I’ve always said that airlines would operate a lot more efficiently by banning all pax. They clog up the system and ruin OTP. On the other hand…
Why is it that JetStar has made the 30 minute cutoff such a burden for themselves? Most other airlines while still using similar time constraints entrust their frontline staff to make decisions on denied boarding or otherwise depending on the actual circumstances (including OTP consideration).
JetStar didn’t invent OTP. But their way of dealing with it is alienating pax and potential pax. It also may indicate a lack of understanding of basic client respect and possible future consumer backlash. Some pax will always be difficult. But try as we may, no amount of beating them up will achieve the holy grail of getting all the pax to perform like battery hens. This is why airlines, as service industries, employ ditzy and the boys who are the experts in people handling.
Let them do their job.
When it’s all said and done, we should remember that the pax are the ones who pay the money that eventually fills our rice-bowls. And it’s real neat when they come back for a second bite of the cherry. It might be a good idea for JetStar not to scare them away.
(commander adama, Wrong assumption old bean!)