JetStar glitch leaves 300 stranded for two days

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bambbbam2

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From:
JetStar glitch leaves 300 stranded for two days | NEWS.com.au

"ALMOST 300 Australian tourists were stranded at Honolulu airport for two days after a Jetstar plane broke down.

The budget-price airline angered passengers by refusing to organise a replacement aircraft.


Instead, they spent 48 hours trying to repair the jet's fuel system.
"We've spent two days in the airport being kept in limbo whilst the airline was trying to fix a problem that we didn't know existed or not," passenger Kim Auswild, from Bellevue Hill, said.


Jetstar said it had been unable to charter another aircraft or find seats for the stranded passengers.


The Hawaii debacle is a disaster for the low-fare airline's bid to be treated as a serious international carrier since it launched its overseas services in November."
 
Welcome to LCC world!

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the present situation, no one should expect J* to behave any differently than any other LCC when problems occur.
 
It also effected pax here.
The flight from MEL-HNL on friday was cancelled, the thing is some pax ended up flying to SYD to be put up in a hotel and catching a flight next morning whilst others just had to go home, get a flight at 08:00 next morning for a flight from SYD at 18:00 (10 hour wait in SYD airport).
I have been looking at arranging a holiday to HNL but would not consider flying QF or JQ with the problems they have had on this route.

Colin
 
Not only welcome to Jet* but welcome to the future Qantas. In 5 years other than big profit routes ie SYD-LAX and about 6 -10 others everything will be JETSTAR.
The way of the dollar here we come
 
turtlemichael said:
Welcome to LCC world!

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the present situation, no one should expect J* to behave any differently than any other LCC when problems occur.

It isn't just LCC. In the middle of last year, I was travelling BA from PRG to SYD, via LHR, in Business Class D. When bad weather made me miss the connecting flight from LHR, BA kept me in London for 2 days (without any luggage) until they could get me on the same D category seat back home. Despite there being J category seats available and going empty. And then it took me about 6 months (and many letters & phonecalls) to be reimbursed the accomodation & transfer expenses while in London. And then they lost my luggage for 6 more days.

So now, I have very low expectations of all airlines, and if travelling for business, try to make sure that I get wherever I need to go at least 24 hours early. Not that that would have helped the unlucky Jetstar pax.....
 
adrian said:
It isn't just LCC. .

My one experience of QF service in those circumstances was a 18 hour delay in Singapore a few years ago. I was in J. We were put in a hotel for the period, given money for food and taxis and obviously very well looked after. In your case, though it was a struggle, you did eventually get reimbursed. The J* HNL lot I would expect will get nothing. It will be interesting if someone posts as to what actually happened during that incident and what exactly the treatment was. Even though they are a long way from perfect I'd much rather be dealing with QF mainline, or any of the full service carriers, when something goes wrong than taking my chances with J* or any other LCC.
 
turtlemichael said:
Welcome to LCC world!

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the present situation, no one should expect J* to behave any differently than any other LCC when problems occur.

I had rather quite a nice experience with LCC Air Asia last year when my flight from HDY to KUL was delayed by about 5 hours.

I was given a voucher for a few hunded baht to be used at one of the airport bistros. Quite a nice gesture really, when the airfare only cost a few hunded baht.

Moving on to "full service" carriers, My wife and I had an interesting experience with LH a couple of years ago. We were scheduled to fly BCN-MUC-BKK-SYD (C class), but due to snow at MUC, our incoming flight was delayed so we would have no chance of making our connection at MUC.

After much haggling with the local LH ticketing staff, they agreed to put us on a QF flight FRA-SYD the following day, but told us because the delay was weather related, we would have to pay ourselves for the extra night in BCN. Fair enough we thought, and successfully claimed back the additional costs from our travel insurance (the ANZ Gold Visa card).

So, no hassle at all, really...
 
turtlemichael said:
The J* HNL lot I would expect will get nothing. It will be interesting if someone posts as to what actually happened during that incident and what exactly the treatment was.

I believe they were put up in hotel accomodation. Not sure about the vouchers for food etc.
 
I recall reading an interview with the founder of Ryan Air in which he expressed reservations as to whether the Low Cost model was appropriate for long haul travel. It think that says it all.

Ryan Air offer cheap flights over relatively short distances in Europe. The low cost of the ticket combined with the short flight times make the no-frills service bearable. In the event of an equipment failure such as this - worst case scenario you write off the cost of the ticket and look for an alternative flight home on one of the competing LCCs or via train or whatever.

Jetstar International are a Low Cost Carrier offering limited flights, limited service and selling tickets at rates equal to competing full service carriers (Malaysia Air, Thai, Hawaiian Airlines). Why on earth would you choose this product ?
 
The reporting on this was horrendous on TV last night - lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth. Lots of people saying that they would never fly JQ again - which I completely understand and sympathise with. However this was JQ's first major failure and people did get home - the way it was reported was as if people hadnt made it back at all.
 
simongr said:
The reporting on this was horrendous on TV last night - lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth. Lots of people saying that they would never fly JQ again - which I completely understand and sympathise with. However this was JQ's first major failure and people did get home - the way it was reported was as if people hadnt made it back at all.

Yeah! Its good journalism isn't it? I would like a dollar for every bad airline story on the news where passengers are interviewed and say: "I'll never fly with them again." This could have happened with any carrier on any route. My wife and I are flying JQ to HNL and back in June (BTW it cost $1800 all up return for both of us) - with a trip to the rest of the LOTFAP in between. I'll do a trip report especially noting the JQ legs.
 
mabunji said:
I recall reading an interview with the founder of Ryan Air in which he expressed reservations as to whether the Low Cost model was appropriate for long haul travel. It think that says it all.

quote]

Ryanair have now announced they plan to buy 787's to go long haul also.
 
simongr said:
However this was JQ's first major failure

JQ's inaugaral MEL-HNL flight with all the fanfare and hoopla was cancelled. I think JQ would have thought that was a major failure

There has also been a number of flow on effects from this incident as well.

