Message from an Angry Flyer.
This is a copy of a letter I have just written to Jetstar. I would be
interesting to get some answers out of it. It is the first time I have
ever written a complaint to anyone. It would be interesting to know how
much the airlines make out of their customers with things like not
providing refunds in a reasonable time.
I had previously booked a flight from Sydney to Brisbane leaving at 6:20
AM on Friday July 31. I had commitments in Brisbane on that Friday. The
Monday prior, July 27, I receive an email that there is a change to my
departing flight. Instead of leaving at 6:20 in the morning, the flight
I was now booked on was 2:35 in the afternoon, arriving in Brisbane at
4:10 pm, well after the appointments and meetings I needed to attend
were scheduled. These were medical appointments that had been booked
well in advance.
In addition, a family member had arranged herself to have an annual leave day to assist me with my appointments.
After speaking to your call centre I was told the only options I had
available were to take the afternoon flight on Friday, or alternatively
fly a day earlier leaving at 2:35 in the afternoon. Unfortunately for
Jetstar, I work full time and am unable to take a half day on the
Thursday.
Jetstar did offer to fly me to the Gold Coast on the Friday morning, but
then it was up to me and at my expense to get to Brisbane. Are you call
centre staff aware that it is over 100 kilometres from the Gold Coast to
Brisbane? I explained that if I booked on another carrier, the cost is
obviously much more than my Jetstar fare as we are 4 days prior to
flying (rather than the 3 weeks prior that I had booked). But apparently
that is not Jetstar’s problem. I now need to find extra money to pay for
this flight with another carrier.
Jetstar will give me a credit, however it will take 5 – 6 weeks to come
through. 5 – 6 weeks is a ridiculous amount of time for you to hold MY
funds that you are REQUIRED BY LAW to refund to me because YOU are
unable to provide the service I had booked.
So basically, it is my expense to now get to Brisbane, and I need to do
it without my original funds, as you take 5 – 6 weeks to process the
return. While my amount may seem insignificant, it does pose the
question of how much money does Jetstar make in keeping peoples funds
for that length of time? It certainly is an interesting question and one
I, and I am sure many other Australians would like to find the answer
too. It may only be $50 to you, but in this climate, that equates to a
week’s worth of food.
This has been totally unacceptable. I have kept my Jetstar return flight
from this booking, as I simply do not have the funds pay for more
flights. However, once I have completed this trip, I never intend to fly
Jetstar again. I do intend to tell anyone I come into contact with not
to fly Jetstar. Even if your prices were lower than a competitor, I
would rather pay more for the security that you are unable to offer.
Between myself and my partner, we fly on average 4 personal flights per
month and 4 business flights per month, this may not seem like much to
you, however I am sure that once I start telling people the story of how
Jetstar treat their customers, those flights may seem more significant.
No explanations were given by any Jetstar staff, and no reasonable,
suitable alternatives were given. If you have booked flights to be in a
certain place for a whole day, you don’t expect to get there late
afternoon. I am sure if you were in the same situation, you would feel
the same.
All in all, I am extremely disappointed with Jetstar. I have also sent
this letter to a media organisation.
Kylie at Jetstar responds:
If you would like to contact me about the issues you’ve raised, please do so at customer.feedback@jetstar.com and mark your message ATTN Kylie.
Regards,
Kylie.
7 Comments
Entirely in sympathy with you. Booked months in advance to fly Syd-Adl mid-morning with Jetstar after returning early morning from Jakarta with Garuda.
A few days before flight time Jeststar changed us to a flight leaving before our scheduled return to Australia.
Can’t make it, we said and explained why. What about later that day? Answer was ‘no seats available later that day’ accompanied by what amounted to ‘bad luck for you, it’s your problem’. Other airlines had a few seats available, but all in the $400+ per person range, well beyond our means. Only possible solution: pay for a hotel and early departure next day after unwanted overnight stay.
Dixon made Qantas a joke but Jeststar’s not funny./Brian
Just another appaling story about airlines and Crapstar in particular. However there is one error in the letter writer’s complaint. Quote;
“to hold MY funds that you are REQUIRED BY LAW to refund to me because YOU are
unable to provide the service I had booked.”
Airlines have NO legal obligation to carry a passenger on a particular (or any) flight. The ‘contract’ formed by an airline ticket is simply that they will try to get you there, sometime, considering the vagaries of weather, breakdowns, staffing problems etc.
bakerboy, I agree the law is pretty clear on an airline’s “obligations” to actually fly you anywhere that you’ve booked to go, but surely the corollary of that lack of an enforceable contract is that they should be required to immediately refund a passenger’s fare should that passenger decide to opt out of the “contract” that doesn’t exist.
Dear Angry Flyer,
We all make the same mistake once!
I feel for you because reasonable people like you and me expect that we will be treated as we would treat others!! We simply would not do this to people, it is ridiculous.
Welcome to their world where we do not matter.
Do not fly this carrier it is crap.
As a medico I know I would lose my RIGHT to practise if I behaved like this. Imagine rocking up at the operating theatre to be told I will do your procedure in a weeks time. God forbid I don’t tell you about a complication never described and I am incompetent.
What we do is not to give this company business.
Sorry mate, best of luck next time
Call the waaambulance, a bogan needs attention.
I liked this bit:
“Even if your prices were lower than a competitor, I
would rather pay more for the security that you are unable to offer.
Between myself and my partner, we fly on average 4 personal flights per
month and 4 business flights per month, this may not seem like much to
you, however I am sure that once I start telling people the story of how
Jetstar treat their customers, those flights may seem more significant.”
Clearly you like the lower Jetstar prices, one assumes you have used them for 8 flights a month given your threat to withdraw your custom.
How much have you saved?
How many of those flights would you have made in the old days under the Qantas/Ansett duopoly when prices were way higher?
Delays happen, get over your oh-so-super-important self. I get dealyed on Qantas and Virgin as well, I don’t cry about it I just get on with it. But then, I accept the world doesn’t revolve around me.
Hey Doc the alleged “medico”,
patients getting surgery cancelled at the last minute happens pretty regularly as well.
Yeah fair comment Minstrel, but not by me!! It is a clip board carrying administrator who won’t pay any overtime for nurses, and doesn’t buy any equipment so nothing is clean on time.