If you have recently been to an airport and your flight was delayed, you are not alone. This is an industry crisis that is happening right across the country.
Historical figures show the aviation industry's current standards for flight punctuality remain around their lowest levels since government records began in 2003.
New data released by the Department of Transport showed just 69.3 per cent of flights arrived on time in October, while only 68.5 per cent left on time.
Although last month's figures ticked up a little from September and the record lows seen earlier this year, travellers are still experiencing some of the worst flight delays and cancellations on records stretching back almost two decades.
The long-term average performance for the industry for both arrivals and departures is in the range of 80 to 85 per cent.
Australian airlines' on-time performance has been plummeting since the year began, from around 85 per cent in January to around 55 per cent in July, "the worst" the industry has ever seen, the government report noted.
More than 19,000 flights were delayed in July alone.
Qantas was the top-performing airline in October, with 74.2 per cent of Qantas and QantasLink flights arriving on time, followed by Rex (68.3 per cent).
Virgin and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines were lagging behind, with 64.9 per cent of their planes arriving on time.
Qantas' budget subsidiary, Jetstar, had the worst on-time performance in October. Only 61.6 per cent of its flights departed on time, with 64.4 per cent landing on time.
44-hour delay 'ruins' Bali holiday
The new data also revealed Jetstar had one of the highest cancellation rates at 3.9 per cent — nearly two times greater than the long-term industry average of 2.1 per cent.
Stephen Clements and his family have experienced lengthy Jetstar delays firsthand.
He booked a family holiday to Bali, but when he arrived at the airport with his wife and three children, their flight was delayed three times, for 44 hours in total.
In a bid to salvage their holiday, they asked for a refund from Jetstar and paid an extra $1,000 to board a different budget airline.
"Quite a lot of frustration," the north-western Sydney resident told the ABC.
"A six-hour direct flight turned into 14 hours, with a four-hour stopover at Changi [Airport] at 3am.
"It ruined what should have been a really great family holiday for us … It has definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth."
Mr Clements said he was disappointed about Jetstar's on-time performance and people expect better from the airlines.
"It's frustrating that they took the massive handouts from the taxpayers to survive through COVID, sacking workers, and then this is how they repaid the taxpayers," he added.
A spike in air travel complaints
Consumer watchdog the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has received a record number of travel-related complaints since the start of the pandemic.
Figures previously released to the ABC show it recorded 9,149 complaints in 2021, about 50 per cent higher than pre-COVID levels.
State and territory consumer affairs bodies have also recorded a spike in complaints relating to air travel.
NSW Fair Trading received 830 complaints relating to air travel in the 2021-22 financial year, compared with 629 complaints in 2018-19.
Qantas was in the top few most-complained-about companies in August and September of 2022.
The Office of Fair Trading in Queensland received 472 complaints relating to air travel in 2021-22 financial year, compared with 170 complaints in 2018-2019.
Consumer Affairs Victoria received 3,850 complaints and enquiries related to travel and accommodation during 2021-22, compared to 2,454 contacts in 2018-19.
Airlines say delays and cancellations have been caused by staff shortages and sickness — in some cases engineering issues and delays in spare parts — alongside soaring jet fuel costs, triggered by the war in Ukraine.
To improve on-time performance, airlines have been significantly reducing the number of flights they are operating, which cuts capacity and puts upward pressure on ticket prices.
"We are in a situation where airlines have pretty full planes and, as a result, prices continue to go back up," Scott Phillips, chief investment officer from The Motley Fool, told the ABC.
"What is at a multi-year high are the discounted prices, the last-minute prices, the ones they have to sell to fill the planes.
"That's a very good indication of where they are at capacity wise."
'Some of the highest prices in recent memory'
Mr Phillips observed that domestic discount fares were almost double, on average, what they were pre-pandemic, nearing "all-time highs".
Some routes are seeing even higher prices still.
For example, the cheapest fare for Perth-Sydney one-way in November costs $1,210, compared to $497 three years ago, according to data from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE).
"[That's] some of the highest prices we've seen in recent memory, and that's largely because capacity is at a maximum, and they don't have to sell those tickets particularly cheaply," Mr Phillips added.
In September, the ACCC warned that the industry saw the biggest ticket price increase in more than a decade and the upward trend would continue throughout the rest of the year.
It said air travel demand had almost returned to pre-pandemic levels, while capacity remained down.
Surging demand and expensive airfares were helping airlines to rebuild damaged balance sheets hit by the pandemic.
Last month, Qantas forecast a first-half profit of up to $1.3 billion on surging travel demand and profit margins. Analysts say Virgin and Rex are also expected to return to profit in the next financial year.
Mr Philips said that, due to the lack of competition in the market, travellers will struggle to find cheaper options.
"We have a domestic duopoly in Australia, as we all well know, between Virgin and Qantas," he said.
"If competition is working very well, you've got some really great choices and they compete against each other on price and on service.
"If you've got a duopoly that seems happy enough to just kind of coast along where they are, there's not much choice at all."
In October, Qantas said it would invest $200 million in operational resilience against sick leave spikes and supply chain delays in preparation for the busy holiday season.
Push for compensation under EU regulations
Consumer advocacy groups such as Choice are now pushing for a compensation system, for flight delays and cancellations, that is similar to European Union regulations.
The European Union's denied-boarding compensation scheme provides clear-cut compensation for flight delays, cancellations and overbooking.
If your flight is delayed by at least three hours with less than two weeks' notice, you are entitled to between 250 and 600 euros in compensation, depending on the flight distance. You also get free meals and drinks, two telephone calls, faxes or emails.
And, if your flight does not leave until the next day, you also get accommodation and transport.
Compensation is due if the airline is at fault and can be accessed if you are departing from an EU airport or flying into an EU airport on an airline based in the EU. There are also clear refund guarantees.
Jodi Bird, travel expert from Choice, told the ABC that Australia lags well behind.
"When it comes to flight cancellations and delays, Australians have some of the weakest consumer protections in the world," she said.
"In other parts of the world, such as Europe, the US, New Zealand, even in Indonesia, there is mandatory compensation that is specified for if there is a flight delay or a cancellation.
"If we introduce something similar [to the system in Europe] in Australia, that will make it very clear and easy for people to understand exactly what they're entitled to for the compensation."
