Norm Cameron

Posted to Jetstars Facebook page today :=
Thank you Jetstar for reducing my 14 year old Grandson to tears by refusing to board him and his sister on a Flight to Sydney until they each personally provided photo ID's as proof of age, despite them being accompanied to the Gate by their Grandparents. You were happy enough to accept an Adult fare for him too!! Shame on you. You need to teach your Ground Staff something about Tact, Politeness and Courtesy. Young Adults of 14 shouldn't be browbeaten or bullied in the same way your staff appear to browbeat and bully their older customers. Advice to parents and Grandparents. If you want your children treated with Compassion, Kindness and Courtesy, don't use Jetstar

Jetstar gave an excuse that they have RULES and Procedures which is fair enough but doesn't justify bad behavior.

My Reply to Jetstar:-
My family accepts Jetstar's requirements for travel, and our Grandchildren met those requirements, although I note that I didn't observe any other travelers asked to provide photo ID, only Boarding Passes, which we had. My problem is NOT with your Airlines policies and procedures but with the treatment of my Grandson by members of your Staff. He was belittled, humiliated and frightened by his treatment and the manner in which he was spoken to. I would suggest they would not dare speak to an Adult in that way, and I would also remind Jetstar these Children were paying customers NOT criminals on the run. The Staff initially refused to speak to either of his Grandparents who were present, nor to his parents by phone, but rather directing their interrogation to my Grandson telling him that if he could.not produce Photo ID neither he or his Sister could fly. He did produce ID, but this was not deemed acceptable. My point is that young Adults rely on people in positions of Authority for guidance and protection, your Airline offered neither and denied them the support of the Adult members of their family to whom they would normally turn to for support and guidance and who were present. This is NOT acceptable and all your apologies or excuses about rules and how busy they are will never make it acceptable. These Kids are seasoned travelers, they have traveled all over the World, on many different airlines, and we have never before encountered such a degree of officiousness and such a total lack of empathy for another persons feelings as we encountered today. I guess it might be empowering to reduce a young man, already burdened with the responsibility of guarding his little sister's well being, to tears, by bullying and threatening behavior but it is certainly not a good advertisement for any business. I intend to re post this in as many forums as I can to ensure this type of behavior is nor repeated with other young people.

Domestic
Australia-Brisbane
Australia-Sydney

Comments

Further correspondence from

Further correspondence from Jetstars Facebook Page
George Charlton I was formally in the industry, the staff did everything right regarding not allowing your child to board without the proof of age. In the event a staff member boarded a child under 12 travelling alone- they would receive a big fine from CASA. Obviously their delivery of the message was disgraceful and out of line. The reason for the rule is already obvious within Melanie's comment here. I would strongly urge you to book with an airline that provides full service assistance for minors. Even though you say your child is 14 you need to realise if there is an emergency on board, diversion to another airport, landing on water etc how the heck do you think your child would cope given their Anxiety Disorder and ASD if he is a "hysterical mess" from simply being talked down to by lousy staff? The really young and really old struggle with budget airlines as they don't realise they operate low service options to keep the cost of the ticket lower - that's why they don't have the resources to offer assisted travel for minors
Like · Reply · 6 hrs

Norm Cameron

Norm Cameron You make the same assumptions that the spokesperson for Jetstar made. My complaint is not with concerns you raised, all valid. Nor with the rules and regulations. Allow me to disabuse you. All the rules and regulations of the Airline were met. The Children were of age, both very experienced travelers, They make this particular trip 4 times a year. The boy had ID, just not the Photo ID required by Ground staff. The fact that they were allowed to board the aircraft confirms that. That aside, I would have no problems if he had been dealt with in a manner appropriate to the circumstances and not been humiliated, bullied and threatened and denied the support of those people who could have better addressed the situation than a 14 year old in a stressful situation. Perhaps Jetstar ground staff should spend time working with other members of Airport Staff. like the Customs and Security people, who behave with courtesy and friendliness and make the experience pleasant and comfortable. They might realize that "Budget" does not mean "Cattle Class" and start treating their customers accordingly. Your argument that lower costs mean that people assign away their right to be treated with respect and dignity and should be treated accordingly is of course totally self serving and wrong and sounds like more excuses for bad behavior. Lower Options should not be a euphemism for "no rights". People fly Jetstar for a myriad of different reasons, not always because of cost, and when does price become a factor in determining whether a person deserves to be treated properly and accorded their natural rights as a human being?. Perhaps in your world. but not in mine!!

Not all children have photo

Not all children have photo id , my husband is travelling with our 11 year old grandson from Sydney to Gold Coast 18 June 2016 and all he will have is a certified copy of our grandsons birth certificate. I have rang the customer service centre and told them to ensure that is put on the computer as I wont be travelling with them and don't want drama . If there is drama I will absolutely freak as I don't travel Virgin due to this issue when they insisted on photo id for my then 9 yr old grandson at Christmas , I told them no passport , they wanted school photo id , my grandson attends a Catholic Primary School they have no such id.