Because pregnant - miss friend's wedding

Yip, just so everyone knows, we turned up at 5.30am this morning for Leah (my wife) to catch her 6.10am flight to Christchurch New Zealand from Auckland. They said she had to have a medical certificate to fly (even though she was cleared to fly by her midwife, and this was not outlined on their site), she is 30 weeks pregnant. They said we had to fax it through which we did - it arrived at 5.50am. The attendant left Leah l at the desk for 20 mins, came back and said that the flight had closed so would move her to the next flight. This was scheduled for 12.25pm - making her attendance at the 2.30pm wedding touch and go. Nevertheless it was the only option. We just went back to the airport now and the that flight was delayed to 4.30pm, no apology, no refund of money. Therefore we have just come home because Leah cannot make the wedding and figured it was too much to put Portia (my 1-year old) through waiting another 4 hours. Anyone else think legally we can get some sort of compensation/let alone some sympathy for Leah who is pretty upset about missing one of her good friends weddings?

Domestic
New Zealand-Auckland
New Zealand-Christchurch

Comments

wow im so sorry to hear this

wow im so sorry to hear this happened and you missed your friends wedding maybe consult a lawyer? worth a shot

Yeah thanks, luckily my dad

Yeah thanks, luckily my dad is a lawyer and looking into it.

keep us posted here in the

keep us posted here in the comments on how it goes.

Just checked my flight from

Just checked my flight from Honolulu with Jetstar and found out I didn't have a meal and I can't book a Celiac meal. Its amazing such a large airline and they don't provide special meals. This is a 10 hours flight with no food and they said nothing. There is seems to be no solution but to starve!

Lindy Mcleod

maybe you should contact

maybe you should contact consumer affairs about this, see what advice they can give you. what a bummer that your wife had to be put through that stress and miss a friend's wedding. Jetstar are completely unsympathetic

It's pretty common knowledge

It's pretty common knowledge you need a certificate to fly if 28 weeks pregnant. So your midwife said it was ok but no proof? Hell, why don't we just sell liquor to 12 year olds just because they say they are 18. I bet if something went wrong in the air and the crew couldn't assist you'd complain too. The rest of it is pretty shambolic though. Delays do happen and for the most part unavoidable but all efforts should be made to reach some sort of settlement.

"It's pretty common knowledge

"It's pretty common knowledge you need a certificate to fly if 28 weeks pregnant"
I didn't know. Is that with Jetstar or all airlines within Australia? Who makes this rule?

All airlines have their own

All airlines have their own policies. The problem with people is that they just assume everything will be fine. When it goes bad the crew have to try and deal with it and get blamed when they can't help. Crew, unless medically trained can only help so much, and that so much is not very much. Just think, if I have any complications in the air over the Pacific, who is going to help me? The crew are not trained as midwives, cardiologists. If in doubt, call the airlines, it's a phone call away and they will let you know.

http://www.jetstar.com/nz/en/conditions-of-carriage

I just googled it, it's under conditions of carriage.

Thank you for your insight

Thank you for your insight and perspective Hayden, however when referring to "common knowledge", our knowledge was 36 weeks and over required a medical certificate for domestic travel as supported by a number of friends/family members and also indicated by Air NZ: http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/special-assistance-travelling-when-pregnant which clearly supports this; and is perhaps much more supportive of what could be regarded as "common knowledge" from a NZ perspective; given their longstanding service and business in New Zealand. Therefore I don't think the argument for "common knowledge" within a New Zealand context is valid.

I think it is unwise to go hypothesizing that I would complain about staff unaiding my wife, as choosing to travel is our decision, and we realise that a plane is not a hospital. There is a number of complications that could occur during pregnancy, and this could occur anywhere.

Comparing this situation to selling liquor to underaged is inappropriate.

Anyway, Jetstar have contacted and acknowledged their errors and have refunded in full. I wish the best for others that encounter difficulties and mix ups.

Good to hear you got it

Good to hear you got it cleared up Tim. You seem to be one of the VERY few.

You were flying Jetstar, not

You were flying Jetstar, not Air NZ. Still, not a nice situation though.