JetStar - The new media Whipping- Boy!!

[TIMMEEEE]

First it was QF, then AN, then VB and now the media have a new whipping boy to slag.

From the ABC news website:

Jetstar investigates seatbelt slashing
11:18 AM August 1

Jetstar is investigating the slashing of two seatbelts on a flight from Hamilton Island to Sydney nine days ago.

Flight attendants discovered the damage after the plane arrived in Sydney.

Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway says a search of the aircraft failed to find any sign of a sharp object which could have caused the damage.

"We acted appropriately, we've notified authorities, we're looking into the matter further," he said.

"We don't operate the airport security at the airports where we fly. We clearly ... seek to get to the bottom as to how it may have occurred."

Source: ABC

[Kaptin M]

And with no seat allocation, there's NO way they could point the finger at any particular individual!

The TRUE cost of LOW cost (p!ssed off pax) is rearing its ugly head early with J*.

Would someone care to list the "pro's" and "cons" of no seat allocation (Rafferty's Rules) system.
It's taken us thousands of years to develop a civilised society, and J* have taken the first steps in UNDOING this, with their "Might is Right" policy of non-assigned seating, imo.

[Tunguska]

Having flown Southwest Airlines in the USA they operate a similar system.
My belief is that if the punter is getting a fare for 2/3 of F_ckall or a really cheap deal they just dont seem to give a toss.

I reackon they must just be pleased that they made it on time!
Although this may seem to be a pain in the arse with the closing of flights go to beautiful downturn Luton or Stansted and see what happens if similarly late.

At least its motivation for idiot pax to be there on time and proceed to the departure lounge as directed.
On time departures means that costs are reduced.

Hopefully Brett Godfrey may realise this and take serious strides to improve VB's deplorable ontime dispatch.
Godfrey insisted on-time dispatch figures be made public by the authorities for all airlines after whining and carrying on in the media as per usual.
This has backfired on both Vb and himself severly after VB's lousy on time figures were made public for one and all to see!

Gee Brett, you're actually making QF look efficient and business like!
Godfrey appears to be his own worst enemy in this case.

[sinala1]

This has backfired on both Vb and himself severly after VB's lousy on time figures were made public for one and all to see!

Yes, they are available to see, along with QF, QFLINK (at this stage JQ not listed, as info on http://www.btre.gov.au/avstats/otp/0404/industry.htm only goes up until April 04), Regional Express and SkyWest.

From the DJ website, OTP figures are as follows:

June '04 90% On time
May '04 93% On Time

Then from the DOTARS website, the following is available up to and including April 04:

APRIL:
Qantas 88.7% Departures on time
Virgin Blue 91.1% Departures on time
Qflink 89.5% Departures on time

MARCH:
Qantas 92.1% Departures on time
Virgin Blue 92.8% Departures on time
Qflink 89.8% Depatures on time

FEBURARY:
Qantas 92.4% Departures on time
Virgin Blue 90.7% Departures on time
Qflink 89.3% Depatures on time

JANUARY:
Qantas 87.3% Departures on time
Virgin Blue 84.4% Depatures on time
Qflink 88.6% Depatures on time

As per the IATA standard, a flight is classified as being on time if it departs within 15 mins of its scheduled departure time.

Excepting January, where all 3 airlines listed did not meet the 90% benchmark, I fail to see any lousy on time performance figures for any airlines Tunguska... perhaps your mouth could be a little more "on-time" with its comments, rather than trying to get away from the gate a bit too early and therefore unprepared???

[rescue 1]

Hmmm the old OTP debate.

I hear through the industry that VB reschedule flights that are running late to lift the stats?

[sinala1]

If I understand correctly (open to correction) the IATA standard goes on published scheduled time?

[Blastoid]

I have just returned from my first J* experience (and no, I am not a media hound!).

Muchly disappointed with the "free-seataing" policy - I am convinced it brings out the utmost selfishness in people. Lady with Seq. 71 in her hand lined up at the "people travelling with young children stage" and was allowed to board, no questions asked (and she clearly required NO assistance), which only enrages others who watch these selfish people get away with it. And no, the policy is not J*'s fault (they can choose whatever policy they like) but they should ensure compliance to keep the pax happy. :bored:

Also amazed at people's apparent stupidity (or is it ignorance?) when boarding - they run to the front of the line, then sit up the front of the plane - for what? To pretend they are in business class? I boarded about no. 20-30 both times and got the emergency row both times ... ahhh the legroom! :ok:

Cabin crew professional and courteous - a pleasant change!

