Selling "Stealth" Tickets, Qantas Pays Compensation of IDR 1.2 Trillion

Qantas is selling tickets for flights that have been cancelled. More than 86,000 potential passengers were affected.

AFP/SAEED KHAN

A Qantas plane takes off from Sydney International Airport in Australia, March 19, 2020.

SYDNEY, MONDAY — Australia's national aviation Qantas, announced it would pay compensation amounting to 120 million Australian dollars (around Rp. 1.2 trillion). Qantas was proven to be fraudulent by selling plane tickets, even though the flights were cancelled.

Qantas Main Director Vanessa Hudson announced this in Sydney, Monday (6/5/2024). "We are responsible for the mistakes we have made and are trying our best to restore public trust in this airline," he said.

Qantas was sued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in 2023 at the Federal Court of Australia. The agency stated that Qantas deceived and spread false information by advertising plane tickets for flights that were actually canceled.

Flight cancellations occurred in the period May 2021 to July 2022 or during the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, as many as 15,000 of Qantas' 66,000 flights were cancelled. However, Qantas did not immediately announce the cancellation so many prospective passengers had already bought tickets.

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Based on ACCC data quoted by the Guardian newspaper, 8,000 tickets were sold and 86,597 potential passengers were affected. "We admit, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Qantas experienced a lot of miscommunication," said Hudson.

REUTERS/LOREN ELLIOTT

People watched the last Qantas 747 aircraft leave Sydney Airport, Australia, after the airline retired its Boeing 747 fleet due to the Covid-19 pandemic on July 22, 2020.

A total of 100 million Australian dollars will be paid to the court and the remaining 20 million Australian dollars to those affected. The details are that 225 Australian dollars (Rp 2.3 million) will be paid to prospective domestic flight passengers and 450 Australian dollars (Rp 4.7 million) for international passengers. This is because 94 percent of the affected prospective passengers are for domestic flights.

In a written statement, the court has not yet received the official proposal for compensation. According to Australia's legal procedures, the compensation must be officially accepted and approved by a judge.

Also read: Cancel or Delay Flights, US Airlines Must Reimburse Ticket Costs

ACCC Director Gina Cass-Gottlieb said that under the leadership of Hudson, who replaced Alan Joyce since the beginning of 2024, Qantas has shown a more responsible attitude. They appreciate the maturity of the airline in acknowledging their mistakes and quickly acting to find a way out.

"Their actions have hurt potential passengers. "Any type of advertising practice that misleads consumers is not permitted," he said.

AP PHOTO/RICK RYCROFT

This photo taken on August 20 2015 shows two Qantas planes on the runway at Sydney Airport, Australia.

Thanks to this case, Qantas changed its communication system. Airlines must announce flight cancellations within 48 hours.

The compensation given by Qantas is the largest in the history of consumer rights protection in Australia. In 2019, the Volkswagen brand had to pay compensation of 125 million Australian dollars for lying about the emission rates of their manufactured vehicles. (AP/REUTERS)