Jetstar penalty fees shot down by court ruling
A Sunday Herald Sun article says that Victoria’s air travellers will have more rights to change their travel plans without incurring huge penalty fees, after a landmark legal ruling this week, when budget airline Jetstar was ordered by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to refund $600 it charged a passenger for changing a name on a ticket.
The ruling was expected to force airlines to review their terms, which imposed heavy penalties for changing a ticket and consumer groups said the decision could also help curb bank penalty fees and charges by mobile phone companies.
The VCAT found Jetstar had received an unfair “windfall” from the penalty fee it charged a Victorian woman merely to change the name on a return ticket from Melbourne to Honolulu.
The passenger paid $437.39 for the fare and was then charged $600.93 more to change the name on the Jet Saver ticket when her sister was unable to travel.
VCAT found that a name change did not cause any detriment to the airline and that the penalty was unfair under section 2B of the Fair Trading Act.
Consumer Affairs Victoria welcomed the ruling, saying it would allow other Victorian travellers to fight expensive penalty fees imposed by airlines.
“We call on Jetstar and other airlines operating in Victoria to remove similar terms from their contracts,” a Consumer Affairs spokeswoman said.
Jetstar Spokeswoman Simone Pregellio said the airline was seeking legal advice on the ruling.
Qantas said it would not be affected by the ruling because it did not have the same condition in its fare rules.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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