Qantas is currently dealing with an unprecedented situation due to the coronavirus crisis and continuing Government restrictions.

The Australian airline has previously made the announcement of suspending all Qantas international flights from the end of March until at least 31 May 2020, a reduction of domestic flying by 60 per cent until the end of May and temporary closures of international and domestic lounges.

Travel credits

Qantas is currently offering customers ‘travel credits’ if they cancel booked flights up until the end of May.

From a Facebook post on the official Qantas page, the airline explains that they will be doing everything they can to support customers during an uncertain period.

“We understand that many people’s travel plans have been impacted by the spread of Coronavirus and various government travel restrictions,” Qantas writes in the social media post.

“This situation is unprecedented, evolving and challenging for all involved. Whilst this is outside of our control, we are doing everything we can to support our customers.

“From today, we are giving customers who hold tickets for domestic and international travel the ability to cancel their booking and retain the value as travel credit. The offer is available until 31 March for travel booked up to 31 May 2020 and applies to all Qantas and QantasLink services.”

However, if you take this option - or have already done so - you will not have the option to claim a refund since you’ve already accepted a travel credit for your flight. This may be deemed as a ‘change of mind’ according to the ACCC.

But if you haven’t and your flight has now been cancelled, and you’ve received an email about it, you might be eligible for a refund instead.

Refunds

If you had a flight coming up with Qantas, it will most likely be cancelled and you’ll receive an email like the one below.

Qantas travel voucher email. Credit: 7NEWS.com.au

This means that your upcoming flight has been automatically been added to your account as a travel credit towards a future flight.

The voucher confirmation email will contain the booking reference, voucher value and expiry date of the voucher.

To see if you are eligible for a refund, instead of the travel credit, you need to log into your account. When you’ve logged in, you might see something like the below.

In your bookings, you might see the following. Credit: 7NEWS.com.au

Click on ‘MANAGE’ and you’ll see the details of your voucher - much like the email you received.

If you don’t have this in your account, head directly to your travel voucher page here using the booking reference from the email you received.

The manage your booking login screen on the Qantas website. Credit: Qantas

Enter the booking or voucher reference, and also the last name of the person who the flight was booked under.

Once you’re on the details page of the travel voucher, head right down the bottom of the page where you will find a ‘Refund’ section with a button that you can tap.

This will start the process of a refund back to your original payment method and can take between three to five business days.

Consumer rights

If all the above fails, and you cannot change your travel voucher into a refund, the ACCC has released advice on travel cancellations due to the coronavirus crisis.

The ACCC advises that if travel is cancelled, they expect refunds or a credit note or voucher in most circumstances.

But they also warn that if a flight is cancelled due to government restrictions, your rights as a consumer might be impacted, and in these circumstances, you may be entitled to a refund under the terms and conditions of the ticket or make a claim under a travel insurance policy.

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“Given the exceptional circumstances, the ACCC encourages all businesses to treat consumers fairly and compassionately,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.

“We welcome the decisions by many businesses who are already offering refunds to all ticketholders, and expect other event and travel businesses to also offer remedies to all affected consumers when events or travel services are cancelled.”

“Consumers in all situations should contact businesses directly to request a refund or other remedy such as a credit note or voucher,” Mr Sims said.

“Failure by any business to honour its cancellations or refunds policy may constitute misleading conduct under the Australian Consumer Law.”

“We also remind consumers that many small and medium business are trying to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak as best they can. We urge consumers to exercise patience and treat service staff with courtesy and respect as they fulfil consumer requests for refunds and remedies,” Mr Sims said.