Australia’s largest airline, Qantas, has agreed to pay a hefty A$100 million ($66.1 million, £52.7 million) penalty to settle a lawsuit brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The case revolved around allegations that the airline sold thousands of tickets for flights it had already cancelled, often referred to as “ghost flights.”
As part of the settlement, Qantas will also launch a compensation program worth up to A$20 million to refund affected passengers. The airline’s CEO, Vanessa Hudson, remarked that this resolution is a key step towards “restoring confidence in the national carrier.” This follows the ACCC’s August lawsuit, which accused Qantas of misleading customers by selling tickets for flights that had been cancelled for weeks, sometimes even months.
The settlement must be approved by the Federal Court of Australia to become official. Under the proposed compensation plan, customers who bought tickets for flights cancelled two or more days prior will receive A$225 for domestic flights and A$450 for international flights.
Hudson noted that the airline let down customers when flights resumed after the Covid-19 pandemic, and she emphasized her commitment to restoring Qantas’s reputation. Since taking over in 2023 as the airline’s first female CEO, she has focused on revamping internal processes and investing in new technology to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.
ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb expressed satisfaction with the agreement, stating that the significant penalty and Qantas’s admission of misleading customers would send a strong message about corporate accountability.
Ms. Hudson inherited a troubled airline when she replaced Alan Joyce in 2023. Under Joyce’s leadership, Qantas navigated the global financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and fluctuating fuel prices. However, by the end of his tenure, Qantas faced public outcry over high airfares, frequent delays and cancellations, and poor treatment of employees. These issues, combined with the “ghost flight” scandal, have posed significant challenges for the new CEO in her efforts to restore trust in one of Australia’s most iconic companies.
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