Bumpy ride for Webjet after $9m false advertising fine
The Federal Court ordered the flight comparison site to pay $9 million on Monday for making false or misleading statements about the price of flights and booking confirmations.
In a case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in November 2024, Webjet acknowledged that between 2018 and 2023 it advertised airfares that excluded compulsory fees ranging from about $35 to $55.
The fares were advertised on its website, in promotional emails and on social media posts.
The Webjet fees represented 36 per cent of the ASX-listed firm's total revenue in the period from November 1, 2018 to November 13, 2023.
"Seeking to lure in customers with prices that don't tell the whole story is a serious breach of the Australian Consumer Law," the commission's chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
"Retailers must ensure their advertised prices are accurate. They should clearly disclose additional fees and charges."
The ACCC commenced its investigation after one consumer complained about an airfare advertised for $18, which ended up costing almost three times that amount after the compulsory fees were added.
The Webjet fees comprised the "Webjet servicing fee" and "booking price guarantee" fee, which ranged from $34.90 to $54.90 per booking.
They depended on whether the flights were domestic, to New Zealand and the Pacific or other international destinations.
While Webjet's website, app and most emails contained information about the additional fees, they were in the fine print near the bottom and not clearly communicated to customers.
In its social media posts, Webjet didn't disclose the additional fees at all.
The commission said Webjet admitted liability and it would also foot the bill for some of the ACCC's legal costs.
The online travel agency said in a statement on Monday it had come to an agreement with the commission in February.
"As previously disclosed to the ASX, the parties reached agreement over the proceedings in February 2025. The Federal Court's approval formally disposes of the proceeding," Webjet said.
Travel giant Webjet has been slapped with a $9 million fine after admitting dozens of customers were slugged with hidden fees.
The Federal Court ordered the flight comparison site to pay $9 million on Monday for making false or misleading statements about the price of flights and booking confirmations.
In a case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in November 2024, Webjet acknowledged that between 2018 and 2023 it advertised airfares that excluded compulsory fees ranging from about $35 to $55.
The fares were advertised on its website, in promotional emails and on social media posts.
The Webjet fees represented 36 per cent of the ASX-listed firm's total revenue in the period from November 1, 2018 to November 13, 2023.
"Seeking to lure in customers with prices that don't tell the whole story is a serious breach of the Australian Consumer Law," the commission's chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
"Retailers must ensure their advertised prices are accurate. They should clearly disclose additional fees and charges."
The ACCC commenced its investigation after one consumer complained about an airfare advertised for $18, which ended up costing almost three times that amount after the compulsory fees were added.
The Webjet fees comprised the "Webjet servicing fee" and "booking price guarantee" fee, which ranged from $34.90 to $54.90 per booking.
They depended on whether the flights were domestic, to New Zealand and the Pacific or other international destinations.
While Webjet's website, app and most emails contained information about the additional fees, they were in the fine print near the bottom and not clearly communicated to customers.
In its social media posts, Webjet didn't disclose the additional fees at all.
The commission said Webjet admitted liability and it would also foot the bill for some of the ACCC's legal costs.
The online travel agency said in a statement on Monday it had come to an agreement with the commission in February.
"As previously disclosed to the ASX, the parties reached agreement over the proceedings in February 2025. The Federal Court's approval formally disposes of the proceeding," Webjet said.
Travel giant Webjet has been slapped with a $9 million fine after admitting dozens of customers were slugged with hidden fees.
The Federal Court ordered the flight comparison site to pay $9 million on Monday for making false or misleading statements about the price of flights and booking confirmations.
In a case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in November 2024, Webjet acknowledged that between 2018 and 2023 it advertised airfares that excluded compulsory fees ranging from about $35 to $55.
The fares were advertised on its website, in promotional emails and on social media posts.
The Webjet fees represented 36 per cent of the ASX-listed firm's total revenue in the period from November 1, 2018 to November 13, 2023.
"Seeking to lure in customers with prices that don't tell the whole story is a serious breach of the Australian Consumer Law," the commission's chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
"Retailers must ensure their advertised prices are accurate. They should clearly disclose additional fees and charges."
