Online travel agency, Bestjet, has been granted an injunction by Queensland’s Supreme court against AFTA after the industry body refused to renew the agency’s membership and ATAS accreditation.
According to the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA), Bestjet didn’t satisfy certain criteria of the ATAS Charter – specially, section 2.5 “Close Associate” – and has since refused to renew Bestjet Bestjet Pty Ltd’s (trading as Bestjet.com.au) ATAS accreditation and AFTA membership.
However, Bestjet has successfully appealed this decision, and the injunction awarded from the highest court in Queensland prevents AFTA from acting on the decision to refuse renewal.
Bestjet MD, Rachel James, said her team has worked hard to comply with all requirements for membership set down by the Australian Federation of Travel Agents.
“We are very proud to be part of an industry offering consumers so much variety in the market, yet it is a challenging time when independent operators are increasingly being unfairly challenged… This outcome is a small acknowledgment of all the hard work we have put in to meeting the requirements for membership.”
Rachel James, Managing Director, Bestjet
Moving forward, Bestjet remain committed to following AFTA’s Charter to ensure that the business continues to remain one of Australia’s fastest growing online travel booking websites.
Every year, Bestjet helps more than 180,000 travellers book flights to destinations all over the globe.
This matter will return before the Supreme Court of Queensland on Thursday, 31 March 2016 at 10:00am.