Flooding is supposed to bring the best out in people but someone forgot to give the message to Virgin Airlines.
In a Facebook post that has gone viral Cloncurry resident Hamish Griffin slammed the airline for posting extremely high airfares at a time when the town was cut off.
Mr Griffin noted that on Wednesday the airline was advertising a $974 one way flight from Cloncurry to Townsville as a “special”.
“How dare you advertise this and spruce it up as a special. This fare is almost twice the usual fare and every one knows it is just because the roads are flooded,” Mr Griffin told Virgin. “We are cut off, running out of food, baby formula and fuel and you have the absolute audacity to hike up your prices. This is blatant price gouging and exactly the dishonest, disgusting, unfair and immoral behaviour that the current senate inquiry is investigating.”
At the time of writing the post has been shared over a thousand times.
Virgin have shown no inclination to answer questions about their price gouging activities in North West Queensland.
The North West Star sent a series of questions to Virgin Media but they did not respond by our deadline:
“1 Have Virgin have deliberately lifted fares to take advantage of stranded residents with no other way of getting in and out?
2 Apparently Viigin are calling the $974 one way ticket from Cloncurry to Townsville a "special offer". In what way is this special?
3 How come on the same day Virgin can offer flights under $100 on many of the east coast routes.
4 Isn't Hamish right this is shameful price gouging?”
Mr Griffin said Virgin’s behaviour had “given the entire population of Cloncurry a good old fashioned slap in the face” while one comment on the post said Virgin “were looting during a national emergency”.
This is not the first time Virgin Airlines have treated the North West poorly.
In November they told the Star they had no plans to match Qantas in offering subsidised fares.and refused to deny they gouge local travellers to subsidise routes on the coast.
Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
