Airlines are still holding millions of dollars in trips that never happened
With planes full of passengers flying all over the world, it’s easy to forget there was a time when borders were shut, alert levels and traffic light systems were in place, and few of us were travelling anywhere. But it’s important that we don’t. Because airlines are reaping the benefits of those trips that never happened, holding hundreds of millions of customers’ dollars in the form of credits. Back in 2020, with so many flights cancelled and customers unable to travel because of Covid, airlines argued they couldn’t afford to give everyone a refund. Instead, they started issuing customers with the value of those flights in credit, which could be used to book future travel. But expiry dates on those credits are now looming – and if customers don’t use them in time, their loss will be the airlines’ gain. When Qantas (which also owns Jetstar) announced the “final extension” on the expiry date of its Covid credits in March – giving customers until the end of this year to book, and up to the end of next year to travel – it revealed around NZ$800m worth of credits were yet to be redeemed. It said three-quarters of these credits were worth less than $500, with the remaining quarter worth between $500 and $5000. Less than 1% were worth over $5000. Air New Zealand announced it was extending the expiry of its Covid credits in September last year, giving customers until the end of January 2024 to book, and until the end of 2024 to travel. At the time, chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said the extension would affect around 500,000 customers. But unlike Qantas, Air New Zealand won’t share a dollar amount for how much those unspent credits are worth. An airline spokesperson said this was due to “commercial sensitivity”. Customers who have credits with Virgin Australia, which went into voluntary administration in April 2020, have until the end of December this year to book and travel. The airline also declined to disclose the value or number of outstanding credits, saying it was “commercial in confidence”. Story has more.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-06-22/general/airlines-are-still-holding-millions-of-dollars-in-trips-that-never-happened
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Airlines are still holding millions of dollars in trips that never happened
With planes full of passengers flying all over the world, it’s easy to forget there was a time when borders were shut, alert levels and traffic light systems were in place, and few of us were travelling anywhere. But it’s important that we don’t. Because airlines are reaping the benefits of those trips that never happened, holding hundreds of millions of customers’ dollars in the form of credits. Back in 2020, with so many flights cancelled and customers unable to travel because of Covid, airlines argued they couldn’t afford to give everyone a refund. Instead, they started issuing customers with the value of those flights in credit, which could be used to book future travel. But expiry dates on those credits are now looming – and if customers don’t use them in time, their loss will be the airlines’ gain. When Qantas (which also owns Jetstar) announced the “final extension” on the expiry date of its Covid credits in March – giving customers until the end of this year to book, and up to the end of next year to travel – it revealed around NZ$800m worth of credits were yet to be redeemed. It said three-quarters of these credits were worth less than $500, with the remaining quarter worth between $500 and $5000. Less than 1% were worth over $5000. Air New Zealand announced it was extending the expiry of its Covid credits in September last year, giving customers until the end of January 2024 to book, and until the end of 2024 to travel. At the time, chief customer and sales officer Leanne Geraghty said the extension would affect around 500,000 customers. But unlike Qantas, Air New Zealand won’t share a dollar amount for how much those unspent credits are worth. An airline spokesperson said this was due to “commercial sensitivity”. Customers who have credits with Virgin Australia, which went into voluntary administration in April 2020, have until the end of December this year to book and travel. The airline also declined to disclose the value or number of outstanding credits, saying it was “commercial in confidence”. Story has more.<br/>
