Airlines Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Consumers' Federation of Australia

19 December , 2023

Consumer Groups Call for New Passenger Rights for Flyers as Delays and Cancellations Continue

A new survey of almost 9000 supporters from consumer group CHOICE has found 40% of respondents had a flight cancelled or delayed in the past 12 months.

“As we head into the Christmas season, a huge number of people will be relying on flights to visit family and friends. Unfortunately, our survey of almost 9000 people from across the country has found consumers still face a number of difficulties when dealing with the aviation industry,” says CHOICE Senior Campaigns and Policy Advisor, Bea Sherwood.

1 December , 2023

Consultation on Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand Trans-Tasman Services

The Proposed Conduct relates to the cooperation between Virgin Australia and Air NZ on trans-Tasman services (on routes that Virgin Australia does not operate), including the ability for Virgin Australia to codeshare on Air NZ operated services which contain pricing provisions that may otherwise trigger the prohibition against resale price maintenance. Cooperation on commercial arrangements between Virgin Australia and Air NZ in relation to frequent flyer programs, lounge access, and joint corporate customer offers are conditional upon these codeshare arrangements.

Closing date for submissions on interim authorisation is 18 December 2023.

15 September , 2023

Proposed Denial of Qantas and China Eastern Airline Coordination

The ACCC has issued a draft determination proposing to deny authorisation for Qantas Airways Ltd and China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited and their related entities (including Jetstar) to continue coordinating operations between Australia and mainland China.

21 August , 2023

Airport Finances Impacted by COVID-19

Due to COVID-19, all Australian airports have recorded noticeable drops in their financial performances since 2018-2019 with Sydney and Melbourne airports by far the most negatively affected with both airports profit margins dropping by 48% in 2021-2022.
Unfortunately, the data airports are required to submit to the ACCC lack the detail necessary to determine if or how much their natural monopoly is being used – something both the ACCC and airlines have raised as concerns.

5 June , 2023

ACCC: Australian Domestic Airline Competition at Critical Juncture

The ACCC data shows Australian domestic airline market as a place dominated by Qantas and Virgin, with those two airlines accounting for over 90% of domestic airline travel over the past 3 years. Even with the launch of Bonza and the expansion of Rex to intercity flights, the duopoly of Qantas and Virgin is unlikely to be significantly impacted in the short-term.

17 March , 2023

Domestic airfares fall but prices remain above pre-pandemic levels

This is a media release from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. It was originally published on March 7th 2023 and can be found on the ACCC website here, with graphs. Domestic airfares have declined from historic highs at the end of 2022; however, they remain above 2019 prices, the ACCC’s latest Airline Competition in Australia…

7 February , 2023

Have your say on Australia’s aviation future

Australia’s aviation industry is set to receive long term policy directions for growth and innovation, driven by the Albanese Government’s Aviation White Paper. A safe, efficient, sustainable and competitive aviation sector is critical to the economy and the standard of living of all Australians. Aviation connects Australians with the world and communities to each other.…

14 June , 2022

Consumer awareness growing around carbon credentials

A CHOICE survey reveals that consumers notice carbon claims and they sometimes influence purchase decisions. But how reliable are they? Need to know New data shows consumers are increasingly taking note of businesses’ carbon credentials But uncertainty remains for some people around whether to trust carbon neutral claims Significant numbers of consumers are factoring carbon…

5 May , 2022

Qantas’s flight credits policy is “unfair and unworkable”: CHOICE

Australian travellers are growing increasingly frustrated with Qantas as restrictions ease across the country and travel begins again. This is a media release from CHOICE. It was originally published on 12th April, 2022. CHOICE spokesperson, Dean Price, said that Qantas was placing unreasonable barriers in the way of travellers trying to redeem their credits or get a refund.…

9 June , 2020

Airlines must respect consumers’ rights: UNCTAD

UNCTAD is calling on governments to intensify efforts to protect consumers. Written by Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Director of International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD. Global lockdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19 currently affect half of the world’s population and 4.5 million flights are expected to be cancelled until 30 June. The UN World Tourism Organization estimates that international…

17 December , 2018

Jetstar, Tigerair, Qantas and Virgin Australia to fix refund policies

Jetstar, Tigerair, Qantas and Virgin Australia have committed to ensuring their refund policies and practices comply with their consumer guarantee obligations under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The ACCC was concerned that each airline had made false or misleading representations on their websites that misled consumers about their rights to refunds and resupply in the…

11 February , 2018

Airline complaints falling on deaf ears

Consumer group CHOICE is calling on the Federal Government to establish an airline ombudsman that is funded by the industry as new research shows travellers are getting increasingly fed up with unresolved complaints. The latest data from CHOICE’s flight delays and cancellations tool, Complane.com.au, has found that Jetstar was the worst offender when it comes to…