Can someone explain the row that is roped off (about row 5 for memory) - is this for cabin crew seating or for some other reason? :confused:

[sinala1]

From what I understand, certain rows are roped off in different zones of the a/c depending on the load, to ensure load & trim is even..

[Wirraway]

Sun "Sun-Herald"

Seatbelt slasher feeds airport security fears
By Frank Walker
August 1, 2004
The Sun-Herald

Two seatbelts slashed by a smuggled knife or sharp blade have sparked a major security alert at Qantas's cut-price offshoot, Jetstar.

Flight attendants were shocked to find the slashed seatbelts when the airline's 150-seater Airbus A320 from Hamilton Island arrived in Sydney.

The buckle from one seatbelt and part of the buckle from another had been taken.

Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said the airline did not know who sat in the seats as there is no seating allocation on Jetstar flights.

"It is a concern as obviously somebody got something sharp enough aboard to cut through the tough material of a seatbelt," he said.

"Jetstar and Qantas security are investigating the matter along with airport security at Hamilton Island.

"There is full screening at Hamilton Island, both of passengers and their luggage."

Jetstar will not review its policy of not allocating seats.

"The free-seating policy is not an issue as it is approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority," Mr Westaway said.

"We are satisfied with the arrangement. It is used by many airlines in the world, including Ryanair in Europe and regional airlines in NSW."

The plane on which the incident occurred, flight JQ705, left Hamilton Island at 9.35am on July 23 and arrived in Sydney 2 hours later.

Hamilton Island airport manager Jason Rainbird said neither Qantas nor Jetstar had informed him of the incident.

"We have the same level of screening as Sydney airport. We X-ray all baggage and carry-on bags have to go through the normal X-ray screening.

"Passengers walk through metal detectors and we have the wands to check for anything suspicious," he said.

Five security people are employed at Hamilton Island airport to screen passengers. Five flights a day go through the island.

Mr Rainbird said no malfunctions of security equipment had been reported.

Transport Minister John Anderson said yesterday that the slashed seatbelt was a serious incident and was being investigated by security officials.

"We are trying to find out exactly what happened and where it is appropriate to make changes to policy and procedures to prevent any recurrence," he said.

Cockpit doors on jet aircraft such as those operated by Jetstar had been strengthened to make sure passengers could not reach the pilots.

Regional airports were given $35 million in the last budget to improve security, but none of that will go towards passenger screening.

Nearly all regional NSW airports do not screen passengers or their baggage.

Mr Anderson's spokesman said that screening would only be brought in at regional NSW airports if jets started flying in with more than 40 passengers.

Labor homeland security spokesman Robert McClelland said reports of security scares at Australian airports occurred almost daily.

"This latest incident of someone cutting a seatbelt is just one more concerning report about the state of security at our regional airports," he said.

"Despite the growing number of incidents, the Government continues to drag its feet on upgrading regional airport security," he said.

"Transport Minister John Anderson committed to implementing his limited upgrade of regional airport security before July 1 this year.

"That deadline has come and gone and the only progress has been a headline-grabbing press release."

Other critics said the slack security exposed by the cut seatbelt on Jetstar showed huge improvements were needed at regional airports.

Transport Workers Union national president Hughie Williams said regional airport security was poorly staffed and airlines were trying to cut costs.

"If you can cut through a seatbelt, you can cut through someone's jugular vein," Mr Williams said. "This is an appalling security breach."

A security audit of regional airports earlier this year found poor security left commercial planes unguarded at night, vehicles travelling on the tarmac without clearance and poor fencing.

The confidential audit prepared for air operators found staffing and resources were low.

NSW director of the Australian Airports Association Michael Dubois said no regional airports were getting screening.

"The cost of installing and maintaining screening would put most regional airports out of business," he said.

===========================================

[pullock]

So the media are gunning for Jet - perhaps that is because they pose such an easy target.

Without the media to keep em honest - even with biased poor quality reporting, imagine what they would be doing (they = the industry at large).

