Qantas Launches Defence Against Multi-Million-Dollar ACCC Lawsuit

Signage is seen on display at the Qantas domestic terminal at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 25, 2022. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Australia’s flag carrier Qantas will fight allegations that it engaged in selling “ghost flight” tickets after the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a recent announcement, the airline said it had launched its legal defence with the Federal Court against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which accused Qantas of selling tickets for cancelled flights between May and July 2022.

The consumer watchdog alleged that Qantas promoted and advertised tickets for over 8,000 flights even though they had already been cancelled.

The ACCC also noted that Qantas did not notify existing ticketholders that 10,000 flights had been cancelled—it found Qantas cancelled around 15,000 flights between May and July 2022.

“We allege that Qantas’ conduct in continuing to sell tickets to cancelled flights and not updating ticketholders about cancelled flights left customers with less time to make alternative arrangements and may have led to them paying higher prices to fly at a particular time not knowing that flight had already been cancelled,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

“We allege that Qantas made many of these cancellations for reasons that were within its control, such as network optimisation including in response to shifts in consumer demand, route withdrawals or retention of take-off, and landing slots at certain airports.”

Qantas’ Defence

In filing its defence, Qantas acknowledged that it had made many mistakes during the post-COVID restart, which disappointed Australian customers.

“As we’ve said from the start of this case, we fully acknowledge that the period examined by the ACCC was extremely difficult for our customers,” the airline said.

“Restarting flying after the COVID shutdowns proved a challenge for the whole industry, with staff shortages and supply chain issues coinciding with huge pent-up demand.

“Qantas cancelled thousands of flights as a result, and there were many unacceptable delays.”

Nevertheless, Qantas argued that in the lawsuit, the ACCC ignored the reality that airlines could not always guarantee flight times.

Specifically, the flag carrier said the nature of travel, including weather conditions and operational issues, made it impossible for any airline to guarantee that flights would not be delayed.

Qantas also said it had offered alternative flights or refunds with no “fee for service” to all customers whose flights were cancelled.

People check-in on arrival at the Qantas domestic terminal at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 25, 2022. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

While Qantas admitted that it sold tickets for some flights after they were cancelled for over 48 hours, the airline claimed this did not equate to selling “ghost flights” as customers were re-accommodated on other flights or offered a full refund.

“Our promise is to get customers on their way to their destination as close as possible to the flight time they book, either on their original or an alternative service, at no additional cost. If not, we offer a full refund,” it said.

“This is consistent with our obligations under consumer law and is what we did during the period the ACCC examined.”

At the same time, Qantas cited several reasons for the delays in communicating with passengers about cancelled flights, including the airline needing time to establish alternative travel options for customers, avoiding further blowouts in call centre wait times, and human errors.

After admitting mistakes, Qantas said it had enhanced its systems and processes to make sure the above problems would not happen again.

The airline also said it would continue to provide updates about the ACCC’s lawsuit but noted that it was limited in what further comment it could make.