Is there an Airline Ombudsman? Jetstar does it again!

[GumbyLearner]

Why "hit them where it hurts", they are providing the service that you are paying for.

If you think that you are going to get the same service etc on no frills LCC's (Low Cost Carriers) that you had when the Ansett/Qantas duopoly existed over ten years ago, and at less than half what you would have paid then you are kidding yourself.

Friends of ours sent their kids to the football in Melbourne a while ago with some of their school mates on a LCC because the fares that are available were affordable, they couldn't have done that ten years ago.
LCC's have made air travel available to many more people than it was available to many years ago, unfortunately they are the group that bitch and whine the most because they are still grappling with the concept of complying with a time deadline.

Basically, you now have a broad choice in Australia, you choose how much service etc you want and then you pay for it, simple.

I can only agree Boggo.

Remember Compass. They were annihilated by the major players. Australia is a big country and getting around back then was a price-prohibitive exercise.

You should see regulation in Canada. Any non-Canadian based carrier is not allowed to pick up Canadian passengers from domestic airport to domestic airport. So it's ok to fly to St.Johns, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg or Vancouver from another country but it is illegal for an international carrier to take passengers from the city they land and carry passengers onto another domestic route. Australians are lucky to not have this kind of anti-competitive protectionist garbage to inflate airfares.

 

[CanOz]

You should see regulation in Canada. Any non-Canadian based carrier is not allowed to pick up Canadian passengers from domestic airport to domestic airport. So it's ok to fly to St.Johns, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg or Vancouver from another country but it is illegal for an international carrier to take passengers from the city they land and carry passengers onto another domestic route. Australians are lucky to not have this kind of anti-competitive protectionist garbage to inflate airfares.

The reason they protect the air from competitors is that the main carrier is a crown corporation. If they opened it up to competition the carrier would fail, costing tax payers millions and millions. Canada's airspace is not valuable enough for more than one large and a few small player's, at least not on the east coast.

You know it costs more to fly from Fredericton NB to Toronto than it does from Harbin to Hainan!

But at least the carrier, and all those jobs are still in business.

Agree its not perfect, but who is going to take the chance on that business.

CanOz

 

[GumbyLearner]

The reason they protect the air from competitors is that the main carrier is a crown corporation. If they opened it up to competition the carrier would fail, costing tax payers millions and millions. Canada's airspace is not valuable enough for more than one large and a few small player's, at least not on the east coast.

You know it costs more to fly from Fredericton NB to Toronto than it does from Harbin to Hainan!

But at least the carrier, and all those jobs are still in business.

Agree its not perfect, but who is going to take the chance on that business.

CanOz

Fair point Can.

But are either of the two routes you mentioned longer than say KL to Sydney or even Brisbane for that matter. Are they price comparative to Jetstar or Virgin?

Canada has a larger population than OZ too, as I'm sure you are aware. Crown corporations??? Give me a break that's like saying Aussie GOC's deserve a better deal. Aren't people taxed enough already???

 

[Boggo]

Most recent LCC adventure, three days is probably stretching the friendship a bit far though.

Like a tiger !

 

[CanOz]

Fair point Can.

But are either of the two routes you mentioned longer than say KL to Sydney or even Brisbane for that matter. Are they price comparative to Jetstar or Virgin?

Canada has a larger population than OZ too, as I'm sure you are aware. Crown corporations??? Give me a break that's like saying Aussie GOC's deserve a better deal. Aren't people taxed enough already???

Fred to TO is like, 1000 kms

Harbin to Hainan is 4000 kms

My point is that the East cost routes are expensive because of the monopoly by the state carrier, so they make money from those routes so they can take less margin on the routes with Westjet.

I don't like the crown corps, but its politics, lots of jobs at stake, lots of Unions.

CanOz

 

[GumbyLearner]

Fred to TO is like, 1000 kms

Harbin to Hainan is 4000 kms

My point is that the East cost routes are expensive because of the monopoly by the state carrier, so they make money from those routes so they can take less margin on the routes with Westjet.

I don't like the crown corps, but its politics, lots of jobs at stake, lots of Unions.

CanOz

So what?

Subsidize unions?

I was a member of many Australian Unions working my ass off to pay my way through Uni. No ticket, no start!! At $10.72 an hour with a 50 kilo bag on my back all day. It certainly didn't create any symbiotic loyalty within my pysche. Maybe I'm missing something? Nah!!!!

Now I'm a solid believer in not paying more!

 

[Da Cat]

sorry to jump in ... but is the service better on the state run Canadian Airlines than jetstar, qantas etc? if so, and in the context of this thread, perhaps deregulation and competition aren't the best model for air travel?

 

[GumbyLearner]

sorry to jump in ... but is the service better on the state run Canadian Airlines than jetstar, qantas etc? if so, and in the context of this thread, perhaps deregulation and competition aren't the best model for air travel?

No worries! But I still don't believe in inflated prices for transport. When there are willing competitors ready to step into the void that is not currently available that can provide people with a choice that is not price-prohibitive.

