New Zealand’s Commerce Commission has announced it will file charges against Jetstar under the Fair Trading Act, alleging the airline misled consumers about their rights to compensation when flights were delayed or cancelled for reasons within Jetstar’s control.
The Commission’s General Manager of Competition, Fair Trading, and Credit, Vanessa Horne, said they believed Jetstar’s communications were likely to have discouraged New Zealand consumers from seeking compensation they were entitled to, and that the airline had likely denied legitimate claims in 2022 and 2023.
“Airlines have a responsibility to not mislead consumers about their rights in the event of cancellations or delays,” Horne explained.
“The Civil Aviation Act is clear that airlines have a responsibility to reimburse customers for loss caused by cancellations or delays on New Zealand domestic flights that are within the airline’s control.”
The Commission believes this includes delays or cancellations due to staffing or mechanical issues.
In such cases, passengers are entitled to reimbursement for reasonable costs caused by the delay, which may include the cost of meals, accommodation, and other costs they had to pay to get to their destination—up to 10 times the ticket cost.
The rights of passengers booked on international flights are covered by the Montreal Convention, entitling them to reimbursements for costs incurred from delays and cancellations “unless the airlines did all they could reasonably do to prevent the disruption,” Horne said.
‘False or Misleading Statements’: Commission
The Commission believes Jetstar likely made false or misleading statements to consumers about their rights in 2022 and 2023.“The Commerce Commission expects large businesses to take their responsibilities under the law seriously—they must honour their obligations to consumers,” Horne said.
Jetstar’s website now allows passengers to resubmit compensation claims for reasonable costs from cancelled or delayed flights, which may have been incorrectly handled at the time. People can also submit new compensation claims.
In a statement, Jetstar said it cooperated with the Commission and apologised for “errors” made regarding compensation in 2022 and 2023.
“We’re deeply sorry to have let our New Zealand customers down by errors made in assessing some compensation claims for disrupted flights in 2022 and 2023, as our operations restarted following COVID,” the airline said.
“Since becoming aware of this issue, we’ve been focused on making things right for our customers and improving our communication and processes.”
