👉 Background: Webjet was founded back in 1998 and has grown to become one of Australia’s largest online travel agencies. Back in November 2024, the ACCC launched an investigation into Webjet for misleading its customers.

👉 What happened: Between 2018 - 2023, ACCC found that Webjet advertising airfares as low as $18, but then customers got whacked with extra fees at checkout. Now, Webjet has admitted to excluding compulsory fees from the price of flights advertised during this period. On top of this, it provided flight bookings for travel plans it had not actually confirmed.  

👉 What else: This breaches the ACCC’s standard of fair trade and competition. So now the Federal Court has hit Webjet with a $9 million fine. And this is a strong reminder that when you make promises to customers, you’ve got to follow through.

What's the key learning?

💡False advertising might help land a quick sale, but in the long run it can damage brand reputation big time. In 2025, research shows 81% of consumers need to trust a brand in order to consider buying from them.

💡 Competing on low prices can a major value proposition for businesses, but luring in customers with prices that are too-good-to-be-true can quickly backfire when customers realise they’ve been baited.

💡Qantas was also called out by the ACCC for misleading customers with its “ghost flight” bookings during COVID when it continued to sell tickets to flights they knew were getting cancelled. The Federal Court slapped Qantas with a $100 million fine. And shortly after, a survey revealed Qantas dropped to the “second least trusted brand in Australia”. So clearly, these misleading tactics just aren't worth it.