I’m seeking advice on what avenues are available for resolving a dispute with an international airline (Qatar) operating in Australia. I have encountered a series of issues with the airline, including being charged non-refundable fees after following their advice to cancel and rebook tickets, as well as errors they made in cancelling my seat reservations without notice.
Despite numerous attempts to resolve the matter directly with Qatar, I’ve found no effective avenues for escalation or independent review. It seems there’s no clear authority or ombudsman to assist with disputes involving international airlines in Australia.
What options do I have to pursue this further? Has anyone successfully resolved similar issues?
Any guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated.
If you haven’t already looked, it is worth reading the terms and conditions associated with a ticket to see what it says in relation to cancellations and associated fees. While an airline might recommend a cancellation is carried out by a ticket holder, the T&Cs will be followed in relation to a cancellation.
As it appears you actioned the cancellation, the cancellation conditions associated with a consumer cancelling will apply, including any associated fees.
Qatar Airline Cancellation T&Cs, including fees can be found here:
If a business caused an error, it is usually the business which is responsible for resolving this error. It is assumed the error is separate to a cancellation request being made as indicated above.
If you wish to take further, a possible avenue is to lodge a dispute with your local office of fair trading. When lodging a dispute, you will need to present information/evidence that they didn’t cancel the tickets in accordance with their T&Cs, as well as where the airline made an error.
I had a name mismatch issue with Qatar Airways, and they told me I couldn’t change the names on the seat selection. They offered a Qatar credit in the wrong name which would make the credit forever unusable. Based on their advice and relying on Qatar’s 24 hour fee free policy, I cancelled the original airline tickets and rebooked new ones, ensuring the seat selections from the original booking were matched to the new tickets as per Qatar’s advice.
However, after I went through the trouble of rematching the seats, Qatar cancelled and refunded my seat selections without notice, leaving me without any assigned seating on my new flight. This is especially frustrating as they first told me they couldn’t refund the seat selection costs leading me to rebook another ticket, then they do refund! Qatar advertise a “24-hour fee-free cancellation” policy, but I was still charged a $80 per ticket non-refundable credit card fee.
In contrast, airlines like Virgin and Qantas honour their 24-hour cancellation policies without imposing such hidden fees, making the experience far more customer-friendly. Qatar’s handling of this situation has caused significant inconvenience and feels misleading. Has another encountered the same?
You could start the formal process by putting your complaint in writing, if you have not done so already. After that it would be your State office of Fair Trading. If that doesn’t lead to a successful resolution, you can then see if your Civil and Administrative Tribunal or Magistrates Court (who you use will depend on your State) will achieve an outcome.
Legal advice is strongly recommended, there are free legal services you can use (they are not means tested). We do list some of them at the following link.
I think that using the Qatar Airways dispute process, and appealing to their sense of fairness, may be the only practical way.
The ACA only covers Australian airlines. And state based CATs or small claim tribunals probably don’t have jurisdiction over non-Australian businesses and those operating under Federal laws. Likewise state fair trading bodies.
Airlines operating in Australia have been allowed to set their own terms and conditions when it comes to things like refunds and cancellations. Australia continues to be way behind rules imposed on airlines in such places like the US and Europe. Although the Federal Gov is ‘looking into it’. With something, maybe, coming in 2026. Maybe.
Did Qatar suggest using the 24 hour cancellation fee free period as fees were less ($80 compared to $100)?
Qatar Airlines state:
Fee-free cancellation does not apply to ‘Lite’ fares.
Changes can be made online.
A fee may apply for flights departing within 3 days of booking.
Please read the applicable fare rules at the time of booking.
Fee-free cancellation may vary depending on local consumer laws.
What does the fare a T&C say about refunding credit card/payment surcharges? It is possible the credit card surcharges aren’t refundable as Qatar pays merchant fees for credit card use even if the flight fare is refunded. The payment process might also have explained how surcharges are dealt with in relation to cancellations. This is separate to the 24 hour fee free cancellation where fares are refunded.
If the T&Cs state credit card/payment surcharges will be refunded along with fares, you have a case to take further. If T&Cs state credit card/payment surcharges are non-refundable, then it is unlikely you will have success in pursuing.
Did they say why this occurred?
Qatar cancelling a ticket is different to a passenger cancelling a ticket. Qatar may refund when they cancel, but not when a passenger cancels.
I attempted to use Qatar Airways’ online dispute process, but their customer service staff are unhelpful, rigidly sticking to their policy with no option for complaint escalation. It’s baffling that, despite being an international airline, there seems to be no protection for Australian consumers. How can a “24-hour fee-free” cancellation policy be considered free when there’s a hidden credit card charge, regardless of whether you cancel within or outside that period? Has anyone else experienced this? If this were Virgin or Qantas, the issue would likely have been resolved by now. It’s been three months, and I’m still waiting for a response.
As outlined above, it will be in the T&Cs. The T&Cs will apply. It will be worth checking the fare and booking T&Cs.
In our own business, we don’t get merchant fees back for refunds (such as through booking cancellations where a prepayment has been made). This changed our approach to payments, and now have a ‘pay in person on arrival’ policy to avoid refunds and minimise financial losses. I suspect many businesses are similar and will want to pass on the merchant fees which are non-refundable to the business, so the business doesn’t take a financial hit from customers which change their mind or cancel something which is prepaid.
