Jetstar leaves pax at terminal with award tickets

[notmensa]

Anyway I believe that if a airline forces you to mis-connect a flight then it's their job to get you to your destination .

Which bears absolutely no resemblance to the airline's T&Cs. But apparently YMMV.

o/w from Europe to Japan without a exit ticket until I get there is that permitted and if not who and when will they stop me

Could you be more specific than 'Europe'? What passport will you be traveling on?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I had a UA flight cancelled from HNL - lax I think it was last year and then they simply put me on another flight to catch my connection . Then someone on FT pointed out that I can choose how I want to get home as quick as possible . I went back to the service desk at the lounge and they gave me a nz flight in j all the way home no troubles . So I thought jq would have to do the same if not then it looks like I was lucky .

I originally booked for my sister who added a friend who asked me to book her on the same flights I didn't know she was coming from Melbourne until today I got the call from my sister . I did ask first if she had travel insurance which she didn't and she asked if she should get some I said it was a little late . But the main question is jetstar called UA to assist her with her connections or changes but when they found it was a taca award ticket they didn't want to deal with it any further .

I then logged into LM and saw a flight out tomorrow tried to book it but the seat disappeared I call into the call centre and they couldn't see nothing until the 20th out of Mel or syd to lax . Then I got to a terminal and selected the carrier UA and then date and time I knew the flight was and it came up.

Once the reservation number came thru I checked it on the UA website and it said not ticketed . I rang LM and they said because its within 24 hours we probably won't get a e-ticket so don't rely on it ? Anyway 10 mins later it was ticketed and we wait and see what happens tomorrow . Quiet a exciting day . Hope my trip goes according to plan I know everyone has their fingers crossed .

Those of you interested my executive platinum status with AA expired and so did my united 1k . But lucky for me it was a soft landing currently at the sheraton on GC in a spa studio typing this I'm tthankful for the knowledge I have learnt to help her get out of this situation . Some people were just not meant to travel . No insurance , No status , no flight .

shanye - you are confused as usual.

your ticket last year in HNL was completely different. It was all on one ticket, and you are protected if you miss a connection through no fault of your own. The airline has the responsibility to get you to your destination.

However, I'll say it again... you were NEVER entitled to DEMAND a specific routing when your HNL flight was disrupted. United has the choice how to get you to where yo need to go. From your reports I understand you argued with them and were lucky, in my opinion, not to be arrested. The fact they gave in to you should NOT be taken as being your rights in future cases. And you should not go around telling other people that this is the case because you are just wrong, and giving people a false sense of security which is just not there.

Moving on to the case at hand. As it is two separate tickets, bad luck. it is the risk you took. As it is two separate tickets there is no need for united to get you to your destination.*

When Jetstar called united, they (jetstar) probably didn't know it was an award ticket. Once United went into the booking it wouldn't have mattered if it was a TACA, SQ krisflyer, Asiana Club or any other airline issued award ticket. United CANNOT touch it unless United themselves are responsible for you missing your flight (in which case IATA provisions and protections apply like they did in HNL). If it had been a United issued ticket, United could have looked at the booking and made changes. You cannot compare your HNL experience with this one, they are totally different.

As for travel insurance... I am not aware of any company that will pay for a new connecting flight in this circumstance. (there are provisions in most policies to pay for alternative transport provided you are attending an event that cannot take place unless you are there... like your own wedding for example, or if you are the keynote speaker at a conference. But just plain miss your flight?) But I am happy to hear if there is in fact one out there.

United acted correctly in this case.

*I should edit this post with a note that there are some exceptions to the general rule... and they generally pertain to carriage by a single carrier. If you are on two separate tickets connecting QF domestic to QF international for example, I believe QF will protect you in the event their connecting flight causes you to miss your next flight. It's pretty much the same with most full cost legacy airlines in this sense.

[On a broader sense - this is another case where it is high time we had similar EU protections. If an airline cancels a flight they should have an obligation to put you on the next available flight to your destination - regardless of carrier.]

 

[medhead]

On you bookings/passport question. You should expect all airlines to strictly enforce visa/entry/exit requirements. The airlines face big fines if you attempt to enter illegally for even letting you I'm the plane.

