The consumer watchdog was contacted about the airline 1780 times over the period,an increase of 68 per cent,as Qantas and its rivals struggled with staff shortages and supply chain issues,which led to mishandled bags,delays and cancelled flights.

“As Australia’s largest airline and an airline that generally charges a premium to fly,customers expect a better service,” the consumer watchdog’s report said.

“Qantas needs to do more to adequately invest in its systems,processes and people to dramatically improve its customer contact services and customer dispute resolution.”

Consumer groups Choice and the Consumers Federation of Australia have advocated for flight credits to be valid for at least three years and have both said so in submissions to the government’s aviation white paper.

Choice head of policy Patrick Veyret said the airline needed to do more to restore consumer trust and called for the credits to be treated like gift cards.

“The intense public outrage in response has clearly had some impact on the airline — but
there’s much more to do to make all credits workable for all consumers,” Veyret said.

Data from the Bureau of Infrastructure,Transport and Research Economics released on Thursday shows the cheapest discount economy and business class fares were at the highest rates in March since December last year despite trending down from a 15-year peak in the middle of 2022. The cheapest airfares this month are about 5 per cent more expensive than the same period last year.

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