights'. They explained that customers who paid for a flight were either provided with a flight or refunded, so there was no 'fee for no service' situation.

They also argued that during the period the ACCC investigated, it was a tough time for everyone due to the challenges of restarting flights after COVID shutdowns, not only for Qantas but the entire industry.

The disruptions were primarily due to COVID-related supply chain issues, which led to grounded aircraft, increased sick leave, and self-quarantine requirements for the airline's staff. To make matters worse, international borders remained uncertain at the time.

'That meant cancelling a lot of flights that were already in the system,' said Qantas, adding that they made these cancellations around two-and-a-half months before the originally planned departure.

'While we restarted safely, we got many other things wrong, and for that, we have sincerely apologised.'

This raises another question: why did it take so long for Qantas to inform customers about their cancelled flights?

Qantas explained that the delays in notifying passengers about flight cancellations were due to their efforts to find alternative options for customers.

'Our priority is always to find alternatives within hours or a day of their original departure time, focusing on those closest to their travel date first,' they said.

Qantas believed that informing customers about the cancellation earlier would have been more frustrating for them. Instead, they chose to wait until they could say, 'Your flight has changed,' rather than 'Your flight has been cancelled.'

View attachment 33488​

To prevent similar issues from happening again, Qantas has made important changes. Now, when a flight is cancelled, it is promptly removed from sale, well within the 48 hours mentioned in the ACCC case.

This process is currently manual and wasn't feasible during the turbulent times the ACCC examined, given the disruptions. However, Qantas is working on a custom IT solution to automate this process, which would integrate with their third-party system.

After facing a slew of negative news following the pandemic, Qantas underwent major leadership changes.

After former CEO Alan Joyce's tenure ended, Chairman Richard Goyder announced he was stepping down due to ongoing problems and investor criticism.

Olivia Wirth, the CEO of Qantas Loyalty, is also leaving the company in February to explore new opportunities after five years in her role.

Key Takeaways

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed a lawsuit against Qantas, alleging the airline sold tickets on cancelled flights from May to July last year.
• Qantas has denied breaking the law and accused the commission of failing to understand the 'reality' of the airline industry.
• In its defence, Qantas states that customers were offered alternative flights or refunds and denied the notion of 'ghost flights'.
• Qantas has made changes to take cancelled flights off sale immediately and ensure affected domestic passengers are offered same-day flights departing within an hour of their scheduled time.

Members, what are your thoughts on this recent news regarding Qantas?

Were you, like many others, affected by the cancelled flights? Do you agree that the airline provided replacement flights and refunds to affected customers?

We'd love to read your opinions and experiences, so please share them in the comments section below!

Throw the book at them and drag that snivelling parasite Joyce back to face the music bloody lowlife piece of

 

[magpie1]

Australia's once proudest International Airline Company QANTAS...The Flying Kangaroo....now lies dormant in the Outback being picked over by Bush ants.

 

[Lord Garton]

It’s amazing how other airlines managed to get back to flying post covid. Although flights were canceled it did not cause the problems that Qantas caused. They got over 2 billion from US to keep them going in covid. Once again other airlines did not get that support from their respective governments.
Bring Alan Joyce back to face upto what he has done wrong. I don’t blame the new CEO C for leaving. Bringing Qantas back to where it used to be is a gigantic task.
I know I will never fly Qantas again for all the problems they caused me.

Ｉ　ｆｏｒ　ｏｎｅ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｓａｙ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｉ　
ｈａｖｅ　ｎｏ　ｆａｉｔｈ　ｉｎ　ＱＡＮＴＡＳ　ｏｒ　ｉｔｓ　
ｅｍｐｌｏｙｅｅｓ，　ｔｈｅｙ　ｗｅｒｅ　ｎｅｖｅｒ　ｇｏｏｄ　ｔｏ　
ｄｅａｌ 　ｗiｉｔｈ　ｗｈｅｎ　Ｉ　ｈａｄ　ｔｏ　ｆｌｙ　ａｎｙｗｈｅｒｅ，　
ｈｅｎｃｅ　Ｉ　ｔｒｉｅｄ　ａｎｙ　ｏｔｈｅｒ　ｃａｒｒｉｅｒ　
ａｖａｉｌａｂｌｅ　ｔｏ　ｓｏｒｔ　ｍｙ　ｔｒａｎｓｐｏｒｔ
ｒｅｑｕｉｒｅｍｅｎｔｓ．　　Ｉ　ｃｅｒｔａｉｎｌｙ　ｗｏｕｌｄ　
ｎｅｖｅｒ　ｆｌｙ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｔｈｅｍ　ｎｏｗ！！

 

[SGH]

I like many others believe the that the previous CEO should be answerable to a lot of the goings on during the epidemic and recovery time after. However, as for the ghost flights, who is responsible for the cancelation times being left right up to the flight I am unsure, if it was Alan Joyce's idea sure, make him give back his golden bonuses, if it was scheduling thinking that they would fill these seats at the last minute, these are no longer the days when seats were kept aside for defence, mining, politicians, etc. etc.
They have 48 hours now to work out whether or not if it is a viable flight, I am quite sure the passengers that are booked would be more than happy to switch to another flight with 2 days notice.