Qantas fined over misleading ads

Australia's Qantas Airways has been fined $380,000 after pleading guilty to 122 charges of breaching the Fair Trading Act, the Commerce Commission said yesterday.

The prosecution of Qantas over misleading the public in its advertisements followed a $600,000 fine for Air New Zealand in June after it pleaded guilty to 112 similar charges.

The Auckland District Court also ordered Qantas pay costs of $15,860.

The commission withdrew a further 277 charges against Qantas.

Customers complained they had to pay more than the advertised price for airfares because of extra surcharges and levies, Commerce Commission chairwoman Paula Rebstock said.

In some advertisements, between September 2001 and September 2002, extra charges were not disclosed. In others extra charges were imposed to cover normal operating costs, such as the cost of fuel, when they should have been included in the price.

"Without accurate advertising, customers can't shop around and airlines have no incentive to compete and offer lower fares," she said.

"New Zealanders told us they were tired of being misled about the cost of flying."

Qantas and Air New Zealand are now using all-inclusive prices in their advertising.

- NZPA