## Jetstar is... Jetstar.. a cheap airline.... ##

Hi all

Thought i'd contribute after reading some of the threads that people have wrote. So far, its usually about the same things like:
for example...
1. Cancelled flight
Instead of being pissed off, remember one thing, your on a budget airline, shit breaks down, sucks but what can you do, i'd rather get in a plane knowing it's going to take off safely right? "oh okay screw it lets all crash", i'm kidding but my point is this shit can't be helped when it comes to things like that.

2. Delays
Delays can really screw up plans, so can train delays, car traffic and cattle crossing. I'm sure theres a reason behind it, though when you ask the customer service agent they never seem to know... Quite annoying for me aswell though! I was stuck at Tullarmarine airport going to Sunshine Coast and we were waiting from 6am and flew out around 1 or 2 pm, plane was getting repaired, in that situation what can you do? go tell the engineer to hurry up i suppose, or get angry since the customer service staff planned all this from the beginning of the day, evil customer service! :)

I also flew with Tiger, was stuck (managed to get sleep tho) in this airplane for about 1.5 hours since they couldn't fix the AC onboard (wow budget airline), then when i came to realisation i was thinking to myself, "shit i should of went with something better".

3. Luggage
Biggest misconception right here, "everyone should blame Jetstar (regardless of the plane they took)". I've heard numerous stories from people traveling on other airlines and having there baggage lost as well. This happend to my friends who have taken SG, VIRGIN, QANTAS. I'm sure even the other airline companies have lost passengers luggages. It's probably one of the most shitest things that could happen to someone on holiday, be pissed, be pissed, but remember the customer service center had no idea about your luggage missing or who you are for that matter, so just approach them when you can be civil to talk and i'm sure they will do there best to help you - if they actually know what customer service is.

From what my understanding is Jetstar is a low cost budget airline (not so cheap these days tho at that) and i'm sure everyone who has ever booked with this company knows this from the beginning. The more JetStar get expensive it makes me think that the more complaints role in... meaning JetStar need more staff - hey what do you know prices go up...

I personally don't see what the problem is? you get what you pay for, do you not? People buy things sometimes knowing it will break in 6 months - and i know this from experience. When things seemed fucked up at JetStar... look at what your buying first, and accept the consequences, if you don't like it then don't fly or instead upgrade to a Jet Flex or get some bloody insurance if your not down to gamble and spend choosing extra addons.

Now this leads me to why the hell i'm writing this again, I really cant be bother going into full details but in short; booked a ticket using price beat, sales guy did it wrong, time booked was incorrect, policy ensures you can not get money back (oo kinda like gambling no?) - (this should explicitly be mentioned though so everyone knows), anyway I ended up getting my flight time changed at no extra charge, how the hell did i do that? it goes completely out of whack against JetStar policies, I just spoke to the assistant as I would have like to been spoken too - with some kind of mutual respect, Anyway i posted this as well to say thanks for that one!

I work in retail, if anyone has worked in retail, can you really be fucked serving and helping the angry guy in the store? I know i wouldn't, there the ones i'll probably least help - but hey thats my opinion.

I for one, will without a doubt give my 100% to customer service to a customer who genuinely needed it ie. not yelling at your face demanding things - they need help with some anger therapy tho. Not saying that i wont help you, i just wouldn't go the extra step for ya thats all ie. replacement? :P. I hope other people who have worked in a customer service environment understand this or what i'm talkin' about.

I should start making "dontbuy".com websites next!

Thats it from me, life is good! :)

peace

Domestic
Australia-Melbourne - Tullamarine
Australia-Sydney

Comments

One would have to conclude

One would have to conclude the vast majority of Jetstar cancellations are brought about by "dumping' flights that are in their opinion not sufficiently full. If its due to mechanical reasons we would be well advised not to fly. one cant have that many mechanical problems. There needs to be a public disclosure of at what point the flight does not go due to loading and the only way to get that is via legislation. You can rest assured that every time you hear of a flight canceled due to operational reason its one that whose payload enough or even the return sector as not loaded enough. In all other cases they are quite happy to disclose why a flight is impaired.

As i mentioned in a previous

As i mentioned in a previous post:

Airlines can't cancel flights at the last minute due to lack of passengers because it is illegal. So i hardly think a big company like Jetstar would make a silly move like that. If you think it's really true, perhaps you should take them to court.

