Disruptions Are the True Test of an Airline

Last week I flew with Jetstar from Canberra to Melbourne. The low-cost carrier wouldn’t normally be my first choice of airline, but this flight was absolutely perfect.

My Jetstar flight ran on time, my checked bag turned up at the other end and, thanks to my Qantas status, I was able to use the Qantas lounge in Canberra.

For less than the cost of a standard Economy ticket on Qantas, Virgin or Rex, I was even able to get a Jetstar ticket with a Max Bundle. This meant I could choose an extra legroom seat (which happened to come with a shadow), got a snack on board and earned Qantas points & status credits at the Flexible Economy rate.

So, does this mean Jetstar is a great airline and I should fly them more often? Perhaps, but not necessarily…

If this was my experience every time I flew Jetstar, I would seriously have to question why it’s worth paying more to fly other full-service airlines. But it’s easy for any airline to look good when everything happens to go right. The true test of an airline is how often things go wrong, and much more importantly, how well the airline handles inevitable disruptions.

Disruptions are a normal part of travel, but the recovery matters

Delays, cancellations, lost baggage, downgrades, broken seats, catering failures and malfunctioning in-flight entertainment… they can happen when flying on any airline.

Disruptions like delays and cancellations are known in the airline industry as Irregular Operations, or “IRROPS” for short. Often these things happen for reasons beyond the airline’s control – they’re just part of the risk of travel. Things don’t go right 100% of the time, and that’s to be expected.

But there can be a huge difference in how airlines deal with these issues. Some communicate very well, treat their passengers fairly and try to fix any problems that arise quickly, minimising the disruption to their passengers. Other airlines do a terrible job of this.

I’ve had my fair share of issues with Jetstar over the years, and came to realise a while ago that the cheap fares came at a price. If something went wrong, which seemed to happen more frequently than with other Australian airlines, you couldn’t be sure of getting a fast resolution. Just ask the family that was recently stranded by Jetstar in Bali for 18 days.

But when things go right, Jetstar can be absolutely fine.

The same could be said of Qantas and Virgin Australia. Most of the time, everything works and you’ll have a good flight. But both airlines have dropped the ball a few times this year.

For example, Qantas has left passengers to sleep on airport floors with no communication, abandoned passengers after they missed their international connection and tried to charge customers $3,000 to get rebooked onto another flight to London after their connecting Qantas flight was delayed. Virgin has also had its issues, as have many other airlines around the world. Thankfully, these incidences now seem to be happening less frequently than they did earlier in the year.

In my years of flying, I can recall a couple of disruptions that were handled particularly poorly by the airlines.

American Airlines once left me to sleep on the floor of Raleigh-Durham Airport overnight after I missed my connecting flight, the airport hotel was full and there were no staff available to help at the airport or the call centre. All the airline staff had gone home before my inbound flight landed and I had no idea if I’d been rebooked onto another flight.

I also had a nightmare trip once with TAM Airlines in Brazil where my flight was diverted and I ended up arriving at my destination 17 hours late… on a bus, having received one sandwich and a bottle of water throughout the whole trip.

Both of these disruptions were caused by adverse weather, which is not the airline’s fault. But the communication and recovery were both terrible. In the case of the TAM disruption, I was also lied to multiple times by airline staff.

On the other hand, if an airline communicates clearly and works to minimise the disruption to passengers, IRROPS are far less of a problem. I once had an overnight delay flying with Qantas from Dallas to Sydney which was clearly communicated, with passengers given meal vouchers and put up in hotels for the night. That was handled very well and ended up being quite a positive experience.

What are your most memorable experiences with airline disruptions – both good and bad? You can leave a comment or discuss this topic on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.