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lchiu7

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#81386 12-Apr-2011 13:49
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I was booked on a flight from Auckland to Wellington a few weeks ago. The flight was initially delayed from its scheduled 8:35pm departure until about 10pm. When the flight arrived in Wellington, it made two attempts to land but because of high tail winds and wind shear, it was unable to land. The pilot then flew back to Auckland and we arrived about midnight. It took over twenty minutes for two aborted attempts so the total time in the air was about 2 hours 20 minutes. Note in over 25 years of flying into Wellington this is the first time I have been on a flight that could not land and this time it tried twice.

Clearly while weather conditions are out of the control of the pilot  I was initially surprised that the flight crew announced that they were planning to open the drinks trolley en route to Auckland but still expected the passengers to pay for refreshments. As a courtesy to the passengers because of the inconvenience I would have thought at least the drinks could have been complimentary. Ultimately this point became irrelevant since they did not open the drinks trolley.

Upon nearing Auckland we were informed that there were no further flights possible that night and that Auckland passengers should go home and others would have accommodation arranged for them.  As you can imagine the airport was deserted at this time with minimal ground staff so there was a considerable delay in processing all the passengers who needed accommodation and new flights.

By the time I was able to have accommodation booked for me, it was nearly 2am and the only flight they could book me on was a 17:30 flight later that day. With my business commitments this was unacceptable to me so I was forced to book an early flight with Air NZ so I could return to Wellington in time. This cost me $320!

On the morning of 28 March I called the Jetstar customer service team to ask about the sector I was not able to take and was told it would be referred to the Customer Relations Team with my potential options being either a refund for the sector or a voucher. I would be contacted by that team in due course.

On 5 April I called again and was told the Customer Relations team normally responds in 10 working days and that time had not yet elapsed.

I called again today (11 April), now 12 days since my original call not having received any callback from their team. After spending nearly 20 minutes with their call centre and elevating the issue to a supervisor I was told, they would raise the matter again with the Customer Relations team and to expect a call in 3-5 days.

Im my view this is poor customer relations. Should they call me in that timeframe it would have been over 15 working days since my initial complaint. I don't know what service levels they are trying to achieve in terms of customer response, but these targets are very modest to say the least.

All I can say it, this is my first experience with Jetstar and is likely to be my last.   Be warned - when you travel a budget airline you get what you pay for.





Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


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codyc1515
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  #457819 12-Apr-2011 13:52
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lchiu7: when you travel a budget airline you get what you pay for.

So true.



scuwp
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  #457825 12-Apr-2011 14:09
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I guess the warning is as always you get what you pay for. If it's that critical then paying a bit more for a better service or for an airline with a bigger fleet and therefore more options to ensure you complete your travel in a timely manner surely make more sense?

I agree in any event the "Customer Relations Team" need to get their act together.










Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation



xpd

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  #457835 12-Apr-2011 14:23
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When I flew down to Wellington last Septermber for work and a GZ mod meet, we flew straight in on time and out again a few days later via Air NZ. No problems.

Yet one of my mates who was flying down on Jetstar around the same time had his flight in delayed by 18hrs due to the winds, and on his way out delayed for 24hrs due to wind. Yet during this time every other airline was flying quite happily.

Jetstar seem to hire green piolts who dont like being bumped around :)




       Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

 

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billgates
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  #457843 12-Apr-2011 14:30
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I always use Air NZ to travel in NZ and to Australia. Never had any issues. Great service all time around.




Do whatever you want to do man.

  

johnr
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  #457845 12-Apr-2011 14:32
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I don't mind paying more to fly AirNZ

John

NonprayingMantis
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  #457846 12-Apr-2011 14:35
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"business commitments" and "budget airline" should not go together for obvious reasons.

TheUngeek
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  #457852 12-Apr-2011 14:46
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xpd: When I flew down to Wellington last Septermber for work and a GZ mod meet, we flew straight in on time and out again a few days later via Air NZ. No problems.

Yet one of my mates who was flying down on Jetstar around the same time had his flight in delayed by 18hrs due to the winds, and on his way out delayed for 24hrs due to wind. Yet during this time every other airline was flying quite happily.

