Over 1 million Qantas airline customers to share massive payout
It looks like the financial hits from the COVID-19 pandemic continue to pop up. Qantas has agreed to pay $105 million AUD to settle a class action suit that stemmed from cancelled flights during the pandemic.
More than one million customers qualify for the payout
The class action suit includes more than 1 million people whose flights were cancelled during the pandemic. At the time, they were given flight credits for those cancelled flights, rather than cash.
Even though Qantas agreed to the settlement, the company didn't admit to any liability.
Customers can qualify for a minimum $50 AUD payout
There is no specific blanket amount each customer will get as a payout, but the expected minimum is $50 AUD.
Even though Qantas is paying $105 million, the cost of litigation, commissions, and legal fees will take a big bite out of the total. Only $68 million AUD will be available as a payout for customers.
Qantas has also put out a statement that in addition to the settlement payments, customers with unclaimed COVID-19 credits can also claim a refund.
"We encourage customers to claim a refund by contacting us," said a Qantas spokesperson.
Emails are going out to those who qualify
Echo Law has already started emailing customers who are part of the class action suit and received flight credits for a cancelled flight instead of a cash refund from Jan. 1, 2020 to Nov. 1, 2022.
"Before payments can be made, we need eligible group members in this class action to now take steps to participate in the proposed settlement," said Andrew Paull, Echo Law partner.
"That's why we're reaching out by email and text message using the details that customers provided to Qantas when purchasing tickets."
The payments are expected to take months to process and send out.
Check your flight records
If it sounds like you may qualify for a cash payout, now is the time to check your flight records. Flight credits don't cut it according to this settlement.
Source: Yahoo! Finance
