I couldn’t believe it. I knew the staff that work for jet star were rude and had little to no customer service skills. I’ve flown jet star 3 times, so I know all about that. But never, EVER, would I have expected them to threaten me physically.
We had just finished running through their horribly unclear “safety” methods when I decided it might be a good idea to put my hand luaage in the overhead compartment.
When I tried this a jet star staff member who’s nametag read “Paul”, stopped me and refused to let me put my bag in the compartment. This is a basic safety requirement and one that I am complete within my rights to exercise.
He strode down the aisle and yelled “OI!”
I stopped, so did most of the passengers on the plane.
“You cant put that in there now! Sit down!” he yelled.
“But I just wanted to get it out fot he way for take off…” I said.
“NO! Sit down, or ill make you sit down!” he yelled.
Needless to say I was shocked and couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Make me sit down?” I asked with obvious disbelief.
“Yeah, ill slam you into your seat and strap you in if I have to! Now sit down now!”
At first I thought he was joking, but the look on his face was serious. So were the looks the other Jet star staff gave me.
“NOW!” he yelled again.
I sat down, putting the bag under the seat.
I’m still in shock. I’m a 53 year old woman and have never been treated with such outright disrespect and hostility in my whole life. I’ve been flying since I was 14 years old, too.
What a disappointment. The plane was on time, all my baggage accounted for and no delays. The staff though was another story. No respect or manners at all. I will never ever again fly this airline and I will be telling everyone I know to do the same, and I know a lot of people who fly.
Don’t Fly Jet Star. Whatever you do, Don’t Fly Jet Star.
Comments
So you didn't listen to the
So you didn't listen to the safety instructions.. then proceeded to get up anyway when you could have just put your bag under the seat. THEN you could have put it up in the overhead compartment. Hardly their fault.
Paul was clearly stressed out
Paul was clearly stressed out in that he had failed in his duty earlier and shown his ineptness by not noticing before when he checked the cabin that your bag was not up. Thats still no excuse though that his weakness should cause him to behave in such a way.
I did listen to the safety
I did listen to the safety instructions, which is why I tried to put my bag in the overhead. There was plenty of time to do so, he just reacted in an insane way. The instructions where "make sure all hand luggae is stowed in the overhead compartment", so I checked and tried to do it. Seconds later he attacked me verbally with threats of a physical assult.
I'm thinking of pressing charges. They can't act like this.
Jetstar gets the reject staff
Jetstar gets the reject staff that don't get jobs with proper airlines....makes you wonder about the pilots!!!!!!
Judy, The way this man
Judy, The way this man reacted wasn't in the interest of customer service but what if they were just about to start the takeoff roll and you're worrying about your bag. Whether you realize or not it is an extremely big safety concern and is why they have the seatbelt sign. Did you know you can put your bags under the seat in front? That would've the more appropriate thing to do. He did not react appropriately however you were at fault.
Brian, Jetstar has the most strict requirements to fly for them than those requirements of any other airline.
Macca when you say jetstar
Macca when you say jetstar has the most strict requirements would that imply that's because of weaknesses elsewhere in the safety of the airline compared to others?
Judy i was on flight one
Judy i was on flight one time and it was well before we we ready to go a woman across the aisle was fiddling with her phone to and one of their larger ones came along and barked 'turn that off" in a loading booming voice. i thought the noise at first was coming from her bottom.. (maybe that was her breath)..any ab out 7 or 8 mins alter the gal upfront go on the mike and got everyone ready to go and then said its time now for everyone to turn their phones of as well. so i have no idea what the barker was on about. at the time myself i felt the one the larger one spoke could have been racially motivated as she was talking to older asian lady.
i reckon we should have awards for jetstar people.
Anon, your comment doesn't
Anon, your comment doesn't make sense. I'm not sure what you don't understand but ill explain again. Jetstar's pilots have to beable to meet strict experience and quality requirements. In simple terms their pilots have to work much harder to get into Jetstar rather than Virgin Blue or the likes. This is to ensure safety is their first priority for their passengers. Hope this helps.
Hi Judy, sounds like it would
Hi Judy, sounds like it would have been a pretty embarrassing experience. Paul sounds like a dickhead. Even if you were in the wrong, he should not have reacted like a Nazi.