The ACCC commenced its investigation after one consumer complained about an airfare advertised for $18, which ended up costing almost three times that amount after the compulsory fees were added.
The Webjet fees comprised the "Webjet servicing fee" and "booking price guarantee" fee, which ranged from $34.90 to $54.90 per booking.
They depended on whether the flights were domestic, to New Zealand and the Pacific or other international destinations.
While Webjet's website, app and most emails contained information about the additional fees, they were in the fine print near the bottom and not clearly communicated to customers.
In its social media posts, Webjet didn't disclose the additional fees at all.
The commission said Webjet admitted liability and it would also foot the bill for some of the ACCC's legal costs.
The online travel agency said in a statement on Monday it had come to an agreement with the commission in February.
"As previously disclosed to the ASX, the parties reached agreement over the proceedings in February 2025. The Federal Court's approval formally disposes of the proceeding," Webjet said.
Travel giant Webjet has been slapped with a $9 million fine after admitting dozens of customers were slugged with hidden fees.
The Federal Court ordered the flight comparison site to pay $9 million on Monday for making false or misleading statements about the price of flights and booking confirmations.
In a case brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in November 2024, Webjet acknowledged that between 2018 and 2023 it advertised airfares that excluded compulsory fees ranging from about $35 to $55.
The fares were advertised on its website, in promotional emails and on social media posts.
The Webjet fees represented 36 per cent of the ASX-listed firm's total revenue in the period from November 1, 2018 to November 13, 2023.
"Seeking to lure in customers with prices that don't tell the whole story is a serious breach of the Australian Consumer Law," the commission's chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
"Retailers must ensure their advertised prices are accurate. They should clearly disclose additional fees and charges."
The ACCC commenced its investigation after one consumer complained about an airfare advertised for $18, which ended up costing almost three times that amount after the compulsory fees were added.
The Webjet fees comprised the "Webjet servicing fee" and "booking price guarantee" fee, which ranged from $34.90 to $54.90 per booking.
They depended on whether the flights were domestic, to New Zealand and the Pacific or other international destinations.
While Webjet's website, app and most emails contained information about the additional fees, they were in the fine print near the bottom and not clearly communicated to customers.
In its social media posts, Webjet didn't disclose the additional fees at all.
The commission said Webjet admitted liability and it would also foot the bill for some of the ACCC's legal costs.
The online travel agency said in a statement on Monday it had come to an agreement with the commission in February.
"As previously disclosed to the ASX, the parties reached agreement over the proceedings in February 2025. The Federal Court's approval formally disposes of the proceeding," Webjet said.
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It's no challenge for forum director Suzanne Christie, who has been organising the tricky logistics of the event from day one, Mr Walker said. Goldminers have long hogged the limelight at the Diggers and Dealers mining forum. The annual conference in the remote mining town of Kalgoorlie, in the Western Australian Goldfields region, is the glittering highlight of the resources industry's events calendar. Up-and-coming miners prize their shot to flaunt their wares to investors, while the majors covet the chance to snag an award at the glitzy gala dinner. In recent years, goldminers have been supplanted at the top of the roster by the battery minerals crowd, buoyed by the burgeoning demand for ores like lithium and nickel essential to the manufacturing of electric vehicles. But a record run has sent the price of bullion soaring and investors flocking back to the precious metal. Amid an upswing in mergers and acquisitions activity among goldminers, the largest has been Northern Star's $5 billion takeover of De Grey Mining. Northern Star's Super Pit dominates the Kalgoorlie landscape. The ASX giant's largest asset is a popular tourist destination, with thousands of visitors drawn to the pit's public lookout each year to watch colossal mining trucks wind their way up the serpentine access track or see scheduled blasts shake the sheer rock walls below. But the De Grey deal handed Northern Star a project that could dwarf the 130-year-old deposit, which has been plagued by productivity and cost headwinds in the past year. The newly-acquired Hemi deposit, in the iron-ore dominated Pilbara region, contains an estimated 11 million ounces of gold. That would fetch more than $55 billion at current prices. The