Qantas Airways has announced that it will be downgrading hundreds of passengers who secured first-class tickets at a heavily discounted rate due to a coding error last week. The Australian airline sold approximately 300 first-class round-trip tickets between the United States and Australia for as low as $3,390—an 85% reduction from the usual price of $13,000 to $20,000.
A Costly Mistake
The error, which occurred last Thursday, allowed savvy travellers to snap up the drastically reduced tickets within an eight-hour window. The first-class experience promised luxury at its finest, including access to premium whiskey and champagne, an à la carte menu, a memory foam mattress, and even a "pillow menu" to ensure a comfortable sleep. However, Qantas quickly realised the mistake and has since moved to rectify the situation.
Despite the initial excitement, passengers who thought they had snagged the deal of a lifetime will not be flying in first class after all. Instead, Qantas has decided to rebook these passengers in business class—one tier down from the luxurious first-class seats they initially purchased. The airline emphasized that these passengers would not incur any additional costs for the upgrade.
"This is a case where the fare was actually too good to be true," Qantas stated in a press release, clarifying that the downgrade to business class was a "gesture of goodwill." The company also noted that even in business class, the passengers would still be paying significantly less—about 65% less—than the typical fare for that class of service.
Legal and Consumer Repercussions
Under Australian law, Qantas is not legally obligated to honour fares if they were incorrectly priced. The airline's terms and conditions clearly state that in cases of obvious pricing errors, it reserves the right to cancel the booking and offer a full refund.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) weighed in on the matter, noting that while businesses should strive to advertise their prices correctly, errors can occur. "Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), a business should not engage in conduct that is false or misleading in the sale or marketing of goods and services," an ACCC spokesperson said. However, the spokesperson added, "Businesses are entitled to withdraw an offer or product from sale to correct inaccurate pricing or other incorrect information."
The ACCC further explained that while Qantas is within its rights to withdraw the erroneous first-class offer, the airline should provide some form of remedy to affected consumers. In this case, Qantas opted to offer business class as an alternative, which the ACCC has acknowledged as a reasonable response.
Not the First Airline Blunder
This incident is not the first time an airline has mistakenly offered significantly discounted fares. In 2019, Cathay Pacific accidentally sold $16,000 business-class seats for just $675. In that case, the airline chose to honour the tickets, allowing the fortunate passengers to enjoy a luxurious flight at a fraction of the cost. However, airlines do not always opt to honour such mistakes. In 2018, British Airways canceled tickets to Dubai and Tel Aviv that had been mistakenly sold for £1 instead of £200.
Qantas's Recent Struggles
The timing of this incident adds to a string of controversies that have plagued Qantas in recent years, ultimately leading to the resignation of CEO Alan Joyce last September. Earlier this year, Qantas agreed to pay a $79 million penalty and compensate passengers after selling tickets for flights that had already been cancelled. The airline also faced a data breach in May that exposed passengers' personal information through its app.
Additionally, Qantas has been criticised for frequent flight delays, poor customer service, lost baggage, and allegations of underpaying some of its workers. These issues have caused the airline to drop out of the top 20 best airlines globally, placing 24th in Skytrax's world airline award rankings this year.
Despite these challenges, a Qantas spokesperson stated in June that the airline has been "listening to our customers and our people and have been acting on this feedback with significant investment already underway." The spokesperson added, "We want our customers to feel the difference from the changes that we have put in place, and in recent months, we have seen customer satisfaction levels improve."