I find it quite funny that people actually think this happens, it's just an urban legend and makes it easier on everyone to point fingers really.

I understand what you are

I understand what you are saying here...I am also in the service industry and treat ppl the way I like to be treated - I'm really not majorly bothered with delays or minor changes - it happens - its not a major drama....you just read a mag while you wait! LOL but I think what the issue here is the way SOME of Jetstar staff handle these situations. I wont put all staff at Jetstar in a box and generalise about all their personalities! But I have commented on this site before..I have vowed to never fly again with Jetstar....and my reasoning is the staff's lack of knowledge and their attitudes....(well the ones I have had the pleasure in meeting anyway) I don't know who should be blamed....communication managers? Customer service staff? Directors? Who knows....but there does need to be a smoother more customer focused line of communication across all levels of Jetstar before I would consider recommending them to my clients. You call the call centre and get one answer and call again in 5 mins time and get a completely different answer - to the same question!. You get gate changes with no announcements...delays with no reason or apology....mate, if my plane is unsafe....by all means dont let me on it until it is! But let me know so I can call ppl on the other end and let them know not to come and pick me up so soon so we aren't inconveniencing more ppl - with lack of communication!

Alice.. Have you ever read

Alice.. Have you ever read Richard Branson's biography? He lists the dirty (illegal) tricks BA did to Virgin to put them out of business. If you think any airline including Jetstar can't cancel flights due to not enough seats sold you are fooling yourself. I am not saying they did on any particular occasion, but saying they didn't because it is illegal is delusional.
Qantas was recently charged with price fixing- also an illegal activity
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/01/14/3113375.htm?section=justin

Take them to court? You need deep pockets to take them to court in Australia - Jetstar know that people won't do this over a cheap budget ticket.

I think pointing fingers and

I think pointing fingers and not doing anything about it is just wasting everyones time.

@Anonymous: I certainly agree about the service level. There should never be instance where they provide bad service. However I am merely pointing out that it is illegal to cancel flights due to lack of passengers and it cost airlines money to cancel a flight anyway. So i hardly think they do so, regardless of what Sir Richard said.

Dear Alice- sorry I promise I

Dear Alice- sorry I promise I am not picking on you. You just keep saying things ... I can't prove it - but I'm failry sure when Jetstar cancel a flight - they make money! Some passengers just throw away the ticket (money for nothing), Some passengers accept the schedule change from Jetstar (thereby filling up some empty seats on a different flight), and some passengers pay Jetstar extra to change to another flight of their choosing ($40 for a change as advised by some Jetstar staff on this website a few weeks ago + the difference in the new fare cost- more money for Jetstar). Grounded planes don't burn fuel.

I have to admit, schedule

I have to admit, schedule changes are very shady and that i must agree with you that they do it to fill in flights. But i think all budget airlines do it. I once had a +3day schedule change with my Tiger flight.

But i do remember reading an article that said per canceled flight, an airline loses around $500k per flight.

However i did read an article that said since canceling flights due to lack of passengers is illegal, if there is bad weather and your flight is not full, its a very high chance that your flight will be canceled. Cos this is the time that airlines take advantage of the weather condition to cancel flights. Sketchy isnt it.

Cancelling a flight would be

Cancelling a flight would be a snack... warning light comes on? technical fault.. easy.
500k per flight? under different circumstances maybe. Of course the fares are more expensive closer to the scheduled day.. so any customers who opt to pay for a different seat/flight, and pay the $40 rebooking fee.. also pay more for this different last minute seat..
The Jetstar Vietnam flights are always full.. I've never seen a Jetstar pacific flight half sold.. on the other hand Vietnam Airlines flights are sometimes quite empty.. but that's just suspicion and isn't any proof.
Personally I don't know if Tiger are any better - I've only flown with them once- but there's no 'Don't Fly Tiger' website as yet..

They dont have to pay a

They dont have to pay a rebooking fee if their flight got cancelled. That would be evil. Lets say there are 3 flights a day and the first flight gets canceled. Well yea they can move some to the other 2 flights but the rest of them would probably choose to fly another airline: which means, Jetstar loses money. Then they offer you like $100 voucher per person: Jetstar loses money. For those who chose to stay on a Jetstar flight but a day later, they get free hotel and food: Jetstar loses money.