[eyeonthesky]

Remember there will always be journalists who are "ambulance chasers" - from the tabloid rags and some of the comercial current affairs programs ...

However, there are serious, responsible journo's who don't write trash ...

Some of them write balanced, fair and accurate stories and actually specialise in writing about aviation and travel...

Don't taint us all with the same brush ...;)

[Binoculars]

Kaptin M,

You asked for a pros and cons list of Rafferty's rules when it comes to seating. As Blastoid noted, some of the less attractive side of human nature is brought out, but I find far worse at supermarket cashiers. If people want to run over somebody to achieve a better seat, well, that's life. For the life of me on a 60-90 minute flight what these people think they are gaining is beyond me, apart from the first 8 or so in the queue who get the extra legroom. Me, I'm happy to be the last one on board, avoid the queueing and take whatever's left. It's a seat, ferchrissakes.

I assumed the roped off rows were for reasons of trim and weight balance, in which case they shouldn't really apply on full flights, should they? Dunno.

Realistically, there is only one "pro", and that is the same pro which excuses having to manoeuvre your own baggage between connecting flights and, most extraordinarily of all unless what I hear is incorrect, a forfeiture of your money if you are late for a connecting flight even if it was bad weather or Jet*'s fault that you were late.

It's fairly obvious what that pro is. I recently had to attend two funerals in Brisbane in a week. Over the net on short notice I purchased a total of five return airfares for my family and self on short notice for less than $1000 through Jet*. On the particular flights I booked Virgin didn't even look interested in competing with Jet*'s prices. QF's "compassionate" fare was $660 return.

WE may not feel altogether comfortable with some of the aspects of low cost airlines, but times they are a'changin', and Freddie Laker is being proven to have been 35 years ahead of his time. This isn't a third world country, and Dick Smith notwithstanding, I'm happy enough with the safety regulatory authority in this country to allow my family to fly on Virgin or Jet* at any time without fear of poor maintenance leading to a disaster.

As for the media's whipping boy, I think Timmeee protesteth too much. The media doesn't really discriminate when it comes to "seconds from disaster" stories; anybody will fit the bill.

P.S. Unless somebody can assure me that the forfeiture of fare I mentioned above is incorrect, I think I'll be giving Jet* a miss for connecting flights!

[Kaptin M]

G'day Binos....

You certainly saved enough to buy a couple of beers AND the hotel accomodationat a future date!:E One of the pro's!
And what you say about pushing and shoving to get "just another seat" with NO extra advantage, is a load of codswallop. (The testosterone level starting to wane??!!!!:} )

But there now appears to be a niche for some enterprising insurance company.
Just as the Japs insure themselves against hittting a "hole-in-one" in golf (because it costs them an arm and both legs if they have to pay for it), I wonder if some insurance companies might be willing to cover punters who miss connecting flights due to their previous flight running late?
Interesting concept?

[Binoculars]

Kaptin M, I'm not sure that if it's testosterone that produces the unseemly antics in queues then I want my levels any higher. :uhoh: But I'm a little confused; are you saying there is a huge difference depending on where you sit in the "slimline" Jet* arrangement, or have I misunderstood you?

Whatever, you are dead right about the number of drinks I have paid for by using Jet* recently. Happy to shout you one of them next time.

:ok:

[Kaptin M]

How would you like to spend 60 mins in the centre seat with someone around the size of Kim Beazley on one side, and on the other he likes of Wally Lewis, Binos?

Flying on QF last year, I saw a husband and wife, each one of those approximate porportions, enter the EY class cabin, and thought to myself "This will be interesting".
They squeezed into their seats (she by the window, and he in the centre), but had to sit at about a 30 degree sideways angle (yes, extension seat belts were used) to fit.
Then another pax, who was seated in the same row arrived.
Although a bit of shuffling went on with the male partner of the original two, it was obvious that there was just NO way his body would not encroach well over and onto the pax seated on the aisle seat.
Fortunately the flight wasn't full, and the pax in the aisle seat was moved to another row.

It's strange, isn't it, that as the human race increases in size - and I see that it is now acknowledged that Australians are entering the "obese" category (http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/178_09_050503/cam10689_fm.html) at a higher rate than ever before - aircraft seats and pitch are being reduced!!

Chances are, on a full flight, the last available seat(s) will be the middle ones

Cheers, Binos.