AUC publishes annual report for 2008 †2009

AUC Chairman, Tina Tietjen said “Last year we received 12,307 complaints and enquiries, an increase of 11% on the year before. This is disappointing, particularly because the majority of complaints and enquiries were about delays, cancellations and baggage handling, areas that have been addressed through recent legislation designed to enhance air passenger rights.

But the increase is partly explained by an increasing number of complaints and enquiries about issues which have arisen out of changes to industry practices. For example, we received over a thousand complaints and enquiries on reservation issues alone last year. The technology that has allowed an increasing number of passengers to book, amend reservations and even check-in online may have brought great benefits to passengers but it has also brought its own problems. We also received an increase in complaints about the extra charges airlines have introduced for services previously included in the fare. Again this has brought benefits to passengers, in terms of potentially cheaper fares for those that don’t need to use these services. But many passengers who contacted us were concerned that they were often not getting value for money for the price they were paying for these services”.
 
(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 24-Jul-09