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KUALA LUMPUR: Budget airline AirAsia has come under heavy scrutiny after the cancellation of the inaugural flight of Indonesia AirAsia X from Melbourne to Bali last December.
According to the Malay Mail Online, The Australian daily reported that Aussie regulators were probing the long-haul affiliate of Malaysia’s AirAsia X Bhd, for charges of “deceptive conduct” of selling tickets before gaining Aussie regulators’ approval to fly into Australia.
Indonesia AirAsia started taking bookings for its Bali-Melbourne route in October last year, after getting its permit to operate in Indonesia.
The Australian meanwhile said that Indonesia AirAsia X sold tickets for as low as A$99 (RM276) for Melbourne-Bali flights from December 26 onwards.
The low-cost carrier then sent text messages to passengers on Christmas Day informing them of the scheduled direct flights’ cancellation due to its not having secured regulatory approval from the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to fly the route.
Passengers had no choice but to travel to Bali via Kuala Lumpur, extending their six-hour travel plans by at least 14 hours.
Those that had booked for flights after December 26 were forced to make new bookings.
Consumer rights group CHOICE has reportedly sent the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) a letter regarding the complaints that had begun coming in from consumers who claimed losses amounting to thousands of Australian dollars.
“We will consider this matter, not just in terms of the CHOICE letter but also any complaints we may have received directly,” said Rod Sims, chairman of the ACCC.
According to Daily Mail, CHOICE’s head of media Tom Godfrey said that under Australia’s consumer law passengers should be compensated by the airline for the additional expenses incurred.
“AirAsia sold one thing and delivered something different – and in the process it misled consumers,” said Godfrey.
Godfrey pointed out that if holiday plans were the reason the tickets were purchased, and the route alteration had a major impact on said plans, that would constitute a major failure under Australian Consumer Law.
If this is proven true, consumers would then be eligible to seek restitution from the airline for whatever unexpected expenses were incurred due to the cancellation.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), airlines are permitted to sell tickets before gaining all relevant approvals provided they inform their customers of the flights being subject to regulatory approval.
One of the reasons for AirAsia’s delay in obtaining the approval was the crash of its subsidiary Flight QZ8501 on December 28, which killed all 162 onboard passengers and crew upon plunging into the Java Sea.
Sources familiar with the regulatory process said to WSJ that Australian aviation regulators needed time to re-evaluate the airline’s safety operations.
Indonesia AirAsia X said last month that it was working closely with relevant authorities to complete the administration process and hopes to start flying the Bali-Melbourne route soon.
AirAsia Malaysia was fined in 2012 for contravening the single pricing provision under the Australian consumer law after CHOICE complained that their website, www.airasia.com, had not published some airfare prices inclusive of all taxes, duties, fees and other mandatory charges “in a prominent way and as a single figure”.
Australia’s Federal Court had then fined AirAsia A$200,000 (RM555,536).