From an article today
"after one group of angry passengers was forced to stay in the wrong city overnight and another offered $8 food vouchers when their flight was cancelled.
Last night a Jetstar flight was turned away from Sydney Airport because it was just after the 11pm official curfew.
The plane was forced to fly to Melbourne's Avalon Airport. Passengers were provided with free hotel rooms and had a special flight put on this morning to return them to Sydney.
But the special flight from Melbourne meant another Jetstar flight, JQ482 from Sydney to Hamilton Island at 6.55am, had to be cancelled, leaving numerous holidaygoers fuming."

Jetstar loses more of its shine - Business - Business - smh.com.au
 
How some of you can continue to defend Jetstar is beyond me.
S Westaway just doesnt get it unfortunately.. and being a LCC, there is clearly no budget for ones PR needs.
Any customers with complaints might as well email Simon at simon.westaway@jetstar.com.
From experience, that usually gets a response (or a conference call with other head honchos).

Any angry Hawiian punters want to take the JETSTARSUCKS.COM domain off my hands? I'm keen to dispose to someone with more energy than this dissatisfied customer!
 
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Robert Barlow said:
This could have happened with any carrier on any route.

Yes to an extent. It's particularly unfortunate for JQi to have had problems with such a high proportion of their fleet at the same time.
 
jetstarsucks said:
How some of you can continue to defend Jetstar is beyond me.

I dont thin a lot of people are defending JQ - my main criticism is of the airline in the press - the indignaiton and outrage for a delay seemed excessive - especially given it was headline news. C'mon - it was one plane. Think back to LHR before Christmas when freezing fog closed the airports - now that is a significant disruption.

I know this will be flame-worthy but on some levels I dont have a huge amount of time for people who buy dirt cheap (comparatively) fares and complain that they get dirt cheap service. I personally will not fly JQ except under extreme conditions (i.e. there is no other option) because it is a cheap and nasty budget carrier - any expectations above that are bound not to be met.

Frankly if you buy a Daewoo dont expect it to drive like an Audi...
 
mansai said:
Last night a Jetstar flight was turned away from Sydney Airport because it was just after the 11pm official curfew.
I have had exactly the same thing happen with QF and heard of DJ experiencing it at least once. This is not an LCC issue, but a result of a delayed departure and inability to make up enough time to land before the curfew. The SYD curfew is strictly enforced and dispensation rarely provided.
 
simongr said:
I know this will be flame-worthy … it is a cheap and nasty budget carrier
Well, of course I will bite… JQ is sometimes cheap (most notably during a sale period SYD-OOL=$49, or a special event promotion SYD-OOL=$22) but I would never call them nasty! They have the friendliest call centre staff I have ever encountered (they may not be trained too well, or know how to do much, but they always have a smile in their voices). As for a budget carrier, yes they do try to keep their costs low, but as long as they pass on those savings to me, in my ticket prices, I’m happy.


Kiwi Flyer said:
It's particularly unfortunate for JQi to have had problems with such a high proportion of their fleet at the same time.
simongr said:
…C'mon - it was one plane. Think back to LHR…
It’s about proportionality, as Kiwi Flyer states. JQi has a fleet of 6? If so, then losing 2 aircraft, or a third of your fleet in two days is going to stuff things up, big time! So yes, look at the trouble BA had when perhaps a similar proportion of its fleet was unable to be in the right place![/color]

So, given that it is about proportionality, the response should have been better.

jetstarsucks said:
S Westaway just doesnt get it unfortunately..
I agree that SW is probably more comfortable taking a long corporate lunch with the big end of town, than being effective at understanding/communicating with JQi’s particular customer base. We should have seen TV/newspaper shots of him (as he seems to be the face of JQ these days) copping it sweet from every angry passenger. They needed to vent at someone, not just TV cameras.

By this morning, we should have heard big time from JQi – firstly on it’s website, detailing exactly what happened. (Even as informed as we try to be in this forum, I still am not sure of exactly what the problem(s) were, and what went wrong.) Next, JQi should have been in the papers, clarifying the issues, apologising again, and letting us know how they will change - after learning from this problem (e.g. customer charter of rights in a delay).

JQi is still young enough for passengers to forgive teething problems, in the medium term, if situations are managed well, immediately. But it can NOT appear arrogant in anyway, like a more established market player might get away with.

PLUS, I’m flying them again in a few days, and want to know if I should be expecting flow on effects/delays. [JQ, in my experience, is nowhere near as competent as QF, when it comes to informing passengers about delays, particularly when aware of them prior to a passenger heading to the airport.]
 
I am not surprised by the problem/delay Jetstar suffered at HNL. As a frequent visitor to HNL I have to think hard whether I have ever seen any Airbus aircraft there (of course there must be some flights). I wonder therefore how much service and backup for Airbus exists at HNL. All the main airlines into HNL use Boeing equipment. United, American, Continental, JAL, Korean, Air Canada, etc....oh and of course QF have flown nothing but Boeing there for almost 50 years.
 
maninblack said:
I am not surprised by the problem/delay Jetstar suffered at HNL. As a frequent visitor to HNL I have to think hard whether I have ever seen any Airbus aircraft there (of course there must be some flights). I wonder therefore how much service and backup for Airbus exists at HNL. All the main airlines into HNL use Boeing equipment. United, American, Continental, JAL, Korean, Air Canada, etc....oh and of course QF have flown nothing but Boeing there for almost 50 years.
AC had an A340-300 operating the Canada-Australia route via HNL for a while. But your point is accurate and well identified.
 
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