Family hit with shock $100K flight bill after Qanats takes back its ‘good will’ offer

QANTAS AIRBUS A330-303 VH-QPC (MSN 564)

A Brisbane man was astounded when, after booking four inexpensive first-class flights to the US due to a Qantas website error, he received a bill exceeding $100,000. This occurred despite the airline's promise to rebook customers in business class without additional charges.

In the early hours of the 23rd of August, Qantas mistakenly offered first-class tickets between Australia and the US at discounts of up to 85%.

While the airline's policy allows for cancellation and refunds in the event of a clear pricing error, it chose to rebook affected passengers in business class as a goodwill gesture, offering seats at up to 65% below the regular business class fare. However, passenger A Paul and his family, who were excitedly planning their trip and notifying friends in the States of their visit, were let down when Qantas did not honor its commitment.

Mr. Paul had secured four first-class return flights to Dallas, Texas, for the following year at approximately $17,500, opting for Qantas' 'Book Now, Pay Later' service with a $100 deposit to reserve the flights. Mr. Paul, like others who had paid in full, received an encouraging email from Qantas Customer Care stating that they would be rebooked in business class on the same flight at no extra cost.

The email assured Mr. Paul that no action was needed on his part and that updated tickets would be sent to him. Yet, without further communication, Mr. Paul discovered four days later that the total amount due had surged from $17,465 to $100,121. He described to reporters his shock at the situation, suspecting it might be "another pricing error."

Mr. Paul recounted the start of a "frustrating" week filled with calls to Qantas and various customer service representatives. "The experience is quite dreadful; regrettably, each representative tells a completely different story," He stated.

"There's no consistency in the information they provide," he added.

He mentioned that while some representatives offered solutions that never materialised, others seemed confused and were of no help at all, but all Qantas staff lacked compassion.

Eventually, he was advised to submit a complaint form, which he did, only to receive a call the following Friday inquiring if he wished to pay $56,000 for the business class tickets.

Mr. Paul expressed that he would have been understanding if he had been promptly informed of a pricing error and that the terms and conditions did not permit honoring it, accepting a refund of his deposit instead.

"That would have concluded the matter," he remarked.

However, he expressed significant frustration over the inconsistent information from staff, the lack of empathy, and from those who seemed unsure about the website error.