I have just looked through their website and have found two references to their on-time policy.
JET SAVER FARE RULES
- This Booking is non-refundable. Cancellations at any time or failure to
show up for the flight at least 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure will result in the fare being forfeited.
and this...
Arrive on Time
To help us get you to your destination on time we must get your flight away on schedule. To do this we will close check in 30 minutes prior to departure. We recommend that you arrive a minimum of 1 hour before your scheduled departure time to ensure you don't miss your flight. Check in will open 2 hours before your flight is scheduled to depart.
Passengers who
arrive after check-in has closed will not be able to board the flight and will lose their seat – no refund or free transfer is available and you will be required to book and pay for a new ticket if you wish to travel.
I think it could be argued that if you can be found standing in the check-in queue then you have fulfilled your obligation to "show up" or "arrive". How Jetstark chooses to (mis)manage the queue is Jetstark's problem.
Qantas for example will call for passengers already in the queue to proceed to a dedicated check-in desk to fast-track flights that are getting too close to the departure time. Why shouldn't Jetstark be expected to do the same?
It might make some employees feel all warm and fuzzy inside by "getting back" at those troublesome passengers that turn up late, but to simply take the money and not offer a seat on a later flight (if one happens to be available) with an additional booking fee (wouldn't dare call it a penalty), is forgeting the fact that our industry is a SERVICE industry and we all depend on return business.
I know I know the rules are plain and simple (although I still reckon it's debatable what "arrive" actually means). It just seems to me to be rather short sighted. Might be good for business on the day in that it helps with the all important on time departure, but in the long term it might be counterproductive with their next airline ticket purchase and those of their friend's and family's going elswhere.
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.
That goes for all of us.