Consumer NZ welcomes the news that the Commerce Commission will be filing charges against Jetstar, alleging the airline misled passengers about their rights when flights were delayed or cancelled for reasons within Jetstar’s control.
“This news follows our complaint to the Commerce Commission in October 2022. After receiving numerous complaints from disrupted customers, we told the Commission we thought Jetstar was misleading passengers about their rights under the Civil Aviation Act,” said Jessica Walker, campaigns manager at Consumer.
“We raised concerns that Jetstar was falsely claiming it wasn’t liable to cover costs (such as accommodation, meals, transfers and alternative travel arrangements) after flights were disrupted for reasons within the airline’s control.
"A central focus of our flight rights campaign has been a call for airlines to clearly tell people their rights if their flight is cancelled or delayed.”
Under the Civil Aviation Act (CAA), when a flight delay or cancellation occurs due to reasons within the airline’s control the disrupted passenger has specific rights.
“Airlines are not required to tell people about their rights, and this has led to a situation where travellers don’t understand their rights - or even worse are misled about their rights. The unfortunate thing about this situation is passengers often miss out on claiming back costs they're entitled to,” said Walker.
“The Commission’s decision to file charges sends a strong signal to the airlines that they must do better, or face consequences. There's no doubt airlines are better off financially if they fail to communicate with passengers about their rights when flights are disrupted.”
Consumer recently met with the Minister for Transport and expressed concerns that airlines are not currently required to tell people their rights under the CAA.
Amendments to the CAA will soon give the governor general the ability to make regulations, on the recommendation of the minister, requiring aviation industry participants to provide information publicly about the rights of passengers. The amendments come into force on 5 April 2025.
“We urged the minister to use his powers and recommend the governor general make regulations, requiring airlines to provide information publicly about the rights of passengers, and to bring our rights in line with those enjoyed in other jurisdictions.
“In the interim, we are very happy the Commerce Commission has stepped in and is holding Jetstar to account for allegedly misleading passengers.”
Flight rights campaign
We’re calling for airlines to communicate honestly with passengers about the reason for cancellations and delays, and clearly display their rights.
