Qantas has issued an apology to customers amid allegations they continued to advertise tickets for thousands of cancelled flights last year.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week took the airline to court, alleging it sold online tickets for more than 8000 flights scheduled to leave between May and July last year, even after it had cancelled them.
In a lengthy statement issued today, Qantas said it would review the allegations made by the ACCC and have more to say once it had the opportunity.
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The consumer watchdog also claimed Qantas failed to inform ticket holders about the cancellation of more than 10,000 flights during the same period.
"These allegations have caused significant concern among our customers, our people and the general community," Qantas said in a statement.
"We want to address those allegations as best we can without cutting across the legal process we are now involved in, which follows an ACCC investigation with which we fully co-operated."
The ACCC brought the Federal Court action after an extensive investigation.
Qantas cancelled almost one in four flights between May and July last year, and scrapped about 15,000 out of 66,000 domestic and international flights in its schedule, ACCC investigators claim.
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"The period of time that the ACCC's claims relate to, in mid-2022, was one of well-publicised upheaval and uncertainty across the aviation industry, as Qantas struggled to restart post-COVID," Qantas said in its statement.
"We openly acknowledge that our service standards fell well short and we sincerely apologise.
"We have worked hard to fix them since and that work continues.
"The ACCC's allegations come at a time when Qantas' reputation has already been hit hard on several fronts.
"We want the community to know that we hear and understand their disappointment.
"We know that the only way to fix it is by delivering consistently.
"We know it will take time to repair. And we are absolutely determined to do that."
Qantas last week confirmed it would scrap the expiry date on $370 million of unredeemed Qantas credits for flights that were cancelled or changed during COVID-19.
The move was made after Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the company would claim the money if it wasn't used by the end of the year.
