My annual holiday with my 8yo son turned into nightmare on day 1 with Jetstar. We were to travel from Sydney to Manila. I provided our travel documents at Sydney airport and was told by a Jetstar representative that we would have a connecting flight 3.15am in Darwin airport.
Upon our arrival at Darwin airport we were refused boarding by a Jetstar representative who demanded a photocopy of our flight itinery for our departure flight due in 2 weeks time from the Philippines. I had a digital copy on my i phone and a back up copy on disk. I was told there was no facility at the airport for printing a hard copy in Darwin airport. I was told by the Jetstar officer that this photocopy would be demanded upon our arrival in the Philippines by immigration for entry to that country and they must refuse our travel on the connecting flight if we did not have it. I was told to pay $200.00 to Jetstar for a seat on the flight at 3.15am the next day. It was very upsetting and my 8y.o son was in tears but Jetstar staff showed no care.
I asked why I was not told this at the beginning in Sydney instead of the halfway point where we had no accommodation. We were not the only passengers left stranded trying to take this connecting flight. Another single parent with a teenage child was left in the same predicament.
We returned (with the near thousand dollar value photocopy) to take the flight 24 hours later and were at the boarding gate when a Jetstar announcement was made for passengers who did not have photocopy of their flight itinery out of the Philippines to come to the desk. A number of Korean men stood up and went to the desk. I could see the horror in their eyes as they were informed 15 minutes before the scheduled take off.
They produced a laptop and gave the Jetstar officer a digital copy. This took my attention as I was refused this procedure. The passengers were allowed to board the aircraft and a Jetstar officer magically appeared on the aircraft minutes before the flight departure with their photocopies.
When we arrived in the Philippines we were not asked for the photocopy! Choosing Jetstar as my travel provider caused me to be at risk with a child in the drunken streets of Darwin city at 4am on a Saturday morning searching for accommodation. The additional costs mounted to over $500.00 and sadly the loss of a day from our planned vacation.
Left stranded half way by Jetstar acting Immigration
International
Australia-Sydney
Philippines-Manila
Comments
i have to say this one is
i have to say this one is your own fault!
bullshit Ronny
bullshit Ronny
Yes my fault I chose Jetstar
Yes my fault I chose Jetstar and with the experience of over 50 international flights with various airlines this one stopped our journey and refused to offer the assistance they had on hand. You may be lucky and have the gay one get you on Ronny.. remember fly is cheap! (also Wings Air slogan) I will not take the gamble with Jetstar again to get to a destination.
Pfft. Ronny is a Jetstar
Pfft. Ronny is a Jetstar shareholder.
I also faced the same experience. I've NEVER in my 20+ years of travel been asked to produce a print out of a flight that have nothing to do with the current flight. And they used the same excuse. They claimed that the custom of my destination will demand such print out. And of course. There was no such thing upon arrival.
Australia seems to have only ONE goal in mind. Rob as much as you can from EVERY traveler coming in and out of their country.
"Australia seems to have only
"Australia seems to have only ONE goal in mind. Rob as much as you can from EVERY traveler coming in and out of their country."
I fail to see how it's the whole counties fault. You can't judge the whole of Australia by this one shitty airline.
Chris: Yea. ha ha. I
Chris: Yea. ha ha. I shouldn't blame the whole of Australia for Shitty JetStar. But, to a certain degree, thats how most travelers feel. The airline staff ends up being the first impression and the last impression of each country you visit. And JetStar sure ruined it for Australia! Unfortunately.
For us. Not only do we never want to fly JetStar again. We would be quite hesitant to visit Australia again! The extra $500+ charges (inconsistent baggage claim, unwarranted print out demands , new online visas etc) and horrific services and treatments is just not worth it. The fact that we all have to spend a chunk of our life'time' ( time = priceless ) venting on this website goes on to show how everyone should avoid JetStar like the plague.
I understand where you are
I understand where you are coming from. And I agree that when traveling to a country, the airline is often the first thing that you come into contact with that represents the country.
This site was created for people vent, infact, mine was the first jetstar complaint....so vent away :)
Budget airlines in Europe
Budget airlines in Europe seem to come up with new schemes to get a little extra money eg. not printing your boarding pass online 'that will be 20 please sir'..but you are assisted by staff and make it to your destination - unlike Jetstar turning our holiday travel into horror and showing no care!
Glad to be able to share my experience on this site so that people are aware of these normally hidden matters.
i'm not a shareholder of
i'm not a shareholder of Jetstar or Qantas (at the moment).
and i have myself suffered from the unhelpfulness of Jetstar.
i have suffered from financial loss from jetstar arrangements as well.
however in this case, i believe that it is the laws of other countries that say you "may" be required to produce a printed itinerary upon arrival and if you failed to comply with that requirement you "may" be deported. And i'm sure it's written somewhere on the 300-page terms and conditions to which you agree when you made your purchase.
You should hold on to your end of the bargain. i.e. comply with the law, and do what you have agreed to do.
the fact that they did NOT check your printed tix upon arrival doesn't meant what Jetstar did was unjustified. It's like when your son is old enough to drive, you will tell him to put on a seatbelt, for his safety and for the fact that the police will give him a fine if the doesn't.
But if he puts on a seatbelt, and along his journey he doesn't run into the police and consequently doesn't get a fine, it doesn't mean he could just come home and yell at you for making him wear a seatbelt.
i meant you no personal ill will but i just looked at your situation from a different perspective. and in anyways, wherever i come from, whatever my employment/education situations are or whether or not i have further travel plans with Jetstar, should NOT be taken into consideration when reading my argument. Read it and feel free to attack the reasoning or the arguments themselves, but not the person behind them.
If immigration does not want
If immigration does not want you in their country they will find a reason. Another maybe photocopy proof of hotels or accommodation for the entire stay but Jetstar acting Immigration didn't go that far thank God..maybe they will for passengers on next weeks flights? The Jetstar staff who met us at the half way point obviously had the capacity to help print a photocopy from my digital copy but chose not to (I HOPE THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION IS NOT ENTITLED CUSTOMER SERVICE). The facilities at the airport were the same the following day when another passenger in the same situation was assisted by a different Jetsar staff member. I found being a Jetstar customer was like paying to play Russian roulette. The Jetstar staff who let us on at the beginning in Sydney assured us that we would be transferred to another Jetstar plane in Darwin to continue to Manila. That staff member made the wrong assumption or lied and/or was neglectful after viewing the same documentation for travel. Nothing against your perpspective or orientation Ronnie ;) but you make your own decisions and may ride without your safeharness even if someone has risky ride.
Saw a television program on
Saw a television program on budget airline scammers and their management call it 'value adding'. Their aim is to make you purchase with them thinking that you will pay less then do everything possible to bring your fares to the higher level. Do you really think Jetstar cares about foreign immigration policies or getting a quick extra $200.00? In the end I could have travelled in comfort with a good airline and it would have worked out much cheaper than Jetstar and without the nuisance.
Just read Item 1 of Jetstar's
Just read Item 1 of Jetstar's Customer Guarantee:
'Your safety is our highest priority.'
When we were refused a 3.15am connecting flight in Darwin we were told that there was a taxi service running from the airport ($30.00) into the city and backpacker accommodation was available. We followed these instructions and found that my 8yo son was not permitted to stay. We were left standing on the street dodging the drunken hoards leaving the clubs that were closing. I don't think Jetstar had priority for our safety, leaving us in a compromising position with their bad advice and poor customer service.
'With our heritage as part of the Qantas Group, you can expect our absolute commitment to safety as our first priority, in everything we do.'