AIR TRAVEL – AUSTRALIA

Virgin to pay 61,000 flyers refunds for overpricing

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Original article by Alex Mitchell, Farad Farad
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 11-Apr-25

Virgin Australia says it will contact passengers who have been found to have been overcharged as a result of an error with its booking system. The airline has stated that the error occurred between April 2020 and March this year, and that around 61,000 travellers were affected. Virgin Australia says the impacted travellers will have to lodge a claim to receive their refund and that they have a year in which to do so, with the average refund due being $55; Consumer advocate Adam Glezer contends the refund claim process is too laborious, and puts an unfair onus on affected passengers.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED

Major airlines cashing in on Rexit

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Original article by Joseph Lam
The Australian – Page: 15 : 13-Nov-24

Data from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission shows that Qantas and Virgin have benefited from the collapse of Rex Airlines. The major carriers’ revenue per passenger on capital city routes has risen to $98.40, compared with $86.80 in July when Rex went into voluntary administration and ceased servicing these routes. The ACCC has warned that market concentration means that further increases in airfares are likely, while it may take some time for a serious third competitor to enter the domestic aviation market. Meanwhile, the federal government will provide Rex with $80m of taxpayers’ money to keep servicing its regional routes.

CORPORATES
REX AIRLINES PTY LTD, REGIONAL EXPRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX REX, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Push to upgrade freebie Albanese to corruption watchdog

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Original article by Rhiannon Down, Geoff Chambers, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Oct-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is continuing to attract scrutiny over revelations that he accepted free flight upgrades from Qantas when he was transport minister and shadow transport minister. However, Albanese contends that he has been "completely transparent" about his flights as an MP. Opposition leader Peter Dutton says Albanese had most likely been in breach of the ministerial code of conduct. Dutton has called for Albanese to refer himself to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, arguing that it should investigate his relationship with Qantas and the federal government’s decision to block Qatar Airways’ application for additional flights to Australia.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION, QATAR AIRWAYS

Qantas, ACCC agree on $120m penalty for ghost flights

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 9-Oct-24

The Federal Court has approved a settlement between Qantas and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission regarding the former’s "ghost flight" scandal. Qantas has agreed to pay a $100m fine and pay affected customers a total of $20m in compensation for selling tickets for flights that had already been cancelled during the pandemic. The ACCC was represented by Chris Caleo KC, who argued that complying with consumer law must be a priority for Qantas, given that it is the nation’s largest airline and carries millions of passengers each year.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Virgin the most punctual airline

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 17 : 22-May-24

Data from the Bureau of Infrastructure & Transport Research Economics shows that 81.4 per cent of Virgin Australia’s flights arrived on time in April. The private equity-backed airline had previously been placed last in the on-time performance data, and CEO Jayne Hrdlicka says it has been "intensely focused" on improving its performance. Meanwhile, 78.4 per cent of Qantas flights and 74.9 per cent of Jetstar flights arrived on time; a flight is considered to be on time if it arrives within 15 minutes of its scheduled arrival time. Failed budget carrier Bonza did not submit any performance data for April, having been placed in voluntary administration late in the month.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS. BUREAU OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT RESEARCH ECONOMICS, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, BONZA AVIATION PTY LTD

Surprise support for airline compo scheme

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 15 : 30-Jan-24

Emirates president Tim Clark has expressed support for compensating Australian airline passengers for flight delays or cancellations. A compensation scheme for travellers is among the options that will be considered in the federal government’s aviation white paper. Clark contends that airlines should be held to account for putting their own financial interests ahead of those of their passengers. However, he cautions that the government must consult with the aviation industry regarding any such scheme.

CORPORATES
EMIRATES AIRLINES

Two in five Australians had flight cancelled or delayed over 12 months, survey says

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Original article by Elias Visontay
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Dec-23

Consumer advocate group Choice has used a submission to the federal government’s aviation green paper to call for increased protection for airline passengers, including compensation for delayed or cancelled flights. Choice has also released the findings of its research on the performance of Australia’s airlines. It found that 40 per cent of respondents had a flight cancelled or delayed in the year to October 2023; 63 per cent stated that they will given no reason for the flight’s failure to depart on schedule. Meanwhile, 20 per cent had to wait at least six months for a refund, and just 47 per cent received a refund within a month.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CONSUMERS’ ASSOCIATION

Qantas worse than Jetstar for on-time performance in October

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: Online : 22-Nov-23

The latest on-time performance data for Australian airlines shows that just 66.6 per cent of Qantas’s domestic flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled time in October. This compares with 68 per cent for its budget offshoot Jetstar. The QantasLink regional brand had the best on-time performance record, at 77.2 per cent; this was followed by Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (73.9 per cent) and Regional Express (73.5 per cent). Qantas cancelled 4.3 per cent of its scheduled flights during the month, which was also the worst performance of any airline. The data does not include low-cost carrier Bonza.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, QANTASLINK, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA REGIONAL AIRLINES PTY LTD, REGIONAL EXPRESS AIRLINES, REGIONAL EXPRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX REX

Treasury, Trade not consulted on Qatar call

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 4 : 13-Sep-23

The federal government continues to attract scrutiny over its decision to reject Qatar Airways’ request for additional flights to Australia. Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Trade Minister Don Farrell have confirmed that their departments were not asked for advice from Transport Minister Catherine King regarding the request from Qatar Airways. King has stated that she had consulted "relevant ministers" before making the decision on 10 July. Shadow transport minister Bridget McKenzie has questioned why the Treasurer was not deemed to be a relevant minister. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have also stated that they were not consulted until after the decision had been made.

CORPORATES
QATAR AIRWAYS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM flies blind in Qatar storm

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Original article by Joe Kelly,Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 6-Sep-23

The Senate will hold an inquiry into the federal government’s decision to block Qatar Airways’ application for additional flights to Australia, which was made by Transport Minister Catherine King on 10 July. There have been allegations that the decision was aimed at protecting Qantas from competition. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament on Tuesday that he did not discuss the issue with outgoing Qantas CEO Alan Joyce before the decision was made. He conceded that he had discussed the application with Virgin Australia Jayne Hrdlick on 13 July, and stated that he had only been made aware of King’s decision on Tuesday. However, this had been widely reported on 18 July. Five women who are suing Qatar Airways for invasive physical searches were also told of the decision in a letter from King that was dated 10 July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET,QATAR AIRWAYS,QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN,AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS