AIRASIA IN HOT SEAT FOR MEL-DPS BLUNDER

AIRASIA had a turbulent year in 2014, making headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent months. The Airasia Flight 8501 that crashed into the Java Sea featured most prominently in global headlines, with investigations likely to continue well into the year. But the carrier’s Indonesian arm also felt the wrath of the media after pulling the pin on its planned Melbourne to Bali service after hitting regulatory hurdles - but not before selling thousands of tickets to customers. The carrier received approval from Indonesia in September before announcing Melbourne as its inaugural route back in October. The following day, the carrier advertised tickets from as low as $99 while regulatory approvals were still underway – a process that is currently allowed under Australian law. However, the blunder came to a head on Christmas Day when passengers were notified via text message that their flights – due to commence on December 27 – had been cancelled after the carrier failed to gain all the required regulatory approvals. Customers were rerouted to Bali via Kuala Lumpur on a later flight, more than doubling the journey to 13 hours and throwing travellers’ holiday plans into disarray. The carrier offered refunds to travellers scheduled to fly until the end of January, while it’s believed thousands more tickets were sold for following months. Consumer affairs group Choice came out with guns blazing, claiming travellers were left “high and dry” by the mix up and were entitled to lodge a claim for unexpected expenses. “We believe Airasia has misled consumers by advertising and selling a flight on a route they hadn’t yet been approved to fly,” the company reported on their website. “Consumers are entitled to seek compensation for out-of-pocket expenses, such as unexpected accommodation costs or the cost of booking another airliner.” Choice also issued a reminder that consumers have rights to protect them against “dodgy travel services in Australia”, and encouraged displaced travellers to contact the department of fair trading or take the issue up with the airline. Airasia has been quiet on the issue, but is forging ahead with plans to launch the MEL-DPS service when all regulatory processes have been finalised.