KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand has confirmed it is one of six airlines being sued by 1400 Australian travel agents for $80 million in commission which they claim should have been paid on fuel surcharges.
The class action alleges that because airlines break fuel surcharges out from ticket prices, agents are being deprived of commission which should be based on the full price of the fare.
The lawsuit - being taken by law firm Slater & Gordon - is seeking A$50 million ($56.2 million) from Qantas. It is unknown how much Air NZ could be liable for.
Air NZ yesterday confirmed it had been served legal papers in Sydney. It was too early to comment in detail, spokesperson Tracey Palmer said.
"We are confident that these proceedings have little chance of success. And if they did, they would not have a material impact on Air NZ," she said.
Travel agents in New Zealand are likely to seek compensation if the Australian case is successful.
House of Travel said yesterday it was following the case closely. "If successful it may have ramifications for tickets sold in New Zealand," said retail director Brent Thomas.
It was likely that the Travel Agents Association (TAANZ) would look into the matter, he said.
Representatives of TAANZ were not available for comment yesterday.
A Commerce Commission decision forced Air NZ to abandon the practice of adding separate fuel surcharges in this country. But in Australia, it is still industry practice.
Also, the class action is back-dated to May 2004 so if applied here could still affect Air NZ which only fully abandoned the use of surcharges here early this year.
