Qantas and Jetstar are being criticised for an “unfair” Covid credit scheme, despite extending the deadline for customers to use the credits by 12 months.
The airlines announced on Thursday they were giving customers an additional 12 months to use their Covid credits, carry-overs from the extensive cancellations and border closures that came during the pandemic.
The credits have been extended three times since 2020, with the current extension designed to ensure customers use their remaining credits for domestic or international travel by 31 December 2023.
Customers have until December 2024 to complete their travel, with a recent analysis showing that there is $800m in Covid credits still held by Qantas and Jetstar customers.
A total of 76% of the credits are worth less than $500, while 24% are worth between $500 and $5,000. Fewer than 1% are worth more than $5,000.
The Qantas Group chief customer officer, Markus Svensson, said both airlines were trying to make it easier for customers to access the credits.
“We literally had millions of bookings that were cancelled during several waves of lockdowns and border closures.
“No airline had systems that were designed to manage that in a seamless way and we realise there’s been frustration for some customers as a result.
“Our main goal is for everyone who has a Covid credit to be able to put it to good use, which is why we’re doing one final extension of the travel expiry date by 12 months.”
But the rollout of the credits faced criticism, with consumer advocacy group Choice saying the credit system was “still unfair.”
It said the system only allowed customers to use the credits for flights of equivalent or greater value, but not for anything cheaper.
Patrick Veyret, the head of policy and government relations at Choice, said it gave Qantas a 2022 Shonky award for the system, which had “let customers down time and time again”.
“The intense public outrage in response has clearly had some impact on the airline – but there’s much more to do to make all credits workable for all consumers.
“Some Qantas flight credits can only be used for a booking of equivalent or greater value – so if you have a $300 flight credit, you can’t use it to book a $290 flight. That is clearly unfair.
“Qantas customers also frequently complain that when they go to rebook a flight at the same time on the same route, they have to pay significantly more when using a credit than they paid for the original flight.”
In April 2022, Choice filed a complaint with the ACCC on the restrictions on Qantas’s credit redemption rules.
Qantas was one of the most complained about businesses on the NSW Fair Trading complaints register for the past six months.
Veyret said the credits should be simplified in their execution, and allow customers greater flexibility.
“Flight credits should work like gift cards,” he said. “People should have the choice to transfer the credits to other people, as well as split the credits over a number of transactions.”
