Complaints to ACCC about Qantas up 68 per cent during Covid period as it urges airline to do better
Qantas punished for ‘doing better’ by corporate watchdog as complaints about flag carrier soar – but two other Australian carriers are doing much better
- ACCC received 1,740 complaints about Qantas in 2021-22
- That was an increase of 68 percent compared to last year
- The ACCC reprimanded Qantas for not having better service
An official report reveals what many travelers suspected: that Qantas was the most complained about airline in Australia during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of complaints about Qantas was a third higher than the next most reported airline.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) was approached 1,740 times about Qantas in the 2021-2022 financial year.
That was a 68 percent jump in complaints about Qantas from the previous year.
An official report reveals what many travelers suspected: that Qantas was Australia’s most complained airline during the pandemic
The figures come after a year of supply chain problems and staff shortages.
The most popular types of complaints were issues related to refunds and flight credits for flights canceled due to pandemic travel restrictions, as well as delayed and canceled flights in mid-2022.
‘As Australia’s largest airline [Qantas]and an airline that generally charges a fee to fly, consumers expect better service,” the ACCC report said.
Issues reported to the consumer watchdog about Jetstar fell 33 percent from 2020-21 to 544, and complaints related to Virgin Australia fell 27 percent to 359.
The 1,740 issues reported to the ACCC by passengers in 2020-2021 was a 68 percent increase over the previous year
The ACCC also found that airfares have fallen from their highest level in 15 years, but remain above pre-pandemic levels.
Rates hit a 15-year high in December 2022.
As airlines increased capacity on domestic routes, travelers flew less than before the pandemic.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce was forced to apologize to customers in a video from August 2022, following long queues at domestic airports and multiple reports of lost luggage and canceled flights.
“Too many of you have experienced flight delays, flight cancellations and lost luggage in recent months,” Mr Joyce said in the video, which was sent to all Qantas Frequent Flyer members.
There are good reasons for that, but when it comes to what you expect from Qantas, it’s not good enough.
“I apologize on behalf of the national airline.”
Two weeks ago, Qantas posted an interim underlying pre-tax profit of $1.43 billion in its first return to profitability since the Covid-19 pandemic brought travel to a halt in 2020.
Statutory net profit for the six months ended June 30 was $1 billion, compared to a net loss of $456 million a year earlier.
The profit turnaround was achieved despite a 65 percent increase in fuel costs during the half year.
Qantas said domestic flight levels averaged 94 percent of pre-pandemic levels, while international capacity also doubled to 60 percent.