Jetstar seem to hire green piolts who dont like being bumped around :)


I bet you those flights were not full, so they cancelled them and combined with later flights to fly full planes rather than 2 half empty ones.
Not uncommon for that to happen with Jetstar.
 

 
 
 

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timmmay
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  #457857 12-Apr-2011 14:56
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Does anyone regulate the industry? Surely there are rules or laws that say if they don't get you to where you're meant to be by about the right time you get a refund or compensation?

A friend flew Wellington to Auckland with Jetstar last weekend. She said it was a real budget flight, jammed full of people including a very very fat person sitting next to her which made her flight quite uncomfortable. It sat on the runway for ages before it took off, so there were delays. She said she's never fly with them again, even if it meant paying double.

In comparison her half dozen AirNZ flights recently between the two cities were uneventful.

lchiu7

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  #457870 12-Apr-2011 15:20
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NonprayingMantis: "business commitments" and "budget airline" should not go together for obvious reasons.


I flew up for a personal trip, not for business. I expected to get back by Sunday night well in time for my normal business commitments on Monday. If I were travelling during the week for a business meeting there is no way I would ever contemplate Jetstar.




Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


hellonearthisman
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  #457871 12-Apr-2011 15:20
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Why did they fly all the way back to Auckland, could they not have tried for a landing in Palmerston North and then bused or trained you the rest of the distance.
Jetstar is sad.

lchiu7

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  #457875 12-Apr-2011 15:24
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xpd: When I flew down to Wellington last Septermber for work and a GZ mod meet, we flew straight in on time and out again a few days later via Air NZ. No problems.

Yet one of my mates who was flying down on Jetstar around the same time had his flight in delayed by 18hrs due to the winds, and on his way out delayed for 24hrs due to wind. Yet during this time every other airline was flying quite happily.

Jetstar seem to hire green piolts who dont like being bumped around :)


The messages were got were


1. First time around the tailwind was too high so it was dangerous to land. And then the wind shifted

2. Second try as the plane almost touched the tarmac, severe wind shear made the landing dangerous. And this time it from the other direction

3. No third try since if that had to be aborted, there would not be enough gas to get back to Auckland.

Still a tad better than once I was in a plane trying to land at an airport in southern Taiwan (Kaohsiung). The plane actually touched down and then went up again since there was a plane on the runway! But China Airlines pilots are ex fighter jocks and fly that way.




Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


wellygary
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  #457881 12-Apr-2011 15:30
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hellonearthisman: Why did they fly all the way back to Auckland, could they not have tried for a landing in Palmerston North and then bused or trained you the rest of the distance.
Jetstar is sad.


Because Jetstar have no ground staff or baggage handlers or any other equipment at Palmy.






cisconz
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  #457886 12-Apr-2011 15:32
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lchiu7:  When the flight arrived in Wellington, it made two attempts to land but because of high tail winds and wind shear, it was unable to land. The pilot then flew back to Auckland and we arrived about midnight. It took over twenty minutes for two aborted attempts so the total time in the air was about 2 hours 20 minutes. Note in over 25 years of flying into Wellington this is the first time I have been on a flight that could not land and this time it tried twice.


Interesting, My understanding (Though I have never had to do it myself) is that when AirNZ are unable to land in Wellington they divert to Palmerston North and Bus Passengers down to Wellington. I am surprised Jetstar do not do the same, authough they probably do not have the ground services to do so.

Edit: Too Late




Hmmmm


lchiu7

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  #457887 12-Apr-2011 15:34
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hellonearthisman: Why did they fly all the way back to Auckland, could they not have tried for a landing in Palmerston North and then bused or trained you the rest of the distance.
Jetstar is sad.


Because presumably they have no landing rights at PN, ground staff or pilots who have ever landed there.




Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD.  https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd  PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.


Jarno
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  #457890 12-Apr-2011 15:38
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hellonearthisman: Why did they fly all the way back to Auckland, could they not have tried for a landing in Palmerston North


Jetstar doesn't fly to Palmerston North, so they won't have any personnel there to take care of the passengers, and no contracts in place for ground handling of the plane. Landing a jet at an airport is not like driving up to a service station.

Edit: Too late to the power of three

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