In 2015, the Federal Court of Australia handed down decisions in two separate cases that found that Jetstar Airways and Virgin Australia had separately contravened s29 and s18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

Section 29 of the ACL prohibits businesses from making false or misleading representations about goods or services, while section 18 prohibits businesses from engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct. The proceedings in each case were commenced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

ACCC alleged that by failing to disclose the existence of a booking and service fee per person per flight, the airlines had made false representations concerning the price of the services.

The court ordered that Jetstar Airways pay penalties totaling $545,000. Virgin Australia was ordered to pay $200,000 in penalties.

If you believe your consumer rights may have been breached, please call our Telephone Advice Line on (08) 9221 7066 for a free, confidential discussion.