Judy, if I was sitting on
Judy, if I was sitting on that plane with you in sight, I would have been rolling my eyes at you not at Paul. If the safety demo has finished and the plane is taxiing out to the runway, you should (obviously) not be getting up. If you go against instructions (seat belt sign) of course they will re-act this way. I know everyone on this site are virgin blue lovers, but I have actually seen their crew yell at passengers who move seats/stand up whilst the seat belt sign is on.
@ Anonymous- interesting your
@ Anonymous- interesting your comments "If you go against instructions (seat belt sign) of course they will re-act this way." why of course? A customer does something - even a stupid something.. and the Jetstar employee behaves in a threateneing and violent manner.. and it's a matter of course? Not with most other airlines - but obviously with Jetstar. And what man ever says to a woman they they will 'slam them''? No-one can defend this behavior.
Phile, exactly. Even if I was
Phile, exactly. Even if I was in the wrong (though I can't see how on earth I was), how the in the world was Paul's reaction justified? The seat-belt sign was NOT on, and several other passengers around me were listening to mp3 player devices and even using cellular phones. There is NO EXCUSE for such violent behaviour. I am sixty eight years old and I've seen alot and flown alot, but never have I encountered such reckless disregard for customer care.
A disgrace.
They're cheap.. 50% of
They're cheap.. 50% of Jetstar profits come from people who buy a ticket and don't fly.. stuffing people around with schedule changes, or selling cheap tickets where there is a huge abandonment rate is obviously profitable.. they sell cheap tickets in order to put pressure on Virgin.. if Virgin went out of business Qantas and Jetstar would enjoy the lion's share.. suggest next time choose Virgin and try to get others to do likewise.
I will definately be flying
I will definately be flying Virgin next time, no doubt.
Not in defence of the flight
Not in defence of the flight attendant because if this story is true that is pretty shocking, but having been on a number of airlines in the last year I found Jetstars safety instructions/ demo one of the easiest to understand. Be interesting to know what part was horribly unclear..
@ Anonymous - that's easy to
@ Anonymous - that's easy to understand.. it's a recording that says something like "ensure that all hand baggage is safely stowed in the overhead lockers or under the seat in front".. if they happen to play the recording AFTER the seat belt light is on.. some passengers would hear the first part of the message and seek to comply with that part of the message..
I wasn't on the flight at the time- but if the plane is quick to belt up and taxi off, and slow to play the safety instructions- it could happen.
But none of this is really to do with following safety instructions - it's all about verbal abuse by a male airline employee on an older female customer/passenger. It is abusive behaviour and abuse of authority.
That makes sense.
That makes sense.
judy you said that paul did
judy you said that paul did this after the safety demo? If that is so, the seatbelt sign must have been on, its a safety requirement at this stage of the flight.
Was just wondering about
Was just wondering about that.. It's very rare I'd imagine that the safety demo starts before the door is closed while the seatbelt sign is off......
Hhm, 'Judy' on 28 January you
Hhm, 'Judy' on 28 January you were a 53 year old woman, and then on 7 February you were 68 years old...? Maths isn't my forte, but that doesn't add up. If you have flown as much as you say, you would surely know when it is best to have your luggage stored in the overhead compartments and when it doesn't fit under the seat in front. Apart from those anomalies, if your story is true, Paul may have been out of line in how he approached you, but to me it sounds like you left it too late to put your luggage in the overhead compartment - when the seatbelt sign was on. But I suspect this incident may be fiction.
Sorry Suspicious - no matter
Sorry Suspicious - no matter how Judy lies about her age when is it OK for any man anywhere anytime to treat a woman passenger/customer that way. Even if she left it too late to put her luggage up- wouldn't it be equally bad if she travelled with it on her lap? Perhaps she should have her luggage dematerialise? There are not a few complaints on this website about militant Jetstar staff ejecting passengers over seats and trivial matters.. a recent complaint about a seat allocation by a grandmother and the famous Jon Stevens incident reported in the papers a few months back. Finally- what motive could Judy have for making up such a complaint? Fame and fortune? I don't think so.