Jetstar and Virgin fined $745,000 for advertising fake airfares

Virgin Australia and Jetstar have been ordered to pay fines of nearly three quarters of a million dollars after they were found to have duped consumers by advertising fake airfares which ballooned as people moved through their web and mobile sites.

The Federal Court ordered the fines after after convicting both airlines of misleading and deceptive conduct. Jetstar’s breaches related to specific advertised airfares on its website in 2013 and on the mobile site in 2014. Virgin was found to have made false or misleading representations about specific advertised airfares on its mobile site in 2014.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission alleged the budget carriers had used “drip pricing” which lured consumers with cheap fares before adding additional fees and charges.