I suggest you do your own research on the entry and exit or visa requirements of various countries. A good place to start is smarttraveller.gov.au

 

[Inver]

This is my biggest fear when booking a flight on one airline to connect to a flight on another airline when you cannot connect the PNRs, even when they are both revenue tickets. I try to leave a day between them in case what happened to your friend does happen.
.

Same if I'm on holiday I don't need the stress. It's better to have a day between flights if I will be catching an international flight.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Another quick question if I book a o/w from Europe to Japan without a exit ticket until I get there is that permitted and if not who and when will they stop me . At the European check in or at Japan or at Sydney when I leave to go to Europe and ask me for a return ticket back to Sydney which I won't have booked yet ?

Unless you have a passport or other residency that allows you to stay in Europe on a one way ticket you will be asked, at check-in, for evidence of a ticket OUT of Europe. This may be satisfied with the ticket to Japan. You will need to check that question with the carrier uplifting you to Europe. The airline will want to be covered for your return journey in the event you are denied access to europe for any reason.

In Europe, you will not be allowed to check-in for the flight to Japan without an onward or return ticket (unless you have a passport or residency arrangement for Japan that allows you to stay there indefinitely). If you manage to get past check-in, you could be stopped at any other time (as happened to me just recently when I was paged last minute during a transit to give details of my ESTA and address in the US to the airline about to carry me - even though I had given all these details to the original airline in Sydney and should have been in the booking).

 

[serfty]

...
*I should edit this post with a note that there are some exceptions to the general rule... and they generally pertain to carriage by a single carrier. If you are on two separate tickets connecting QF domestic to QF international for example, I believe QF will protect you in the event their connecting flight causes you to miss your next flight. It's pretty much the same with most full cost legacy airlines in this sense.
...

I think Qantas will also protect on a qantas/oneworld separate ticket situation (or even oneworld/oneworld). I believe there exists an "Endorsement Waiver" clause as part of the confidential oneworld contractual Agreement that member airlines must adhere to. AA publicly allude to such.

 

[markis10]

Most people who travel would never call a JQ revenue fare on one ticket with a UA Award on another a connection.

 

[oz_mark]

I am impressed that jetstar even called united at all.....

 

[UP4014]

I can't work out why if you're making a booking from Melbounre to LAX it wouldn't be done via the same airlines? Or even the same alliance group, one world or star alliance which might give you a hope.

 

[mannej]

Out of curiosity - how much time was left between the JQ flight and the UA flight?

 

[markis10]

I can't work out why if you're making a booking from Melbounre to LAX it wouldn't be done via the same airlines? Or even the same alliance group, one world or star alliance which might give you a hope.

Availability would be key, given the fact it's an award booking.

 

[Shanye2233]

I can't work out why if you're making a booking from Melbounre to LAX it wouldn't be done via the same airlines? Or even the same alliance group, one world or star alliance which might give you a hope.

This ticket was my sisters friend ticket . She asked me to book her a ticket on the same flight as her. I had no idea she was coming from Melbourne .

 

[Shanye2233]

Out of curiosity - how much time was left between the JQ flight and the UA flight?

I think there was about 4.5 hour gap there. But when JQ cancelled her flight there was no availability on the next two flights which left her missing the UA flight .

 

[lovestotravel]

So many cool stories

 

[Shanye2233]

Mel_travellr when I was in HNL I was happy for them to re route me on another UA flight . Until someone on FT gave me a document which states I'm allowed to choose my earliest or convenient connection . I'm sure you can find it . I got a answer to my question which was when JQ called UA why didn't JQ follow through and change her ticket . And it's because UA can't change the ticket because its a taca award ticket .

I also appreciate everyone's comments good and bad . Both pax are in l.a now so it's a happy ending.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I had a UA flight cancelled from HNL - lax I think it was last year and then they simply put me on another flight to catch my connection . Then someone on FT pointed out that I can choose how I want to get home as quick as possible . I went back to the service desk at the lounge and they gave me a nz flight in j all the way home no troubles . So I thought jq would have to do the same if not then it looks like I was lucky.

