It has been revealed that Qantas still holds over $500 million in unclaimed pandemic flight credits, following a class action lawsuit highlighting the scale of the covid credit pot.
This half a billion dollars in airfares held on behalf of Qantas and Jetstar passengers are due to expire by the end of the year.
Last week Melbourne firm Echo Law launched a class action on behalf of Qanats passengers, which was lodged in the federal court over the airline’s handling of passenger refunds during the pandemic.
This comes as the Qantas Group, which operates Jetstar and Qantas flights, reported a record return to profit of AU$1.74 billion after tax. The first positive full-year profit on the company ledger since 2019.
The airline says this annual report does not reflect the outstanding credits.
Outgoing chief executive, Alan Joyce gave the the value of unclaimed Covid credits at around $400 million (AU$370 million) but on Monday it was revealed the true value was much higher as the figure did not include credits held by Jetstar or customers outside Australia.
The airline boss was issued a summons to appear at the Australian Senate during a cost of living inquiry. There it was revealed that there was at least a further $100 in credit held by the Qantas Group, according to Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully.
These credits, held on behalf of passengers affected by pandemic disruption, are due to expire on December 31, 2023.
Andrew Paull, Partner at the Echo Law firm, told the Herald they intend to sue the airline over the alleged mishandling of the credit scheme.
New Zealanders’ airfares still held in unused credit
“We expect this includes a significant number of NZ customers,” said Paull.
At the moment, their focus of their legal challenge is on airfares transferred to credit with Qantas between January 2022 and November 2022. However, there were a number of other Airlines which implemented a large-scale credit scheme during the pandemic, including Air New Zealand.
“While many airlines implemented travel credit schemes during the pandemic, the lawfulness of those schemes depends on the specific circumstances of that airline,” said Paull.
Consumer rights watchdog Consumer NZ says they are raising the issue of expiring flight credits directly with Air New Zealand.
“Unfortunately, airlines in New Zealand can get away with offering credits because of our weak consumer protection laws for cancelled flights,” said Consumer NZ’s Campaigns manager Jessica Walker.
“If the credits expire, consumers will be getting nothing for their money. We think this is unfair.”
There are passengers who are likely to still have thousands of dollars tied up in airline credits, says Walker who believes this should not be allowed to expire.
A spokesperson for Air New Zealand said that the airline was confident it provided clear information to customers on the terms and conditions of the credits, throughout the pandemic.
“We have been flexible with our credit usage and adapted over time as needed to meet the changing circumstances of the pandemic,” they said.
“We encourage customers to use their credits and to contact us if they have any questions or concerns.”
Qantas Covid Credit claims
The Qantas group said that it could not process automatic refunds due to the timeframe of the pandemic. Passenger’ credit card details may have changed, and the mix of codeshare arrangements and payment methods means it will not be possible to issue refunds without a claim, said the group.
It is up to customers to find and claim credit held by the airline.
Although, depending on the terms of the fare booked, some credit may be non-refundable and must be used on a flight.
In June the airline established a webservice ‘Find My Credit’ which allowed customers to see their credit accounts with Qantas and Jetstar. Passengers require their booking reference and surname to find unspent credit, from up to three years.
Qantas has set up a dedicated travel credits hotline that can be contacted on 1300 171 505.
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