Federal Court to hear class action against Jetstar for COVID-19 flight refund policies
A legal firm alleges that Jetstar violated the law by issuing vouchers instead of refunds to passengers whose flights were canceled during the COVID pandemic.
Jetstar is facing a class action in the Federal Court of Australia for allegedly failing to refund tickets for canceled flights between 2020 and 2022 amid the pandemic.
According to Echo Law, which filed the lawsuit against Jetstar on August 21, airlines were obligated by law to refund canceled flights during the pandemic.
“Instead, Jetstar provided most customers with travel credits (also known as travel vouchers), which came with significant limitations,” a statement from Echo Law explained.
Therefore, these travel credits were of lower value to customers compared to the refunds they were entitled to receive.
The law firm is urging affected passengers to participate in the class action at no cost, suggesting that customers may be eligible for compensation even if they have used their provided flight credits.
In response, a spokesperson for Jetstar informed The Epoch Times that the airline is currently assessing the allegations made in the class action.
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Last year, expiration dates were lifted on COVID vouchers, allowing them to be used without time constraints,” they added.
Furthermore, these vouchers are versatile, as they can be applied to multiple bookings for multiple individuals.
The Epoch Times has learned that in August 2023, expiration dates were eliminated from all Jetstar vouchers, although they are not redeemable for cash.
Lawyers from Echo Law argue that Jetstar’s failure to provide cash refunds favored the airline financially at the expense of customers, constituting a violation of contract.
They allege that Jetstar engaged in misleading or deceptive behavior in violation of Australian Consumer Law by deceiving customers and engaged in unethical conduct.
“When Jetstar canceled those flights, the appropriate action would have been to promptly refund customers’ money,” stated Echo Law Partner Andrew Paull.
“Jetstar customers were forced to hold onto millions of dollars in restricted travel credits, despite not agreeing to this in the airline’s terms and conditions.
Jetstar portrays itself as a value-focused, affordable airline committed to enabling ‘more people to fly, more frequently,’ yet it is a highly profitable arm of the Qantas Group that prioritized profits over customer interests during the widespread flight cancellations caused by COVID.”
The class action aims to recuperate any outstanding refunds, compensate for the discrepancy between the value of travel credits and cash refunds, as well as interest and consequential losses such as loss of use of funds.
Echo Law previously initiated a class action against Qantas in 2023 for similar issues arising from the pandemic.
Like the Jetstar case, Echo Law contends that Qantas customers were entitled to refunds instead of flight credits.