IMHO JQ by calling UA, went above and beyond what was required of them which was to get your friend from MEL/SYD only. If UA were the carrier flying her SYD/LAX & they couldn't change her ticket I don't know why you think JQ are meant to step in & rebook her to LAX.

In the case of disrupt situations JQ generally prioritise pax (ie who gets the first seats on the next available flights) in order of checkin which they can determine by a pax's sequence number. If your friend had done OLCI and had a low sequence number she may well have been rebooked onto the next flight.

I originally booked for my sister who added a friend who asked me to book her on the same flights I didn't know she was coming from Melbourne until today I got the call from my sister . I did ask first if she had travel insurance which she didn't and she asked if she should get some I said it was a little late . But the main question is jetstar called UA to assist her with her connections or changes but when they found it was a taca award ticket they didn't want to deal with it any further .
Some people were just not meant to travel . No insurance , No status , no flight .

What I find most disturbing about the passenger is the fact she was travelling to the USA without travel insurance. Never mind being covered for missed flights etc what about overseas medical expenses. If she was to be hospitalised what proof would she have to provide a hospital that she would be able to pay possibly tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills???

Sisters friend and I didn't know she was booking a JQ flight . I wouldn't have asked the question if jetstar did nothing but the fact they called UA and tried to help out but when they found it was a taca redemption their help ceased. Anyway I believe that if a airline forces you to mis-connect a flight then it's their job to get you to your destination . Like I have said UA cancelled my flight in HNL and I was connecting on a OZ flight on the way back which I would have missed . Not only did they re route me but they let me do it any way I choose too. I'm thinking it may be because its on the same ticket and in this case JQ aren't connected at all to the UA or taca booking.

JQ didn't 'force' the pax to mis-connect - their obligation was to get the pax MEL/SYD only. It wasn't JQ deciding they didn't want anything to do with it, it was UA - Jetstar simply conveyed UA's message to the pax. It was a point to point booking with JQ MEL/SYD not a booking with onward connections as the UA booking was totally separate.

Another quick question if I book a o/w from Europe to Japan without a exit ticket until I get there is that permitted and if not who and when will they stop me . At the European check in or at Japan or at Sydney when I leave to go to Europe and ask me for a return ticket back to Sydney which I won't have booked yet ?

It is the responsibility of the checkin person at the city in Europe (where you checkin and obtain the boarding pass for the carrier carrying you into Japan) to ensure that you have the required documentation & meet the criteria as outlined in timatic by the Janpanese authorities which may include holding proof of onward travel out of Japan.

If this is a requirement you may be denied uplift in Europe until you purchase such a ticket. If having an onward ticket was a requirement and this was not checked in Europe, Japanese authorities still have the right to deny you entry to their country in which case you would be put on a plane back to the city where that flight uplifted you from.

I would call the Japanese Consulate and give them all the information so they can confirm whether or not you need to have proof you are holding a confirmed ticket out of Japan.

 

[ermen]

I would call the Japanese Consulate and give them all the information so they can confirm whether or not you need to have proof you are holding a confirmed ticket out of Japan.

My experience at Japanese immigration was that they didn't ask for any proof of on onward tickets (travelling on an Australian passport) even though I normally print out a copy of my ticket to bring with me. Come to think about it, I do not recall ever being asked at immigration to show an onward / return ticket even at any border crossing in Europe (Schengen area), UK, US, Singapore...

It's all a risk management game...

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Check timatic for the the immigration requirements. If you require an onward or return ticket and dont have one the airline may not let you travel regardless of whether immigration officers check on a regular basis.

 

[ozmille]

My experience at Japanese immigration was that they didn't ask for any proof of on onward tickets (travelling on an Australian passport) even though I normally print out a copy of my ticket to bring with me. Come to think about it, I do not recall ever being asked at immigration to show an onward / return ticket even at any border crossing in Europe (Schengen area), UK, US, Singapore...

It's all a risk management game...

That risk management goes both ways, is it worth running the risk that the airline won't take you to Japan?

 

[elbarto]

That risk management goes both ways, is it worth running the risk that the airline won't take you to Japan?

The op will probably run that risk and blame the airline when things go pear shaped.