Qantas says the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has ignored the “fundamental reality” of the aviation industry when deciding to pursue legal action against the airline.
The ACCC alleged Qantas had engaged in false, misleading, or deceptive conduct in advertising and selling tickets for more than 8,000 flights in 2022 which had already been cancelled in its system.
In a statement released by Qantas on Monday, it said the ACCC’s legal case ignored the reality that airlines can’t guarantee specific flight times.
“In purely legal terms, the ACCC’s case ignores a fundamental reality and a key condition that applies when airlines sell a ticket,” the statement read.
“While all airlines work hard to operate flights at their scheduled times, no airline can guarantee that.
“That’s because the nature of travel – when weather and operational issues mean delays and cancellations are inevitable and unavoidable – makes such a guarantee impossible.”
The airline added in the statement it had no delayed informing passengers of delayed or cancelled flights for “commercial gain”.
It said it was done to give staff time to establish alternate travel options and avoid further blowouts in call centre centre wait times.
Qantas did acknowledge however there were delays experienced by customers which it “sincerely regretted” but remained adamant customers were reaccommodated on other flights as close to their original flight details or offered a full refund.