I personally havent experienced a cancellation with Jetstar yet, but i had a group of friends that experienced it together and i really dont see how any airline would just cancel flights on a whim.

@ Alice, This "rebooking

@ Alice, This "rebooking idea" came from what must be a Jetstar employee on the recent complaint "Don't book your flight so early - Commented by the Customer Service staff".. when the customer was unhappy with the only option alternate flight offered in the email, and was refused by Jetstar by phone to change the ticket to a nearby & somewhat equivalent destination, some helpful person by the name anonymous suggested that the customer should 'accept' the changes in the email, then simply log on and make a change to the booking- after some questioning we did discover that this easy fix would involve a $40 fee- and possibly/probably the difference in fare.

Similarly read the complaint "No Extra Leg Room for $40" to read about a passenger who had paid extra for an extra legroom seat.. but lost that seat when his flight was rescheduled.. only to be told that he would have to pay another $40 to get a extra leg room seat in the new flight.

Cancellations? there's this recent complaint on this website "CANCELLED FLIGHT AND NO ONE HAD ANY IDEA WHAT TO DO!!" where the passengers boarded the plane.. then were told to exit the plane.. then were told the flight was cancelled. Surely a flight that had boarded should be delayed.. not cancelled. Perhaps it was cancelled so JS wouldn't incur hotel bills.. not sure.

Vouchers? More than 6 months ago I had a refund that was taking weeks to appear back onto my credit card, I had my daughter in Australia ring Jetstar and follow this up numerous times, the second or third time she rang, JS customer service apologised for the delay and said that a $50 voucher will be forthcoming, a few weeks later when still no refund had appeared, my daughter rang them back again - to be told that the previous CS person was mistaken and there's by no $50 voucher..

This website is littered with complaints of delays and cancellations and no hotel is offered.

Actually - even if you read

Actually - even if you read the complaint on this very page- written by Blah Blah Blah.. the basic gist is that Jetstar are cheap, and cancellations, delays and lost baggage problems are common - and customers should just 'suck it up'. I don't think budget should involve poor service.. but 'Blah Blah Blah' and others obviously disagree with me. After all - we are talking about an Airline here. Daily they take passengers lives into their hands. And we are talking about an Australian company.. not some third world organisation. Speaking of the developing world- personally I find that Air Asia staff- being mostly happy young Malaysian and Thai - seem to try very hard to do a good job and act in a professional manner. Why is it hard for Vietnamese and Australian Jetstar staff to act the same way? Poor management in my opinion. The service is cheap, and there's a company culture that doesn't discourage staff from being rude when some problem appears.

Looks to me like its not the

Looks to me like its not the operations that are crappy, but the staff.

I am pretty sure that they shouldnt have been charged that rebooking fee. About how messy it is during a cancellation is definately a staff issue and how that one guy didnt get his vouchers, definately a staff issue. For the guy who didnt get his extra legroom after he rebooked on a cancelled flight, if the flight he rebooked on already had assigned all the extra legroom seats, they couldnt accomodate one for him. But seems there was a spot available but it definately was a staff error if they tried to charge him more.

Maybe Jetstar shouldnt really try to provide their staff adequate training. I guess people wouldnt be so angry if their flight was cancelled but the service they got was good.

Exactly, its the staff.

Exactly, its the staff. Cancellations and delays are a part of all types of travel, not just air travel. The difference lies in wether or not the staff handling the situation are arseholes or not. In jetsars case, they usually are. More training and a personality test are needed.

Actually i already mentioned

Actually i already mentioned this "i'm sure they will do there best to help you - if they actually know what customer service is".
And thats the problem there, those staff that can't provide proper service then yes, i agree get more training, test blah blah, whatever gets the stick out of there ass. Anyway my point is most people will start pointing fingers at staff who had nothing to do with the problem to begin with, so they cop all the slack from some maintenance problem that couldn't be avoided for example.

You should ask someone who works at a call centre how stressful it can be when all your clients seem to be cracking the shits over something that is out of your control, were all human so of course we are not going to be all smiles even when we have to, but hey thats part of the job.

@Phil: Thanks for your input,

@Phil: Thanks for your input, i suppose each to there own. I'm not disagreeing or agreeing with you, i respect your opinion so we'll leave it at that :). But yes, i know i'm paying for a budget airline so i guess i personally don't expect much. Either way like you said if you don't want to fly with Jetstar or don't like the service, fly on another airline service like Air Asia or even pay the extra for a more premium airline service like Singapore Airlines.

