Ooops!…………airline’s alleged footy swindle!
An article in The Daily Telegraph says that from Jetstar will be reported to the authorities for allegedly trying to swindle customers with a footy finals ad blitz.
The budget carrier bombarded hundreds of thousands of people on its customer database offering flights for just $24, but the tickets are only available for certain flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays between May 3 and May 31 and for Sydneysiders the only destinations are Melbourne and the Gold Coast.
The State Opposition will refer Jetstar to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission this week and if the ACCC decides to act on the matter it could revolutionise the way discount airlines market tickets.
Jetstar yesterday released 24,000 $24 tickets in honour of Geelong’s 24-goal shellacking of Port Adelaide in Saturday’s AFL grand final.
The tickets went on sale at midday and were sold out within two hours.
The airline, which is a sponsor of the Geelong side, has undertaken similar promotions in the past.
Opposition fair trading spokeswoman Catherine Cusack said the ads were misleading and designed to create a buying “frenzy” in which customers would be forced to buy full-price tickets.
Ms Cusack said many budget airline flights had conditions attached but Jetstar’s restrictions were “extreme”.
“The whole pitch is to get people in a frenzy,” she said. “I think it’s very misleading advertising.
“This is about filling up empty seats.” “That’s why I’m going to ask the ACCC to have a look at it.”
Jetstar corporate affairs manager Simon Westaway said the airline had nothing to hide. “That’s standard practice,” he said of the campaign. “The marketing initiatives we undertake are all legally cleared and completely in line with modern day consumer standards.”
Mr Westaway acknowledged flight times were heavily restricted but said the conditions had been made “extremely clear” on the promotional material.
“We target off-peak times when we know it can be much more difficult to sell the seats,” he said.
Jetstar has fallen foul of the ACCC before when in 2004 it ignored a commission request and advertised $19 airfares without including $30 worth of extra taxes and charges in the headline figure.
The following year the ACCC called on the Government to tighten the Trade Practices Act to force carriers to include all extra fees in the one price.
However the commission has previously ruled in Jetstar’s favour, allowing parent firm Qantas to fix ticket prices with its sister airline Jetstar Asia.
Report by The Mole from The Daily Telegraph
John Alwyn-Jones
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