Qantas takes the top spot on the 'Shonky Awards' list. Are you surprised?
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Well, it’s official – a certain airline has landed itself in hot water after this year’s CHOICE Shonky Awards list was revealed.
Every year, CHOICE – Australia's leading consumer advocacy group – hands out their annual Shonky Awards to brands they believe produced the worst product or service. And this year, Qantas took the top spot on the list.
We've all had our fair share of bad experiences with companies. Whether it's poor customer service, shoddy products, or general unethical behaviour, it's always frustrating when big businesses let us down. And this is exactly why the Shonky Awards exist.
The award recognises ‘the worst of the worst’ in products and services uncovered by CHOICE’s experts.
And this year, Qantas has taken the top spot as the ‘shonkiest’ company in Australia.
So, what did Qantas do to earn themselves this dubious honour? Well according to CHOICE, the airline had been accused over a series of failings including unusable credits, delayed flights, lost baggage, and lengthy call wait times – with some people waiting as long as 50 minutes!
CHOICE has even asked the ACCC to determine if Qantas’ terms and conditions for flight vouchers amounted to unfair contract terms and if their communications to customers about flight credits could be classified as ‘misleading’. Nothing has been determined yet, though.
‘If there was ever a company that appeared to deliberately be going out of its way to win a Shonky award, it’s Qantas,’ said CHOICE travel expert Jodi Bird.
‘People are still paying premium prices to fly Qantas but it’s clear from the complaints we’ve heard, they’re not getting a premium service,’ he shared.
Alan Kirkland, CHOICE’s Chief Executive, added that Qantas ‘deserved’ the award this year.
He also didn’t hold back when he said: ‘Qantas might call itself the “Spirit of Australia”, but we think “Spirit of Disappointment” is more appropriate.’ A harsh but fair point.
Michael Harding from Queensland stated that he lost more than $1000 worth of travel credits to Qantas last year. The reason was that the airline gave him expired before he could use them due to border closures.
Mr Harding and his wife also almost lost $700 because the flights they booked this year were cancelled due to bad weather.
‘If I had the money, I would take legal action. The problem is that I have no idea how to resolve my complaint,’ he shared.
According to the advocacy group, the issues around travel credits became a prevalent concern since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Bird said: ‘Qantas has made it difficult and confusing for their customers to use flight credits for cancelled travel.’
‘This includes forcing many people to spend extra money, putting limits on available flights, being unable to make bookings using credits online – the list goes on.’ On the other hand, Mr Kirkland has called for ‘stronger consumer protections’ for all travellers.
‘CHOICE has put forward a clear plan to governments about how to ensure that people are treated fairly in the travel market.’
He added: ‘We now need federal, state and territory governments, and industry to work together to make travel easier and fairer.’
A spokesperson from Qantas responded that the data CHOICE was using is ‘a bit shonky’, and claimed that the awards are ‘clearly out of date’.
‘We’ve been very transparent with our performance figures, both good and bad, but CHOICE is using figures that are just wrong,’ they said.
‘We had several months of poor performance earlier in the year, but it’s improved significantly since August and we’re back to our pre-COVID level of service.’
Well, members, what do you think about this story? Is this ‘award’ warranted? Share with us your thoughts in the comments below!
Every year, CHOICE – Australia's leading consumer advocacy group – hands out their annual Shonky Awards to brands they believe produced the worst product or service. And this year, Qantas took the top spot on the list.
We've all had our fair share of bad experiences with companies. Whether it's poor customer service, shoddy products, or general unethical behaviour, it's always frustrating when big businesses let us down. And this is exactly why the Shonky Awards exist.
The award recognises ‘the worst of the worst’ in products and services uncovered by CHOICE’s experts.
And this year, Qantas has taken the top spot as the ‘shonkiest’ company in Australia.
Qantas Airlines landed itself in hot water this year. Credit: Pascal Renet in Pexels
So, what did Qantas do to earn themselves this dubious honour? Well according to CHOICE, the airline had been accused over a series of failings including unusable credits, delayed flights, lost baggage, and lengthy call wait times – with some people waiting as long as 50 minutes!
CHOICE has even asked the ACCC to determine if Qantas’ terms and conditions for flight vouchers amounted to unfair contract terms and if their communications to customers about flight credits could be classified as ‘misleading’. Nothing has been determined yet, though.
‘If there was ever a company that appeared to deliberately be going out of its way to win a Shonky award, it’s Qantas,’ said CHOICE travel expert Jodi Bird.
‘People are still paying premium prices to fly Qantas but it’s clear from the complaints we’ve heard, they’re not getting a premium service,’ he shared.
Reports have revealed that Qantas had the worst rates for flight delays this year. Credit: Vlada Karpovich in Pexels
Alan Kirkland, CHOICE’s Chief Executive, added that Qantas ‘deserved’ the award this year.
He also didn’t hold back when he said: ‘Qantas might call itself the “Spirit of Australia”, but we think “Spirit of Disappointment” is more appropriate.’ A harsh but fair point.
Michael Harding from Queensland stated that he lost more than $1000 worth of travel credits to Qantas last year. The reason was that the airline gave him expired before he could use them due to border closures.
Mr Harding and his wife also almost lost $700 because the flights they booked this year were cancelled due to bad weather.
‘If I had the money, I would take legal action. The problem is that I have no idea how to resolve my complaint,’ he shared.
According to the advocacy group, the issues around travel credits became a prevalent concern since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Bird said: ‘Qantas has made it difficult and confusing for their customers to use flight credits for cancelled travel.’
‘This includes forcing many people to spend extra money, putting limits on available flights, being unable to make bookings using credits online – the list goes on.’ On the other hand, Mr Kirkland has called for ‘stronger consumer protections’ for all travellers.
‘CHOICE has put forward a clear plan to governments about how to ensure that people are treated fairly in the travel market.’
He added: ‘We now need federal, state and territory governments, and industry to work together to make travel easier and fairer.’
Qantas didn’t state upfront that travellers were entitled to refunds instead of travel credits. Credit: Nikita Korchagin in Pexels
A spokesperson from Qantas responded that the data CHOICE was using is ‘a bit shonky’, and claimed that the awards are ‘clearly out of date’.
‘We’ve been very transparent with our performance figures, both good and bad, but CHOICE is using figures that are just wrong,’ they said.
‘We had several months of poor performance earlier in the year, but it’s improved significantly since August and we’re back to our pre-COVID level of service.’
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