Conditions of Contract and Other Important Notices

These are V Australia's Conditions of Contract. They set out the key elements of your contract with V Australia. It is important for you to read and understand them. You can also refer to V Australia's Conditions of Carriage for a more detailed description of your rights and obligations.

1. Your Travel is governed by terms that are contained in: (a) these Conditions of Contract; (b) the Conditions of Carriage; (c) International Conventions; (d) applicable laws; (e) Your Ticket or Itinerary/Receipt; and (e) our policies and any written or oral directions given to You by V Australia staff.

2. No employee, contractor, Authorised Agent, or other person has the authority to vary the terms that govern Your Travel.  In the event of any inconsistency between these Conditions of Contract and any other terms, the Conditions of Carriage will prevail.

3. You must comply with all government travel requirements; present exit, entry and other required documents; and check in by the required check-in time.  See notice below headed "Check-In Times." 

4. V Australia undertakes to use its best efforts to carry You and Your Baggage in accordance with Your Ticket or Itinerary/Receipt.  However, times shown in timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract.  V Australia may without notice substitute alternate airlines or aircraft, and may alter or omit stopping places shown on the ticket in case of necessity.  Schedules are subject to change without notice.  V Australia assumes no responsibility for making connections.

5. Your Ticket or Itinerary/Receipt is not valid and will not be accepted for carriage unless purchased from V Australia or an Authorised Agent.  V Australia reserves the right to refuse carriage to any person who has acquired a ticket in violation of applicable law or our tariffs, rules or regulations.

6. If V Australia issues a ticket or boarding pass for another airline's flight, it does so only as the other airline's agent.  Travel on another airline's flight is governed by the other airline's conditions of carriage.

7. Unless otherwise stated, a ticket for international travel is valid for one year from the start of travel, or one year from the issue date if the ticket is not used, and a ticket for domestic travel is valid for one year from the issue date.  Your Fare is subject to change prior to payment.  V Australia may refuse carriage if the applicable fare has not been paid.

8. Time limit for action: You must bring any action in court to claim damages within two years from the date of arrival of the aircraft, or from the date on which the aircraft ought to have arrived.  Baggage claims: You must make written notice to V Australia within 7 days of the receipt of checked baggage in the case of damage, and, in the case of delay, within 21 days from the date on which You received it.

9. If Your Travel involves an ultimate destination or stop in a country other than the country of departure, the Warsaw Convention and/or Montreal Convention may be applicable and the Conventions govern and, in most cases, limit the liability of airlines for death or personal injury and in respect of loss of or damage to baggage.  See also notices below headed “Advice to International Guests on Limitation of Liability” and “Baggage Liability Limitations.”  V Australia strongly recommends that You purchase travel insurance for Your Journey.

Check-In Times

The times shown on Your Ticket or Itinerary/Receipt are the departure times of the aircraft.  Check-in times are the latest times at which Guests can be accepted for travel, allowing the necessary time to complete all formalities.  Flights cannot be held for Guests arriving late, and no responsibility can be accepted in such cases.

 

Baggage Allowances

General information

Detailed information about baggage allowances, oversized and excess baggage, restricted baggage, sporting goods and the transportation of personal mobility aids, is available at V Australia’s website or by contacting V Australia’s Guest Contact Centre .

Carry-on Baggage

For V Australia flights to/from the USA, the following allowances apply:

* For example, a handbag, pocketbook or purse which is appropriate to normal travelling dress and is not being used as a container for the transportation of articles which could otherwise be regarded as baggage; an overcoat or wrap; an umbrella (pointed or/and sharp prohibited) or walking stick; a small camera and/or pair of binoculars; a reasonable amount of reading matter for the flight; infant's food for consumption in flight; or a small amount of duty-free goods.

** Medical assistance items (crutches, wheelchairs etc) are exempt from this requirement.

Checked Baggage

For V Australia flights to or from the USA, the following allowances are included in your ticket price.  All other baggage which is larger and/or heavier than your allowance, will constitute excess and/or oversized baggage.

For V Australia Flights to/from the USA:

For V Australia Flights to/from all other International Destinations:

Allowances for Infants

Adults accompanying infants are entitled to check-in 1 additional piece of baggage (to the specification of the fare class under which they are booked) plus 1 stroller, bassinet or car seat.  They are also entitled to take one additional piece of carry-on baggage at 7kg with dimensions of no more than 115cm.

 

Dangerous Articles in Baggage

For safety reasons, dangerous articles such as the following must not be carried in your checked or carry-on baggage:

• Compressed Gases (Deeply Refrigerated, Flammable, Non-flammable and Poisonous);
• Corrosive materials (such as alkalis, acids, wet cell batteries, mercury);
• Explosives (Fireworks and articles which are easily ignited);
• Firearms and Ammunition (except hunter and sporting items which may be carried as checked baggage only in accordance with the V Australia's Regulations.  Please ask the us for details);
• Flammable liquids and solids (such as matches, lighters and heater fuels, flammable aerosols);
• Magnetised materials;
• Oxidising substances;
• Poisonous, toxic, infectious substances;
• Radioactive materials;
• Chemical oxygen generators;
• Security attaché cases (if fitted with alarm or pyrotechnic material);
• Other dangerous goods (such as offensive or noxious materials and a wide range of items in IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations).
• Other articles which pose a security risk. 

By law, sharp objects or cutting implements (such as knives, box cutters, letter openers, scissors, tradesman's tools, screwdrivers) or objects which allow a person to strike another person (such as baseball bats, pool cues, golf clubs, ski poles, ice picks, hammers) must not be taken into any aircraft cabin, and must be packed in your checked luggage. Screening authorities will remove any such items may not be able to return them to you.

