Don't Fly [Jetstar]

[firstclasser]

Yes, I know about the risks of flying LCC. But the comment was "you get what you pay for'. If you pay - whatever the airline happens to be asking at the time - then you should expect to be flown what you booked for, absent weather, mechanics etc. within reasonable limits. It shouldn't be a lottery.

Jetstar unfortunately seems to have the habit of cancelling flights for no obvious reason, and then seems to have no compunction in making people wait for up to days for an 'available' flight. And yes, I know its in the T&Cs, but I'm arguing on a more basic level.

I've only ever flown with them a couple of times when there was absolutely no other choice or the price difference made it silly not to fly with them - but in all cases I had no time pressure to get to destination (1 hr flights).

If I read between your lines correctly, then I think we are both more or less saying the same thing.
At the end of the day the way I look at it is that if I'm paying less than half price of another airline for the same route, if they cough* me around a bit I can't really complain. Once I purchase an airfare of a LCC airline I do expect the unexpected, and if the flight goes smoothly then I've won, and if there's cancellations then I guess that is the reason they're so cheap after all.....

 

[dajop]

If you have status (and even if not, if you ask the right person nicely) - many US carriers will indeed look after you, including interlining you onto other carriers or re-routing you via alternate connections.

If you don't have status with that specific airline it can be difficult (eg star gold doesn't count for much on UA). But it's what I expect. For some reason people expect JQ to behave like QF during cancellations, when they're standard is no better or worse than many foreign carriers.

I recently had a cancelled UA flight (YYZ-ORD) due to bad weather at EWR, a 8pm and last flight. Initial offer was 17:30 next day as "earlier flights were all full" , which was unacceptable as I had a subsequent AA flight at 20:30. They then offered 10am, but wouldn't do earlier flight (expert flyer showing seats on earlier flight), or book me on another carrier (such as AC). EF was also showing a 2 empty seats on AC flight that evening, but the agent said "the departures board is not accurate, that flight has also been cancelled", well odd, as I tracked it on flightaware after it departed. They also made out the cancellation was due to rain in YYZ, which is why AC were cancelling their flight, but the reality it was bad weather in New York area.

Anyway, just glad it's 2017 and I'm travel savvy, as booking accommodation was as simple as getting onto an app using airport wifi, booking something, and trundling down the shuttle area. Sometimes I wonder if the JQ crowd complain so much because they don't have the travel experience to take things into their own hands.

 

[anat0l]

I think almost every major corporation in the world has some website out there which is anti- or "don't buy from etc.".

 

[RooFlyer]

If I read between your lines correctly, then I think we are both more or less saying the same thing.
At the end of the day the way I look at it is that if I'm paying less than half price of another airline for the same route, if they cough* me around a bit I can't really complain. Once I purchase an airfare of a LCC airline I do expect the unexpected, and if the flight goes smoothly then I've won, and if there's cancellations then I guess that is the reason they're so cheap after all.....

Mmmmmmm ... not quite (but no biggie!). I don't believe in the philosophy "its cheap, so therefore I should be OK with being screwed around for days."

I'm saying that a LCC shouldn't leave pax stranded for perhaps days on end after a cancellation (especially a non weather or non mechanical cancellation) because it doesn't suit them (financially) to accommodate the pax earlier - not saying it should be the next flight, or with another carrier (at least not initially), but more of an effort than just finding empty seats over the next few days.

The airline asks a commercial price. You buy the service - to fly MEL to BNE on the Tuesday. It ends up being Thursday - that shouldn't be allowable IMHO without substantial effort to fly you earlier, say the next day at the latest. Taking out their or other travel insurance doesn't get you to where you should be when you booked to be there.

Yes, I KNOW that's not the LCC model and I know I'm gunna get nowhere; I like howling at the moon . But if everyone just shrugs their shoulders and accepts being treated like a bloody nuisance (or worse) by the airlines after they have taken our money - and not just on this type of issue - they'll just get worse and worse.

 

[docjames]

They have departures on some gates there occasionally I think

Just had a look at MEL website.

Looks like VA use gates 11/12/13 at times.

 

[RooFlyer]

Just had a look at MEL website.

Looks like VA use gates 11/12/13 at times.

Regularly use them for HBA arrivals :evil:

 

[dfcatch]

Booking with a LCC airline comes with the inherent risk of delays and cancellations. I will never book with JQ if I need to be somewhere important. I only book when my life won't go up in flames if I arrive a day or two late.
Anyone booking with a LCC needs to be aware and understand these drawbacks, and have a 'buyer beware' disclaimer in mind.

But it shouldn't!

Flying with a LCC should give you the unbundled fare package that you have purchased.

