Qantas to pay A$120 million for “ghost flights” case

Qantas, Australia’s flag carrier, has admitted that it advertised and sold tickets to customers for flights that had already been cancelled.  The scope of the problem was even larger than the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (“ACCC”) had thought, going on for a year longer than initially thought and impacting tens of thousands of consumers.  Qantas and ACCC agreed to settle the case for A$120 million in penalties and compensation.

New Qantas CEO, Vanessa Hudson, who began her role two months early

when the allegations arose and former CEO Alan Joyce left, indicated that the decision to settle the case was not motivated by the timing, but an important step to restore customer confidence.

The ACCC alleged that the airline advertised and sold tickets for flights that had already been cancelled from May to July 2022, impacting 8,000 flights.  Further investigation showed that the practice continued until August 2023, impacting 86,000 customers during that period.  CEO Vanessa Hudson said “We absolutely have maintained and continue to maintain that we did not take fees for no service, that we would not take fees for no service, and that the ACC is no long proceeding with this part of the claim.”