Cancelled for no reason

We turned up at Christchurch airport on Sunday 21 August 2011 to find that our flight to Brisbane had been cancelled. The most frustrating aspect of our experience was the complete lack of active support by the airline for its customers. Some customers seemed to be able to go down the online check-in queue (which had no one in it) and gain service straight-away; but the majority of customers had to wait in a long queue. I gained the distinct impression that those customers who let off steam got serviced quickly and those who were reasonably patient were ignored. We were eventually told - some three to four hours later - that we would fly the next day to Melbourne, requiring a 2am (Brisbane time) wake-up call and that we would then fly from Melbourne to Brisbane at 3pm (Brisbane time), making the trip close to 24 hours in length.

When I asked whether we could catch an earlier flight from Melbourne I was advised to hang on to the one I had - as if I had been really lucky to get it.

At no stage was there any acknowledgement of the impacts of the change; and there was no explanation for why the change had taken place. You can't help but gain the impression that the airline's attitude is that they are doing an extremely good job in offering us all such cheap service; and that we should recognise that we are just cattle, so lucky to have a generous airline considerate enough to run a cheap service, and that we should just suck it up. So different to my Virgin experiences, which I have to say have been much better.

I don't know much about the airline business but I couldn't help but think that the airline chose to cancel the flight to maximise their returns. I don't know how much it costs to fly an aircraft from Christchurch to Brisbane, but whatever it costs, Jetstar didn't have to pay it, or certainly didn't pay for any aircraft costs. At least 200 pasengers all flew on existing flights to Brisbane, with some not bothering to wait and flying on other carriers; no doubt hoping that they will get their money back.

Maybe the industry should investigate this sort of behaviour; and look to change the regulations. I believe we should have received full compensation for our fares, regardless of the fact that the airline eventually got us to Brisbane. Full compensation (within certain limits - say maximum 4 hour delay) would maybe focus the airlines on meeting their commitments. Why should I have 24 hours of my life removed from me for no reason?? In particular, why, in the 21st century, should I have this happen to me with no explanation?? At the very least, I would like to know why the flight was cancelled??

It's not right. But, hey, Karma exists. These guys won't be around for long given their attitude.