Calls for compensation for cancelled / delayed flights

[bladeau1981]

ABC Article
A few snippets from the article which is actually quite long

"The problem with the existing travel protections is that they don't mandate things like telling people what they're entitled to, or when they're entitled to a refund.

"There's a lot of information that can be provided to people to tell them what the existing consumer protections are."

One example, he said, is airlines telling people they can get a credit when they are actually also entitled to a refund.

"There's also scope for actually improving the existing consumer protections," Mr Bird said.

"We're really falling behind countries like the UK, the EU, even New Zealand, or even in countries like Indonesia, where we've seen that there's a level of compensation that we just don't have in Australian consumer law."

"Well-resources industry ombudsman needed to take pressure off states
CHOICE also wants a dedicated industry ombudsman to replace the airline-funded Aviation Consumer Advocate, which it gave a Shonky Award last year for being "little more than a forwarding service".

The ACCC and state consumer affairs agencies are instead reporting an increase in complaints related to airlines. "

Nice to see some media outlets bringing this to a wider audience and seemingly having groups like Choice getting behind it might even get some legs behind things. Not holding my breath here but it is a start I suppose.

 

[JohnK]

I guess the more that get behind it the better chance we have of changes.

Fancy downgrading someone from business to economy and telling them they owe money because last minute full economy is more expensive than discount business purchased months in advance.

This practice has to stop and so does the practice of cancelling flights and offering refund instead of alternate flights.