Qantas rebuts claims of bogus ticket sales on canceled flights

Qantas Airways rebutted allegations by Australia’s competition regulator that the airline misled passengers by continuing to sell tickets on thousands of flights that it had already decided to cancel. Launching its fight against the watchdog’s lawsuit, Qantas said Monday that the regulator’s case “ignores the realities of the aviation industry.” The airline didn’t delay telling passengers their flights has been canceled for commercial gain, and all customers on scrapped services were offered an alternative flight or refund, it said. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission sued Qantas in late August, claiming the company kept on selling tickets — typically for more than two weeks but sometimes longer than a month — for more than 8,000 scrapped services between May and July 2022. The regulator is seeking a record penalty of more than A$250m ($158m). “The ACCC’s case ignores a fundamental reality and a key condition that applies when airlines sell a ticket,” Qantas said. “While all airlines work hard to operate flights at their scheduled times, no airline can guarantee that.” Qantas’ defense suggests a protracted court case looms over the so-called ghost flight allegations, which triggered the early retirement of then-Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce and led to a boardroom cleanout to repair the airline’s brand. Among a raft of scandals that have diminished the reputation of Qantas, the regulator’s accusations of deceit have been perhaps the most damaging.<br/>