Qantas is facing a class action by customers who say they were left out of pocket after billions of dollars in flights were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Echo Law said it lodged the class action in the Federal Court on Monday in regards to how it alleges the airline dealt with travel credits and refunds during the pandemic.
When COVID-19 hit, Qantas alone was forced to cancel some $2 billion in flights.
Echo Law alleges Qantas failed to be transparent and immediately issue refunds and then made travel credits hard to use with strict conditions.
The class action will allege Qantas “enjoyed significant financial benefits” from holding onto customer payments including interest and reduced borrowing costs.
The class action also alleges customers were required to pay the airline more than their original booking to use their credits on new fares and were pressured by Qantas to do this or else they would lose the value of their credits.
“We are seeking both refunds of all remaining credits as well as compensation for the time customers have been out of pocket,” Echo Law partner Andrew Paull said.
As of June 2023, there are $400 million in COVID-19 credits for the airline remaining.
Qantas has completely rejected the claims made by Echo Law.
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”We have already processed well in excess of $1 billion in refunds from COVID credits for customers who were impacted by lockdowns and border closures,” an airline spokesperson said.
The airline said “the majority of customers” with COVID-19 credits can get a refund.
”Qantas has one of the most flexible COVID credit policies of any airline, including among our global peers, and we’ve extended the expiry dates three times,” the airline added.
Qantas also said it has improved its credit system over the past three years to make it easier for customers to access a refund or credits.
In response to allegations the airline made significant financial benefits from the credits, the airline said it lost more than $25 billion in revenue and had $7 billion in statutory losses during the pandemic.
The airline also said it has always made it clear to customers that they were entitled to a refund through the relevant process.
“Thousands of customers have already done just that,” Qantas said.