 

Limitation of Liability for Guests Travelling Domestically

Australian Domestic Flights (flights which take off and land in Australia): V Australia’s liability is limited by the provisions of the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959 (Cth), complementary State legislation and these Conditions of Contract to: AUD$1,600 in respect of destruction, loss or injury to your checked baggage; AUD$160 in respect of destruction, loss or injury to your carry-on baggage; and AUD$500,000 in respect of your death or any personal injury which you suffer.

 

Limitation of Liability for International Guests

If Your Travel involves an ultimate destination or a stop in a country other than the country of origin, the rules and limitations relating to liability established by the Warsaw Convention and Montreal Convention may apply to the entire journey, including any portion entirely within the country of origin or destination.  The Warsaw Convention is the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air signed at Warsaw, 12th October 1929, or that Convention as amended from time to time. The Montreal Convention is the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Carriage by Air signed at Montreal, 28th May 1999, or that Convention as amended from time to time.  V Australia has waived some of those limits on a voluntary basis.

Note: The value of an SDR (Special Drawing Right) varies daily and was equivalent to approximately US$ 1.54 as of February 2009.

1. In the event of death or bodily injury suffered by a Guest as a result of an accident covered by a Convention:

   a. V Australia will not exclude or limit its liability for damages not exceeding 100,000 SDR for each Guest.
   b. V Australia will not be liable for damages to the extent that they exceed 100,000 SDR for each Guest if V Australia proves that:

     i. Such damage as not due to the negligence or other wrongful act of omission of V Australia or its employees and agents; and
     ii. Such damages were solely due to the negligence or wrongful act or omission of a third part.

   c. V Australia reserves all other defences and limitations available under the application Convention to such claims including, but not limited to, the exoneration defence in Article 21 of the Warsaw Convention and Article 20 of the Montreal Convention except that V Australia shall not invoke Articles of 20 and 22(1) of the Warsaw Convention and Articles 19 and 22 of the Montreal Convention in a manner inconsistent with the Conditions of Carriage. 
   d. V Australia reserves all rights of recourse against any third parties, including without limitation, rights of contribution or indemnity.
   e. Neither the waiver of limits nor the waiver of defences under paragraphs (a) and (b) above shall be applicable in respect of claims made by public social insurance or similar bodies (except with respect to any such bodies of the United States), however asserted.  Such claims shall be subject to the liability limit and defences under the Convention.

2. In case of bodily injury or death and where a ticket is purchased in the European Community and Your Travel is from and to a point in the European Community:

   a. Without delay and, in any event, no later than 15 days after the identity of the natural person entitled to compensation has been established, V Australia will make such advance payments as may be required to meet his/her immediate economic needs on a basis proportionate to the hardship suffered.
   b. An advance payment shall not be less than the equivalent of 16,000 SDR per Guest in the event of the death of a Guest.  The value of an SDR (Special Drawing Right) varies daily and was equivalent to approximately US$ 1.54 as of February 2009.
   c. An advance payment does not mean that V Australia admits liability and it may be offset against any subsequent sums paid.
   d. An advance payment is not returnable unless:

     i. V Australia proves that the damage was caused or contributed by negligence of the Guest or the person who received the payment, or 
     ii. V Australia proves that the person who received the payment was not entitled to compensation.

 

Baggage Liability Limitations

The Montreal Convention or the Warsaw Convention may apply to Your Journey, and these Conventions govern and my limit V Australia's liability for loss of, damage to, or delay of Your Baggage.

Note: The value of an SDR (Special Drawing Right) varies daily and was equivalent to approximately US$ 1.54 as of February 2009.

Where the Montreal Convention applies, the limits of liability for loss of, damage to, or delay in the carriage of Baggage are as follows:

1. V Australia's liability for Checked and Unchecked Baggage shall be limited to 1,000 SDR per Guest.

2. In the case of Checked Baggage, V Australia will not be liable to the extent that damage resulted from an inherent defect, quality, or vice of the baggage.  V Australia will be liable for Unchecked Baggage only if V Australia is at fault.

3. The limitations in (1) and (2) above do not apply if You have declared a higher value in advance and paid additional charges.  In this case, V Australia's liability shall be limited to the higher declared value.

Where the Warsaw Convention applies, V Australia's liability for loss of, damage to, or delay in the carriage of Baggage is limited to 17 SDR per kilogram for loss of or damage or delay to Your Checked Baggage and 332 SDR for Your Unchecked Baggage.

Further information may be obtained from the Guest Contact Centre as to the limits applicable to Your Journey.  If Your Journey involves carriage by different airlines, You should contact each airline for information on the applicable limits of liability.

Regardless of which Convention applies to Your Journey, You may benefit from a higher limit of liability for loss of, damage to, or delay in the carriage of Baggage by making at check-in a special declaration of the value of Your Baggage and paying any supplementary fee that may apply.  Alternatively, if the value of Your Baggage exceeds the applicable limit of liability, You should fully insure it before You travel.

 

Government-Imposed Taxes, Fees and Charges

The price of Your Ticket may include taxes, fees and charges that are imposed on air transportation by government authorities.  They may represent a significant portion of the cost of air travel and are either included in the fare, or shown separately in the “TAX/FEE/CHARGE” box(es) of Your Ticket. 

You may also be required to pay taxes or fees or charges not already collected.

 

Overbooking

You may be entitled to compensation if You are refused carriage because Your Flight has been overbooked and You hold a valid ticket and have complied with V Australia's Conditions of Carriage in relation to reservations, ticketing, and check-in.