BUDGET carrier AirAsia X has promised to provide refunds within 14 days for passengers still out of pocket after a new Melbourne-Bali service scheduled to start on Boxing Day did not go ahead.
The airline has entered into an agreement with Australia’s consumer watchdog after a flood of complaints about the last minute flight cancellations that impacted thousands of people.
Others were affected by the decision not to go ahead with an Adelaide-Kuala Lumpur service due to “financial pressures”.
In some cases, passengers had to wait several months to be reimbursed for flights that were cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.
Melbourne solicitor Glenys Dolphin was told in February her refund for more than $2000 worth of flights had been “validated” but it took until April 13 for the airline to pay up.
Under a new agreement with the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission, AirAsia X has committed to processing any future requests for alternative flights, credits and refunds within 14 days and processing claims for reasonable out of pocket expenses in a “fair and reasonable manner”.
“Consumers are entitled to compensation for any reasonably foreseeable loss due to the failure of a business to deliver a contracted service, and these claims should be dealt with promptly,” said ACCC Chairman Rod Sims.
“It is very important that any business has in place systems and processes to properly handle and consider customer refunds and that they can adjust quickly when things go wrong and there is an increase in the number of claims.”
AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes has previously apologised to Australian customers for the debacle, blaming the series of events that befell the airline over the Christmas period.
The failure to get regulatory approval for the Melbourne-Bali service was followed by the tragic crash of an Indonesia AirAsia plane on December 28.
All 162 people on board were killed when the A320 plunged into the Java Sea during a flight from Surabaya to Singapore.
Mr Fernandes said the events had resulted in more calls than the AirAsia call centre was able to handle, and a delay in processing of refunds and flight changes.
The ACCC has advised anyone still out of pocket as a result of the AirAsia X cancellations in Australia to re-lodge claims previously made for reassessment.
AirAsia X has since been granted approval from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority for its Melbourne-Bali service which began in mid-March.