Between May 21, 2021 and August 26 last year, 86,597 Qantas customers booked or were re-accommodated on flights due to depart between May 1, 2022 and May 10 this year after Qantas had decided to cancel them.
Affected ticket holders who booked domestic flights during that period will get $225 and international ticket holders will get $450.
This payment comes on top of any remedies Qantas has already provided, like alternate flights or refunds.
How and when will customers receive compensation?
Customers who are entitled to compensation will be notified via email and SMS text and given instructions on how to lodge their claims through an online portal.
Qantas will begin notifying customers in June and must contact all those impacted by July 10.
Where should I go for more information?
The airline’s remediation program is being implemented by Deloitte, which has set up a webpage that includes an FAQ section for customers to sign up for email updates.
Impacted customers are advised not to contact Qantas’ customer support centre but to direct queries to Deloitte.
What else will consumers get?
As part of the settlement, the ACCC has secured a guarantee from Qantas and Jetstar that customers will be notified about cancelled flights “as soon as practicable” and no more than 48 hours after the airline decides to cancel the flight.
The Qantas group has also committed to stop selling cancelled flights as soon as practicable and within 24 hours after deciding to cancel it.
A word of caution
The competition watchdog is warning Australians against scammers who are looking to turn the news about Qantas’ compensation payments into an opportunistic cash grab.
“The ACCC is aware that scammers have been calling people, falsely claiming to help them get payments,” the regulator stated.
“If you receive a call from anyone offering to help you with a payment or refund, hang up immediately. Never give personal information to anyone calling you out of the blue, never give access to your computer or bank account, and never click on a link in a text message or open an attachment in an email if you were not expecting the text or email.”
Australians who have given any information to scammers or have lost money should contact their bank straight away. Scams can be reported to Scamwatch, which is operated by the ACCC.
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