I'll still fly with Jetstar for short interstate flights and if i need to go overseas, i most likely will try another airline. But like I said it's my own preference to use Jetstars service purely for interstate travels. No ones forcing anyone to buy there service, so if you don't like it, don't try it.

@ Leo.. aim low and you'll

@ Leo.. aim low and you'll never be disappointed.. but is this what we really want for Australian tourism??.. which happens to be in the dustbin at present? Australia can spend millions on getting Oprah to breathe some life into tourism.. but it's too expensive to treat customers with politeness, respect and fairness? These things cost nothing and can live happily inside a budget business.. but only if people want it.

@ Phil of course its not what

@ Phil of course its not what i want for Australian tourism!
But thats the thing, I have been treated with politeness and respect, thats why i'm here telling people its not always there fault, there are good people in Jetstar, just as there are good and bad people in any customer service.

@ Leo.. so that's the point

@ Leo.. so that's the point of this website.. Jetstar management have created a structure where they avoid dealing with legitimate customer problems, and probably it's the 'rank and file' Jetstar employees who cop the brunt of customers anger. Sure many people have a good experience- but the role of customer service also has to deal with the cases where the wheels fall off- and Jetstar does precious little on these occasions. I'm not talking about every little nit-picky complaint.. but when you do complain to Jetstar they send you an email advising that it will be 3+ weeks before they respond- whats that about? They regularly seem to take months to make refunds (I've also had this experience with Jetstar) -- Whats that about? This website isn't aimed at making abuse at Jetstar staff.. good, bad or otherwise.. I believe it is aimed at publicising complaints about Jetstar service.. they (the management) can do better.. and I suspect the reason they don't want to do better is because it's better for profits. Cancel a flight = make more money. If Jetstar management put in place a better structure for handling complaints - the reason for this website would cease to exist. Actually the absence of any coherent response on this website by Jetstar management somewhat proves that they really don't care- that's my opinion. They know if they offer cheap fares and a 80% service.. most people will be happy and the remaining 20% can go to hell.

Like i said respect your

Like i said respect your opinion but, i'm content with mine as well :)
peace

Sorry Leo.. it's not a matter

Sorry Leo.. it's not a matter of opinion.. surely it's a matter of deliverables and taking 4+ months to issue a refund (like the complaint recently registered on this website) would or should break consumer laws.. You are welcome to an opinion.. anyone is.. but when it comes to the actions of corporations - it's not opinion.. certain actions are either legal.. or not legal.. fair or unfair..

Well if you honestly feel

Well if you honestly feel that way and your soo sure of yourself why are you on here and not in court?
Another thing is, ive told you many times before Phil, I haven't had any problems with the service so yes it is a matter of opinion, if your going to start saying what there doing is illegal, then by all means prove me wrong by taking them to court and show some proof instead of assuming things based on, yes, your own opinion. We can rant about this all day but actions do speak louder than words, so until i see some actual proof of your claims, i'm sticking to my opinion.

Thanks Leo... To take anyone

Thanks Leo... To take anyone to court would require deep pockets and physical evidence.. they are a big corporation and no little guy can stand up to them.. proof of the claims? I guess dozens of different people could go around wasting their time lying about slow refunds on this site - but I suspect not. Leo this is a 'Don't Fly Jetstar' page - a place to share your Jetstar complaints.. so if you are a Jetstar fan you could 'like' them on their facebook page and make nice comments there.

Yeah Leo. In court? Get real,

Yeah Leo. In court? Get real, little man. Yes, actions do speak louder than words, which is why jetstar is Australia's most fucked up airline. As hard as that is for you to swallow. I dont care if you respec tthe opinions of others, because I will never respect the opinion of someone who works for / sympathises with / likes / supports shitstar!

Well then there's not much

Well then there's not much more to say on this thread.
I merely wanted to share my experience.
Cheers for your opinion :)

Phil you have no idea at all

Phil you have no idea at all about what an airline does and doesn't do. The crap you have put up here. Do you have any idea of the number of Australians who have managed to fly around Australia and overseas because they can now afford to? I myself have travelled on JetStar many times and am so thankful that they allow me to do this. Now if only the accommodation prices would come down and i would be happy. Have a look at the tourism boom in so many places (likeTassie) purely due to JetStar. And we call them wheelie bins here not dustbins and great that Oprah is here but the Aussies are the ones who have made JetStar popular because it is Australians who should be travelling on Australian airlines and not ones that are owned by English tycoons or the Singapore government!