You should expect to pay extra for food, bags, and seat selection.

You should expect to be unable to change your ticket.

You should however still expect them to actually fly you in a manner that reasonably reflects what you've purchased.

And regardless of T&Cs - yes - that includes a reasonable timeframe too.

 

[dfcatch]

If I read between your lines correctly, then I think we are both more or less saying the same thing.
At the end of the day the way I look at it is that if I'm paying less than half price of another airline for the same route, if they cough* me around a bit I can't really complain. Once I purchase an airfare of a LCC airline I do expect the unexpected, and if the flight goes smoothly then I've won, and if there's cancellations then I guess that is the reason they're so cheap after all.....

But often - you're NOT paying less for JQ.

And often - depending on your flight routes - you may not have much choice.

 

[dfcatch]

If you don't have status with that specific airline it can be difficult (eg star gold doesn't count for much on UA). But it's what I expect. For some reason people expect JQ to behave like QF during cancellations, when they're standard is no better or worse than many foreign carriers.

I recently had a cancelled UA flight (YYZ-ORD) due to bad weather at EWR, a 8pm and last flight. Initial offer was 17:30 next day as "earlier flights were all full" , which was unacceptable as I had a subsequent AA flight at 20:30. They then offered 10am, but wouldn't do earlier flight (expert flyer showing seats on earlier flight), or book me on another carrier (such as AC). EF was also showing a 2 empty seats on AC flight that evening, but the agent said "the departures board is not accurate, that flight has also been cancelled", well odd, as I tracked it on flightaware after it departed. They also made out the cancellation was due to rain in YYZ, which is why AC were cancelling their flight, but the reality it was bad weather in New York area.

Anyway, just glad it's 2017 and I'm travel savvy, as booking accommodation was as simple as getting onto an app using airport wifi, booking something, and trundling down the shuttle area. Sometimes I wonder if the JQ crowd complain so much because they don't have the travel experience to take things into their own hands.

And your coughpy agent aside - I have indeed found UA to be both amazing and hopeless, both with and without Status when it comes to re accommodation.

With JQ - it's only hopeless.

 

[JohnK]

If I read between your lines correctly, then I think we are both more or less saying the same thing.
At the end of the day the way I look at it is that if I'm paying less than half price of another airline for the same route, if they cough* me around a bit I can't really complain. Once I purchase an airfare of a LCC airline I do expect the unexpected, and if the flight goes smoothly then I've won, and if there's cancellations then I guess that is the reason they're so cheap after all.....

Cheap is one thing. Being stuffed around is not justified.

If they can't handle customer service they shouldn't be in business.

 

[serfty]

...

You should however still expect them to actually fly you in a manner that reasonably reflects what you've purchased.

And regardless of T&Cs - yes - that includes a reasonable timeframe too.

It was 'sharp' practices like cancelling lightly sold scheduled flights at short notice (to save money) from carriers such as Ryanair that led to the introduction of EU261/2004.

After fighting the regulation in the courts (and losing) these airlines then began practices such as merely 'delaying' flights - sometimes by 24 hours or more to avoid the 'compensation' provisions.

That led to court decisions such as "Sturgeon" and now a three hour+ delay is subject to 'compensation'.

If only there were such regulation in Oz.

 

[dajop]

And your coughpy agent aside - I have indeed found UA to be both amazing and hopeless, both with and without Status when it comes to re accommodation.

With JQ - it's only hopeless.

To be fair to both JQ and UA ...

Firstly I have seen and heard of JQ moving pax to QF on MEL-SIN and vice versa. I have wondered if it was a group decision to cancel JQ when combined loadings are light on the days when the two QF flights are operating (giving 3 group flights + EK codeshare).

And to be fair to UA, I've never had a problem with UA mainline. Just UA regional (operated by whoever the regional operator is ) through ORD ... 5 out 5 issues (3 offloaded/delayed luggage, 1 cancellation and 1 minor delay of about 2.5 hrs...)

But I do agree that EU261 style regulations might be useful to help prevent gross delays to passengers on JQ and TT due to commercial decisions to cancel flights.

 

[Justinf]

I live 30 minutes from Avalon airport and 75 minutes from Tullamarine (and that's with a good run - sometimes it can take nearly two hours).
Sometimes when I take my family to visit my sister in Sydney, it's a no brainer. Short drive. Drive right up to the car park and basically at check in after a two minute walk.
Cheap fares.
Of course if there's a delay (which I haven't experienced yet), it would get very tiresome.
if I am flying solo, I will always choose QF or VA out of MEL, but with a few extra people, it's JQ out of Avalon every time.