Image: virginaustralia//Instagram
Virgin Australia will refund more than 61,000 customers after discovering a long-running pricing error that caused passengers to be overcharged when modifying their travel itineraries.
The issue stemmed from the airline’s ticket repricing system, which misapplied fare rules to certain booking changes. The errors occurred over a five-year span, from April 21, 2020 to March 31, 2025.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said the company has “policies that determine when and how we reprice a guest’s booking when they make a change to their itinerary.
But the spokesperson acknowledged that in “some instances… some bookings were repriced in a way that does not align with our policy.”
Virgin Australia refunds to be issued proactively
Virgin Australia confirmed it will proactively contact all impacted customers to issue refunds, with the average amount expected to be $55 per person.
“We sincerely apologise to those affected guests,” the spokesperson said.
Virgin reportedly discovered the error when it was testing its booking and ticketing system, but uncovering the glitch stopped further incidences of incorrect pricing.
The discovery of the pricing glitch comes at a sensitive moment for the Brisbane-based carrier, which is currently preparing to list publicly on the stock market. The company is working to assure stakeholders of its operational integrity as it moves forward with the transition.
Newly appointed CEO Dave Emerson—who took the reins last month from Jayne Hrdlicka—recently embarked on a non-deal road show to meet with investors and stakeholders as part of the airline’s preparations for a public listing. Emerson previously served as the company’s chief commercial officer.
The refunds follow the discovery of a system error that caused some customers to be overcharged when changing their flight bookings. The issue, which went undetected for nearly five years, involved ticket repricing that did not align with the airline’s official policies.
The financial impact of the refunds has not been disclosed.
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