Buy Australian, support Australian, why do you have to bag something that has been successfully created for and by Australians?

Your dustbin comment really does worry me though.

They now have direct access for complaints through their website. you should spend some time doing research instead of putting this crap out. Good on you Alice!

You are so right No Idea. I

You are so right No Idea. I am a big fan of going to visit Tasmania and have noticed an increase of flights to Launceston so I can now go more often. Jetstar offers great service, low fares, one of the youngest fleets in Australia. How can you argue with that?
However Phils a bit of a whoopy. When an airline cancels a flight they have to refund all the people on that flight. This starts a chain effect because that plane also has to be carrying more passengers on the next flight but they have to refund all those peoples money too. And so forth, and so forth. The more flights an airline cancels the more money they lose. Or is that to complicated for the master of the dustbin.

As an ex airline employee

As an ex airline employee (and not all together happy one at that) I just wanted to clear a few things up. This talk of dumping of flights due to low pax loads being listed due to operational is incorrect. There are so many reasons a flight is cancelled due to operational, including crew calling in sick and no replacements or crew becoming sick inflight, mechanical issue on another aircraft and aircraft diverted to pick up stranded passengers. There are analysts that track and anticipate loads you can guarantee that loads are established well in advance and it makes absolutely no sense to cancel a flight last minute due to loads when I could be cancelled days in advance.

Hey Macca, do you go to

Hey Macca, do you go to Tasmania to visit your parents (who both happen to be brother and sister)?

i think this is getting

i think this is getting completely wrong.

IF u r saying we get what we paid for, so do they. they r working, they r getting paid and then do the job!!! the job is to service customer and get them happy.

the point here right is, i understand sometime like the plane fucked up. all these isnt the customer service fault. but what about bad tone? fucked up way to talk? " i cant give u the boarding pass!! no matter what u wont get it." is it something a customer service should say? or instead, "i am sry sir, i understand u r really angry about that, but please claim down and let me see what i can do for u, at the meanwhile would u want a water? i can get it for u "

i think every1 would prefer the second1. They r getting paid to serve customer as well, there is no such thing as we paid for poor service, no1 is stupid enough to buy a poor service. if they want to provide a service, better dun provide a fucked 1. afterall, we paid and they get paid. the writer please get this into ur mind, alot of place in the world r having so much better service than singapore, and frankly SG want to provide a T&R to outsider, then BETTER FUCKING PROVIDE A BETTER SERVICE

@ Anonymous - you are likely

@ Anonymous - you are likely an ex airline employee back in the golden age of air travel. These days the airline can quickly communicate directly with he customer via email and text. It is widely commented around the world that airlines, including budget airlines, oversell seats on flights. That is they sell more tickets for a flight, than seats available. Why is it implausible that airlines oversell flights as well? Basically in a few keystrokes an airline can cancel one flight, making three flights into two, and as a bonus some people not happy with the change ends up paying extra to change a booking online. Two flights are cheaper to operate than two, and with the technology all this can be achieved within a few hours of scheduled departure. Saying it couldn't happen because it didn't happen in the old days actually doesn't make much sense.

It is a documented fact "read

It is a documented fact "read about it" that the federal government the CAA, AIRPORTS and QANTAS worked together in a to put companies like Compass I and Compass II out of business, they violated many many anti competition laws and everyone turned a blind eye, so what makes you think JS wont cancel a flight because its not full.... ohhh and BTW please quote the "LAW" your referring to " i think you will find it covers certain carriers"

Hey Alice READ QANTAS TERMS

Hey Alice

READ QANTAS TERMS AND CONDITIONS - I guess commercial reasons covers not having enough customers.

9.2 Cancellation, Changes of Schedules: At any time after a booking has
been made we may change our schedules and/or cancel, terminate, divert,
postpone reschedule or delay any flight where we reasonably consider this
to be justified by circumstances beyond our control or for reasons of safety
or commercial reasons.

Ohhh and don't try to google

Ohhh and don't try to google it...... you can't if you google "QANTAS terms and conditions" or similar you only get info on selling services to the company..... strange HUH !!!!!