I too will never fly Jetstar again

I was about to embark on my first journey as a new mum with my 5 month old baby. I needed a low-priced flight, so I considered Jetstar (when normally I would have flown Air NZ) I am kicking myself now. It seems that you definitely get what you pay for.

I rang Jetstar before I booked my tickets to ask what their baggage allowances were for infants. I was told by the lady at the call centre that I could take 2 large items checked-in for free on top of the usual 20kg per person baggage allowance. I asked her if I could take a suitcase as one of those large items, and she said that would be fine. Impressed, I booked the flights. That was a month ago.

Today (and three days before my flight) I rang the "customer service" (yeah right!!) team to ask whether we were allowed to take a nappy bag, or whether it would be charged as extra. I then discovered that not only is the nappy bag included as part of my own baggage allowance, but also that I was not allowed to take a suitcase (or even a small bag for that matter) instead of the large items (such as a car seat, or stroller - both of which I had no need for!).

Now, if they had told me this from the onset, I wouldn't have been upset, but the fact that I was getting multiple conflicting information from both their website, and their staff, I was getting more and more confused (and didn't want to turn up at the airport and get charged megabucks for something I could have avoided...).

Anyway, I rang back the call centre, and asked to speak to a manager. They took my name and flight details, and then proceeded to ask me what my problem was. I asked again to speak to the manager because I needed to talk to someone who could tell me the right information. They hung up on me.

I rang back 5 times to find out this information. The first time, the man flat-out refused to put me through to a manager and then hung up on me.The 2nd, 3rd and 4th time I called, I asked to speak to a manager, gave them my information, and they said they would "put me through", and then hung up on me. On the 2nd call, I thought it was an honest mistake, but when it happened twice after that I realised it was on purpose. The 5th time I called, I gave in and explained myself again, hoping the man knew what he was talking about. I asked why I couldn't talk to a manager, and he said "they don't deal with complaints they only book flights". He told me if I had a complaint I could always write an email. So I did. No response.

I can't believe how rude their "customer service" staff are! And how inconsistent their information is.

Also, I feel the baggage allowance for an infant is ridiculous. Obviously the creators of the non-existent baggage allowance for an infant has never had a 5 month old baby - who needs nappies, bottles, bibs, babyfood, formula and clothes for 2 weeks. What if I was going for longer???

I would rather pay more for Air NZ and their quality service than use Jetstar again ANY day.