From the Age:
Turned back at gate
My 19-year-old daughter phoned, sobbing, from Coolangatta Airport saying she had been turned away from a Jetstar plane that was about to depart. A female flight attendant had told her that her carry-on bag was too big and she would need to pay $80 to have it checked.
She had flown from Sydney two days earlier with the same carry-on bag but the attendant said the Sydney staff weren't doing their job properly.
The attendant then announced the flight was about to depart and that my daughter would need to pay again for the next flight. My daughter said she couldn't and began to cry.
At this stage the manager arrived and told her that she was "causing attention with her attire" and asked if "blondie was getting upset because she might not see her boyfriend that night?"
According to our daughter, other passengers carried on similar bags.
Jetstar has no customer service direct line and offers to return calls within 72 hours but no contact has been made.
- Daryl Feil
Check-in missed
My daughter was at the Jetstar check-in counter at Coolangatta Airport 35 minutes before departure for her flight to Sydney but was told the flight had closed. There was no apology or explanation.
I called the customer service number to complain that they don't adhere to their own policy. (Jetstar policy is to close check-in 30 minutes before scheduled departure.) A customer service agent put me on hold and after waiting for more than five minutes I figured she had simply hung up on me. I guess that's one way to deal with complaints.
- Lorelle Pollard
We seem to be following the Ryanair model here - absolutely no customer service.
Letters: teen in tears after Jetstar rejects cabin bag