AIRLINES – RATES – 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

Qantas, Virgin defend higher fares in the wake of Rex’s exit from domestic trunk routes

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: Online : 18-Sep-24

Australia’s two major airlines have downplayed data which suggests that economy airfares have risen by more than 12 per cent since July. This coincided with the collapse of Rex Airlines and its withdrawal from capital city routes. Qantas contends that the Bureau of Infrastructure & Transport Research Economics’ data does not represent the average fares that customers are paying for domestic flights. Virgin Australia in turn argues that factors such as football finals and school holidays traditionally result in price variance in September compared with July.

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

Rex’s expansion push could leave regional travellers paying the price

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Original article by Sezen Bakan
The New Daily – Page: Online : 31-Jul-24

Rex Airlines has advised that EY has been appointed as voluntary administrators of the Regional Express listed entity and a number of subsidiaries. Rex also announced that its fleet of Boeing 737s have been grounded and all flights on capital city routes have been cancelled; however, flights to regional destinations will continue to be serviced by its fleet of Saab 340s. Professor Pierre Benckendorff from the University of Queensland says airfares on capital city routes are unlikely to be affected if Rex is liquidated; he adds that airfares on regional routes could rise sharply due to lack of competition, and some routes may be discontinued.

CORPORATES
REX AIRLINES PTY LTD, REGIONAL EXPRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX REX, ERNST AND YOUNG, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

Why Australians are paying 50% more for air fares than pre-pandemic even as jet fuel costs drop

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett, Elias Visontay
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 31-May-23

Data from the International Air Transport Association shows that the price of aviation fuel has halved since peaking in mid-2022, and it is now priced at around the levels at which many airlines operated profitably in 2018. However, data from flight search company Kayak shows that this is not being reflected in the price of airfares in Australia. The average domestic airfare is now about 10 per cent higher than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, while the average international airfare is more than 50 per cent higher. Nick Schroeder from IBISWorld expects the price of international airfares to start falling in the second half of 2023, adding that they could potentially fall to around pre-pandemic levels within 18-24 months.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION, KAYAK, IBISWORLD PTY LTD

Lack of action on high regional airfares disgraceful

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 3-Apr-19

An investigation by federal parliament’s rural and regional affairs and transport committee into regional air fares was due to report its findings in March 2018. However, it is now likely that it will not do so until after the federal election. Queensland MP Robbie Katter says there have been no cuts to regional air fares since the inquiry began in November 2017. Katter wants airlines to provide information to the government about how they determine air fares, while airlines have blamed airports for the high cost of regional airfares.

CORPORATES
KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, ALLIANCE AIRLINES PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON RURAL AND REGIONAL AFFAIRS AND TRANSPORT

Technology key to Qantas resurgence

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 26-Mar-18

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says airfares from Australia to Britain have continued to decline over the history of the "kangaroo route". With Qantas having just launched its first non-stop flights from Australia to London, Joyce notes airfares to the UK are now equivalent to a week’s average wage, whereas as recently as the 1960s they were equal to 22 weeks average wages. He says that new technologies are helping Qantas to keep its airfares competitive on Australian to Europe services.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, BOEING COMPANY

Scene could be set for another capacity war

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Original article by Matt O’Sullivan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 23-Jun-15

Qantas and Virgin Australia both increased their capacity on domestic routes in recent years, which kept a lid on airfares. However, new data shows that airfares began rising again in 2014, after the two carriers slowed the rate at which they added new aircraft to their fleets. Little growth is expected in either fleet in 2015, but a report produced by 4th Dimension and the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation notes that it would not take much for them to engage in a renewed "capacity war".

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, 4TH DIMENSION, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, CENTRE FOR ASIA PACIFIC AVIATION, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT. BUREAU OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT AND REGIONAL ECONOMICS, ANSETT AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED

Falling dollar a plus for Qantas: Joyce

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Original article by Steve Creedy
The Australian – Page: 17 : 28-Jan-15

Qantas Airways has started the process of phasing out fuel surcharges, which will now be folded into the base fare. CEO Alan Joyce says the exact date for the complete removal of the levy cannot yet be given. Qantas has gained an additional $A30m during the first six months of 2014-15 due to the recent crude oil price fall. Joyce also notes that an Australian dollar foreign exchange rate of between $US0.70 and $US0.80 is optimal for the carrier, as fuel costs are higher but revenue generated overseas is worth more

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Qantas pressed to drop fuel surcharge as Virgin makes first move

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Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Jan-15

Virgin Australia is to remove the fuel surcharge from its US flights and instead make the charge part of the base fare. The drop in the crude oil price has prompted the carrier to reduce fares to Los Angeles from Melbourne and Sydney. It is more complicated for Qantas Airways to dismantle fuel surcharges than it is for Virgin. A Qantas official maintains that its existing fares are already "some of the cheapest in years". Macquarie Equities’ Sam Dobson says Virgin’s decision makes Qantas "increasingly likely" to act on fuel surcharges

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, EMIRATES AIRLINES, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, FLIGHT CENTRE TRAVEL GROUP LIMITED – ASX FLT, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

ACCC hits airlines over hidden fees

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Original article by Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 20-Jun-14

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has launched legal action against Virgin Australia and Jetstar Airlines. The corporate regulator alleges that the airlines use inadequate disclosure of fares when passengers book tickets online. It states in court documents that the practice of "price dripping", which involves the incremental disclosure of fees and charges, is detrimental to the interests of consumers

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, PAYPAL INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION