In a tale that reads like a masterclass in exploiting travel promos, one Kiwi traveler, Mr. Barugh, managed to secure 58 free return flights between New Zealand and Australia through Jetstar’s special ‘Return for Free’ fare. But that was only the beginning…
The Promotion
On 12 March 2020, Mr. Barugh booked his first return flight from Auckland to Sydney using Jetstar’s ‘Return for Free’ promotional fare. This special promo meant he could book the return flight at no additional cost, paying only $285 NZD for the outbound leg (Booking 1).
Here’s how Booking 1 looked:
Outbound Flight (AKL-SYD): JQ202, 25 March 2020, 06:15 – 08:00
Return Flight (SYD-AKL): JQ201, 7 May 2020, 09:15 – 14:20
Within minutes of booking, Mr. Barugh requested Jetstar cancel the outbound flight while keeping the return leg. The airline issued a credit voucher for the cancelled outbound fare of $285 NZD, and the $0 return flight remained.
(Astute readers would also have noticed that ironically, the borders were actually closed over this period)
The Play
Armed with the credit voucher, Mr. Barugh booked another return flight under the same promotion and repeated the cancellation trick to get another credit voucher. He used this strategy to book 57 more flights, iterating the process for a total of 58 bookings!
Here’s a quote from Mr. Barugh himself:
fuck yeah i did, and what. nothing unlawful about booking 58 separate SYD-AKL $0 flights. now asking @Jetstar_NZ to refund the taxes, but they're having a sook. pic.twitter.com/e59rfJtcAz
When he agreed to the terms and conditions, he was very aware of their conditions of carriage, specifically a combination of Jetstar’s policy and a piece of Australian legislation called the Passenger Movement Charge Collection Act 1978.
Barugh wants Jetstar to refund him the $60 Passenger Movement Charge, which the Australian Government collects when a person departs Australia, for each of the flights, as well as airport taxes.
He notes that clause 5.4 of Jetstar’s conditions of carriage states: “If there is a charge or tax which Jetstar collects on a per passenger basis to remit to an airport or taxing authority, and we do not have to remit that amount as a result of your not travelling, we will refund that amount to you, after deducting a reasonable administration fee.”
Since Barugh did not travel on his numerous flights, he claims he’s “entitled to a refund of charge paid by the person if the departure in respect of which the charge was paid does not take place”, as stated in section 9 of the Passenger Movement Charge Collection Act.
Therefore, he has requested a refund for all of the passenger charges, plus taxes and fees that Jetstar didn’t have to pay airports, minus the $50 administration fee. The total claimed is $4965.
The Disputes Tribunal
The NZ Disputes Tribunal is less formal than a court. A lawyer can’t represent you in the hearing and there are no judges. Each hearing is run by a referee who will consider whether it is appropriate to help parties reach a settlement on a case by case basis.
Amusingly, yesterday, the case appeared before the Tribunal but Barugh said Jetstar attempted to bring a lawyer, which is not allowed so the hearing wasn’t able to go ahead. The hearing has been postponed.
