Jetstar is facing a class action over its handling of cancelled COVID flights.
The budget airline has been accused of failing to refund tickets on services it cancelled during the pandemic.
Melbourne firm Echo Law has launched a class action on behalf of impacted customers.
Echo Law is also overseeing a similar class action against Jetstar’s parent company, Qantas.
Here’s the latest.
Jetstar class action
Echo Law has launched a class action against Jetstar in the Federal Court. A class action is a type of lawsuit where many people are represented by one entity.
The claim relates to cancelled domestic and international Jetstar flights between 2020 and 2022.
The class action alleges Jetstar acted unlawfully because it failed to refund all impacted customers, offering them travel credits instead. It alleges Jetstar was legally required to refund these flights.
According to Echo Law, these travel credits were of “much lower value” than customers’ entitled refunds.
It argues that by holding customer funds, the airline “attained unlawful financial benefit (including from the interest accrued).”
The law firm claims Jetstar engaged in a “pattern of unconscionable conduct, in contravention of Australian Consumer Law.”
Qantas
Qantas has also faced scrutiny over its handling of cancelled COVID flights.
In August 2023, the airline scrapped an end-of-year deadline for customers to redeem COVID travel credits.
It announced customers with unused credits could request a cash refund instead.
However, Qantas did not offer refunds for Jetstar “vouchers”.
Jetstar
Last year, Qantas announced Jetstar customers could use their COVID vouchers indefinitely. However, they are not redeemable for cash.
A spokesperson for Jetstar noted the travel vouchers are “multi-use, meaning they can be used across multiple bookings and for multiple people.”
The airline told TDA it would “review the claims filed in the class action”.
