Need to know
- In recent years, CHOICE has launched a series of campaigns and investigations targeting systemic failures in Australia's airline industry
- In August 2024, the federal government committed to establishing new protections for travellers, many of which are in line with our recommendations
- Now the government is inviting the public and industry stakeholders to take part in a consultation process that will inform the final wording of the legislation
In Europe, the US, Canada and other jurisdictions, airline passengers have long had stronger aviation rights than those in Australia. Here, airlines make up the rules as they see fit, especially when it comes to compensating passengers for frequently occurring issues like flight delays and cancellations.
It's been a rough ride for Australian airline customers in recent years. The COVID pandemic took the customer service failures of Australian airlines to a new low. Now the federal government is aiming to pass legislation that would force airlines to do better.
In 2022, we reported that less than a third of customers who had a flight cancelled because of COVID received a refund. The rest got vouchers that often proved difficult to redeem.
In Australia, the dominant airline is Qantas – whose tagline we rebranded as 'The Spirit of Disappointment' when we handed it a Shonky Award in 2022. A CHOICE investigation revealed that Qantas was holding about $1.4 billion dollars in unused flight credits and future bookings and came up with all kinds of ways to hang on to this money.
Flight delays and cancellations remain a central issue. In December 2023, we reported that the chances of your holiday flight leaving on time were about 50-50.
Attempting to call your airline and talk to a human being because the automated processes on offer don't work is yet another issue. Call wait times were off the charts when we tested them in 2021.
Proposed new legislation missing clear right to compensation
In August last year, the federal government committed to establishing new protections for Australian travellers. It proposed a new charter of aviation rights, an independent aviation ombudsman to replace the industry-funded Airline Consumer Advocate (recipient of a 2021 CHOICE Shonky Award), and a requirement that airlines provide refunds instead of credits. These proposals were well in line with recommendations by CHOICE in our submissions to government.
Earlier this week, the government took the next step, launching a consultation process open to the public as well as industry stakeholders. The consultation will inform the final design of the aviation consumer protection legislation. Submissions will be accepted until 5 October this year.
The consultation paper once again reflects our recommendations to government, calling for an industry-funded ombudsman scheme with a complaints handling process similar to existing schemes such as the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
The paper also proposes that customers receive refunds for cancellations in a timely manner and aren't given a flight credit unless they choose one. These would be major steps forward, but the consultation paper falls short of what CHOICE has been calling for in several respects.
"We deserve clear rights when flights don't go to plan, not a patchwork of airline policies. Our airline giants have called the shots for far too long
CHOICE campaigns director Rosie Thomas
Chief among them is the lack of clear rights to compensation for delayed or cancelled flights.
"Compensation schemes in Europe have encouraged airlines to reduce avoidable delays and provide consumers with simple cash payments when flights are cancelled or late. This is something Australians also deserve," says CHOICE director of campaigns Rosie Thomas.
Another shortcoming is a proposed aviation complaints body that lacks the strong oversight powers of comparable industry schemes.
"Consumer rights are only ever as strong as the complaints processes to enforce them," Thomas says.
"We're concerned the proposed aviation complaints body falls short compared with strong, independent ombudsman schemes in other concentrated markets. Banks and telecommunications companies have to answer to an independent umpire and the airlines should too."
CHOICE will continue to push for stronger protections, Thomas says. "We deserve clear rights when flights don't go to plan, not a patchwork of airline policies. Our airline giants have called the shots for far too long."
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