It seems the bad news about Qantas never ends. This week the airline was fined $100 million for selling tickets on flights that were already cancelled or never existed.
At least Qantas fessed up early and agreed to pay the negotiated $100 million penalty, but that’s cold comfort for the thousands of passengers caught up in the scam.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), in addition to these penalties, on 5 May 2024 Qantas gave an undertaking to the ACCC that it would pay about $20 million to consumers who purchased tickets on flights that Qantas had already decided to cancel, or in some cases who were reaccommodated on those flights after their original flights were cancelled.
The ACCC says Qantas admitted that senior managers knew that cancelled flights were not immediately removed from sale; that some consumers booked tickets for flights that had already been cancelled; that existing ticketholders were not immediately notified; and that the ‘Manage Booking’ pages were not promptly updated when flights were cancelled.
“Qantas admitted that it benefitted from the conduct by obtaining revenue from consumers who may have chosen a cheaper Qantas flight or a flight with another carrier had they known their chosen flight had already been cancelled,” the ACCC stated.
“Qantas also benefitted by retaining revenue from consumers who were less likely to change carrier when they were eventually notified their flight had been cancelled. In addition, by delaying fixing its systems, Qantas saved the costs of doing so at an earlier point in time.”
And just in case you were wondering – well, it can’t be that many flights – the ACCC found the issue covered just over 70,000 flights. The audacity to think they could get away with it is astonishing.
On average, tickets for these cancelled flights were offered for sale for about 11 days after cancellation, and in some cases, for up to 62 days after cancellation.
If you believe you have been affected by Qantas’ action, you can apply for remuneration here.
Bali authorities warn of brutal new sentencing rules
Bali is Australia’s favourite travel destination, with more than 1.5 million visits to Indonesia recorded – and let’s face it, most of those are going to be to Bali – in the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.
And while we love Bali, the island might be fighting back with a raft of changes designed to rein in the rampant tourism. The latest is a brutal new legal regime directly aimed at tourists.
It was announced this week that the authorities have vastly increased the penalties for breaking the law, with some sentencing limits doubled or tripled and, in some cases, life behind bars is recommended.
“As part of a commitment to better handle the number of foreigners breaking the law, Indonesia’s Immigration department is taking both a proactive and reactive approach,” the Bali Sun reported.
“With the implementation of this new rule, the [immigration] sanctions that were previously only valid for six months to one year have now increased to 10 years, plus an additional up to 10 years, which means a maximum of 20 years or a lifetime. In fact, for foreigners who commit serious offences such as being a criminal suspect with a prison sentence of more than five years, detainment sanctions can be applied for life.”
Ouch. All those beach bums living the life in Bali and smoking some weird stuff, take note.
And just in case you don’t think the government is taking this seriously, 20 new patrol Jeeps and 20 new motorcycles have been deployed to support the 125 immigration officers on the island.
This comes as Bali is also cracking down on development. Indonesian authorities have issued a moratorium on any further development in certain areas of the island to slow down the building of hotels and accommodation options. The time frame for the ban is unclear, with some sources quoting two years, and others up to 10 years.
Have you been to Bali? Do you think Bali should slow down development? Why not share your opinion in the comments section below?
Also read: Where to discover the charming secrets of Hawai’i