project, which is still seeking regulatory approval, has a slightly lower grade than the Super Pit at 1.3 grams per tonne. But given the ravenous appetite for gold, even much lower grade deposits will attract interest at the Diggers conference. Forum chair Jim Walker says the mood in the industry is upbeat. "Gold's still going very, very well, lithium is coming back up again," he told AAP. "So it's going to be a very positive conference from that point of view." Lithium miners have been buoyed after a recovery in spodumene prices, after a global rout carved more than 90 per cent off the price of the mineral. Prices have climbed 50 per cent since they bottomed out in June, with the stronger-than-expected uptake of electric vehicles now driving speculation lithium production will fall short of soaring demand. But share prices for former market darlings IGO, Pilbara Minerals and Liontown Resources still languish well below the heights of two years ago. While gold presenters now outweigh lithium at the conference, battery minerals producers will still make their presence felt. Now in its 34th year, the forum is just as important to the Kalgoorlie economy as it is for micro-cap explorers looking to get their first project up. More than 3000 people will flock to the town, swelling its population more than 10 per cent. At Wednesday's gala night more than 1300 attendees will be catered for and a plane-load of staff flown in to serve them, given the limited staff and facilities in Kalgoorlie. Marquees will be erected to house 154 exhibitors, while 65 presenters will hold court over three days. It's no challenge for forum director Suzanne Christie, who has been organising the tricky logistics of the event from day one, Mr Walker said. Goldminers have long hogged the limelight at the Diggers and Dealers mining forum. The annual conference in the remote mining town of Kalgoorlie, in the Western Australian Goldfields region, is the glittering highlight of the resources industry's events calendar. Up-and-coming miners prize their shot to flaunt their wares to investors, while the majors covet the chance to snag an award at the glitzy gala dinner. In recent years, goldminers have been supplanted at the top of the roster by the battery minerals crowd, buoyed by the burgeoning demand for ores like lithium and nickel essential to the manufacturing of electric vehicles. But a record run has sent the price of bullion soaring and investors flocking back to the precious metal. Amid an upswing in mergers and acquisitions activity among goldminers, the largest has been Northern Star's $5 billion takeover of De Grey Mining. Northern Star's Super Pit dominates the Kalgoorlie landscape. The ASX giant's largest asset is a popular tourist destination, with thousands of visitors drawn to the pit's public lookout each year to watch colossal mining trucks wind their way up the serpentine access track or see scheduled blasts shake the sheer rock walls below. But the De Grey deal handed Northern Star a project that could dwarf the 130-year-old deposit, which has been plagued by productivity and cost headwinds in the past year. The newly-acquired Hemi deposit, in the iron-ore dominated Pilbara region, contains an estimated 11 million ounces of gold. That would fetch more than $55 billion at current prices. The project, which is still seeking regulatory approval, has a slightly lower grade than the Super Pit at 1.3 grams per tonne. But given the ravenous appetite for gold, even much lower grade deposits will attract interest at the Diggers conference. Forum chair Jim Walker says the mood in the industry is upbeat. "Gold's still going very, very well, lithium is coming back up again," he told AAP. "So it's going to be a very positive conference from that point of view." Lithium miners have been buoyed after a recovery in spodumene prices, after a global rout carved more than 90 per cent off the price of the mineral. Prices have climbed 50 per cent since they bottomed out in June, with the stronger-than-expected uptake of electric vehicles now driving speculation lithium production will fall short of soaring demand. But share prices for former market darlings IGO, Pilbara Minerals and Liontown Resources still languish well below the heights of two years ago. While gold presenters now outweigh lithium at the conference, battery minerals producers will still make their presence felt. Now in its 34th year, the forum is just as important to the Kalgoorlie economy as it is for micro-cap explorers looking to get their first project up. More than 3000 people will flock to the town, swelling its population more than 10 per cent. At Wednesday's gala night more than 1300 attendees will be catered for and a plane-load of staff flown in to serve them, given the limited staff and facilities in Kalgoorlie. Marquees will be erected to house 154 exhibitors, while 65 presenters will hold court over three days. It's no challenge for forum director Suzanne Christie, who has been organising the tricky logistics of the event from day one, Mr Walker said.
