Airline complaints spike in Australia

Airline complaints spike in Australia
Airline complaints spike in Australia

Michelle Beveridge said she understood the travel industry was facing difficulties and customers needed to be informed. The ACCC said cancellations due to government restrictions did not result in refunds, as would be the case under normal circumstances, and in most cases the terms of the individual booking determined whether someone received a refund or credit.

If you have a dispute with any of the airlines, you can lodge a complaint with the ACCC. The ACCC points out that many travel companies struggle to process the high number of cancellations and advises customers to contact them by email or via their website as soon as possible and to exercise patience. You can refer to airline ombudsman Australia for further information.

Upon a cancellation by an airline and you are entitled to a refund, you must first make a good-faith effort to contact the airline and request a refund.

Customers with important requests will be prioritized after the departure date. If a trip is cancelled, please include a list in the privacy section of your trip. If the airline has a complaint relating to discrimination, disability or sexual misconduct, proceedings will be initiated.

According to a report on the impact of COVID-19 on fair trade, Australia’s Consumer Advocates received more than 24,000 complaints about travel in the past year, an increase of 497%. Some of the flight centres have been the subject of complaints that in some cases, customers were having difficulty getting refunds for cancelled travels during the pandemic.

Australia’s top consumer watchdog has seen a staggering 500 per cent rise in complaints about travel companies, according to new research. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report, 109,466 complaints were received in the first ten months of 2020. Of these, 24,210 complaints related to the conduct of travel companies, an increase of 49.7 per cent on the previous year. You can refer to travel ombudsman Australia for further information.

Other industries where complaints have increased massively include sports and leisure, such as gyms, fuel retailers and insurance companies. Two out of three complaints relate to mobile phones, reflecting an increase in the use of smartphones.

Complaints about mobile phones to the regulator of Australia’s telecommunications have risen 9 per cent this year, making up two-thirds of all complaints received amid rising smartphone use, according to a study on Monday. There have been calls for a new mandatory aviation ombudsman to be set up amid growing concerns that proposed changes to a broken airline complaints system fall short of what is needed to restore consumer confidence in travel. Confidence in the travel industry is so low that a third (31%) of consumers say they do not trust airlines and tour operators, while concerns remain about the right to reimbursement after a trip.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission intervened in a long-running dispute between Regional Express and Qantas, warning it will take enforcement action against any airline that has been deemed anti-competitive. In addition, some passengers have complained that they have been let down by a complicated dispute settlement process and have fought in some cases for years for compensation, despite promises that the cases would be resolved within 90 days.

The US Department of Transportation 2020 Air Travel Consumer Report shows that the national airlines operated 47.2 million flights, the lowest number ever recorded and 40% below 2020 levels.

Dylan Efron’s arrival has left Australians outraged as thousands of Aussies remain stranded. A number of Australians stranded by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic have moved their complaints to the top of the list because they were unable to negotiate safe passage home due to the extreme restrictions imposed by the Australian government.

A variety of activities and measures by a wide range of Australian authorities and agencies have followed the Australian Government as COVID-19 pandemic remains an evolving situation. This overview provides a snapshot of the roles and responsibilities of these agencies related to Covid-19 from mid-May 2020, from a series of publications on the pandemic from the Parliamentary Library. Please note that the discussion about portfolio agencies is limited to those with clearly defined responsibilities and obvious roles in the response of governments.

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