On September 29th 2009 my 77yo father and I queued for 2hrs and 40mins to checkin at Sydney International for our flight SYD/HNL, which had a scheduled departure time of 18:00hrs.
Having flown BNE/SYD on QANTAS, with our luggage automatically transferred, we transferred to SYD Int'l terminal to checkin for our Jetstar flight SYD/HNL.
On arrival at the Jetstar desks at 15:00hrs, we were surprised to see the checkin queue already out of control, a good three hours prior to departure. Our concerns hightened as we realised that only two staff were performing checkin for a fully booked Airbus A330.
As the hours ensued, we inched our way along a snake queue hundreds of people deep and were offered no apology, no water and worst of all, no seating for the elderly. It was absolutely inhumane and inexcusable.
Finally we reached one of the two checkin staff at 17:40hrs, received our boarding passes and were curtly told to "run" as the flight was departing at 18:00hrs. "Excuse me" I replied, "the flight will not be departing at 18:00hrs, as you still have over 100 people to check in, who have been here for nearly three hours as we have been... my 77yo father and I will not be running anywhere!".
To our further surprise air-side, they were in fact calling the flight for a 18:00hrs departure! Needless to say, the aircraft did not push back until 19:15hrs, after the captain explained there was "paperwork" causing the delay. Actual take-off time was 19:45hrs.
Later in Honolulu, I discovered that Jetstar routinely perform checkin under-staffed and the same thing occurred on the 28th September departure SYD/HNL.
For the record, I am an ex travel industry and airline employee of nearly 20 years service and have NEVER been so appalled with any single carrier as I am with Jetstar.
I will never fly Jetstat again, either domestically or internationally.
We queued for 2hrs 40mins to checkin at Sydney International.
International
Australia-Sydney
United States-Honolulu
Comments
hhhuhuhuahaha yeah! paperwrk,
hhhuhuhuahaha yeah! paperwrk, becoz theys cant read! or count to 10! hhuuuhaaha as if the staff r gonna give u water or make u more comfortible!
Never fly them again, a disgrace!
-R to tha Y
Yep, pretty bad but not
Yep, pretty bad but not surprising. In fact, I doubt a Jetstar staff member would have come to your aid had your elderly father collapsed in the queue. However, they might try and sell you a bottle of water and a blanket.
I would also be interested to find out how Jetstar compare with other airlines in respect to arriving and departing on schedule. Seems like there is endless paperwork and mechanical repairs to complete.
I laugh when I recall the original Jetstar TV advertisements years back with Magda, boasting that Jetstar had leather seats....big f*ken deal is all I can say.
Remmy, say again please? In
Remmy, say again please? In English this time.
@Macca. ill have a Chicken
@Macca.
ill have a Chicken wrap and a lemonade.
That's all i gotta say to u. take my order and dont whine.
Macca....chicken or fish?
Macca....chicken or fish?
You people choose to fly a
You people choose to fly a budget carrier, and do nothing but complain that you don't get the full perks (priority check in, free bottled water etc etc. Yes I agree there should have been more people on the check in counters in SYD. HNL would be outsourced to an American company. The fact is, if Jetstar were to give you ALL the things you want, the fares would be higher in price and comparable to Virgin Blue.
You all say you'll never fly Jetstar again, but I would place money on you booking again when the next 2 for 1 sale comes around.
Anonymous......the next 2 for
Anonymous......the next 2 for 1 sale by Jetstar? That's like getting boned in the arse by two knobs at the same time.
Why would you go back for more?
i aint not gonna get no 2 4 1
i aint not gonna get no 2 4 1 sale evers again! ima fly vergin blue next time and get my moneis worth!
Hooper be thankful you got
Hooper be thankful you got your damn luggage Jetstar people hate handling luggage transferred from Qantas and often it 'gets lost"
As for the balance of your appalling experience one consider canvassing in the queue for some sort of class action might be worthwhile but fears of a set of gallows with no trial at the check desk curtail such activity.