Virgin Australia offers refunds to 61,000 passengers after charging incorrect itinerary change fees

Virgin Australia is offering refunds to more than 60,000 passengers, after an internal error led to inflated itinerary change fees being charged over the past five years. The airline has apologised and launched an itinerary change claim program, as it begins informing passengers who are eligible for refunds over the incorrect fees charged to customers making changes to their bookings between 21 April 2020 and 31 March this year. A Virgin Australia spokesperson said the company recently discovered the issue and launched an internal investigation, which has found about 61,000 customers – or about 0.1% of all bookings processed in the five-year window – incurred the incorrect charges. The airline has since taken issue to prevent the charges from occurring in the future, while appointing Deloitte to conduct the refund claim process. It has launched an online portal for the program. The average refund amount is $55 per guest. Guardian Australia is aware of customers who have been told they are eligible for as much as a $200 refund. Virgin’s spokesperson said “we sincerely apologise to those affected guests” and noted the airline had launched the refund program proactively. It has informed the consumer watchdog of the initiative. The refund program is open for 12 months. Eligible customers will be contacted by the airline.<br/>