 

[Da Cat]

seems like the model in aust is lacking though, certainly by the response of this thread. bad customer service, no one to complain to, lack of accountability, fugly hostess. theoretically a business like that shouldn't survive, but in the absence of an alternative...?
or ... perhaps people still have the expectations of good service as a hangover from the days of high cost air travel on gov't run airlines. especially the average citizen taking his/her annual leave after saving for months. maybe people just need to view air travel like everything else. you get what you pay for. cheap fares = cheap service, (high fares = better service)?
or ... is the option the return of some government standards, complaints board?

 

[GumbyLearner]

seems like the model in aust is lacking though, certainly by the response of this thread. bad customer service, no one to complain to, lack of accountability, fugly hostess. theoretically a business like that shouldn't survive, but in the absence of an alternative...?
or ... perhaps people still have the expectations of good service as a hangover from the days of high cost air travel on gov't run airlines. especially the average citizen taking his/her annual leave after saving for months. maybe people just need to view air travel like everything else. you get what you pay for. cheap fares = cheap service, (high fares = better service)?
or ... is the option the return of some government standards, complaints board?

High fares is the key!

 

[doctorj]

When you factor in that Australia is twice the size of the Eu, but has less population than the total of the greater metropolitan areas of Paris and London and only 5% of the total GDP, its clear that something has to give. In this case, it's a higher fare. In reality Qantas domestic is pretty similar to BA/LH/LO/OS...

 

[jono1887]

I really don't see what the problem is. You pay 1/3 of the airfare than you would if you took Qantas and you expect equal service.. obviously somethings gotta give. But lol at the fugly air crew!

 

[Gerkin]

I consider Jetstar and Tiger good airlines in comparison to their peers worldwide. I remember an internal flight in India where I had to check to see if I was booked on the plane, no one could tell me so I went to the head office. (The only place with a computer) anyway this was inside a shipping container with armed guards with rifles out front.Needless to say I was scepitical but me being as aussie they were pleasant because they wanted to talk cricket.

I fly about 3-4 times per year for holidays around Australia and the reason I am able to do this is because I use these budget airlines. If you can budget correctly you can actually get 2 holidays for the price of one using budget airlines. I would much rather 3-4 holidays per year than say 1 or 2 using Qantas.

 

[Smurf1976]

Tiger would surely have the record for flight delays on domestic routes. A few hours fair enough, but their 3 DAY delay out of Hobart this week is ridiculous and has convinced me never to fly with them.

I never thought I'd see the day when crossing Bass Strait by ferry was quicker than flying but that's exactly the situation Tiger has managed to create. At this rate, a sail boat might even be quicker.

Surely they could manage to find a plane and crew and fly out in the middle of the night when planes are otherwise sitting on the ground? Not ideal but it would have to beat a 3 day delay.

I won't be considering Tiger for my upcoming trips to Adelaide and then Sydney no matter how cheap the fares are. I do want to actually get there at least on the right day, if not precisely on time. Not much point in saving a few $ only to end up sitting in an airport for 3 whole DAYS and missing out on the reasons for going in the first place.

 

[chode84]

What a lot of people probably don't understand is that the unlike other carriers, these LCC's only carry the legal minimum amount of cabin crew required for the flight. If the same scenario had unfolded with Qantas (hostie goes sick) then they could still have done the flight as they carry more then the legal min. amount of flight attendants required for the flight.

I agree that three days is excessive but don't really feel sorry for anyone who is screwed over by a LCC. You can't expect to fly for the price of a train ticket and not expect it to show somewhere.

 

[Boggo]

Unfortunately sometimes even the good ones get greedy...



CALLIE WATSON AND AAP

October 28, 2009 05:30pm

A FOOD processor that can't even shred cheese, a sky-high surcharge at Qantas and mumbo jumbo from cosmetics giant L'Oreal have scooped this year's Shonky Awards.

Consumer advocate Choice is urging shoppers to to be more demanding before accepting tricky labelling and bogus fees and charges.

Choice today announced the most dubious, doubtful and dodgy products and services of the past 12 months.

Qantas was included for for charging a fee of $7.70 for every domestic traveller who pays for their ticket with a credit card.

It was judged as unfairly inflating prices, a claim the airline has rejected.

Uncle Tobys honey oat cereal received the unwanted publicity for keeping the price of the product the same despite reducing the size.

Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said many consumers were too complacent and were reluctant to speak up if they were getting a dodgy deal.

"We should expect more, expect better, if people treat us like idiots and try to rip us up, regardless if they're a bank or business, then people need to stand up," he said.

"That's our long term strategy to make people more savvy."

A Tiffany food processor that retails for $39.99 and broke into pieces when it tried to shred tasty cheese in three separate tests was also singled out.

Elvive conditioner, shampoo and serum sold by cosmetics was giant L'Oreal was also because Choice believed it used dubious statistics and chemical "mumbo jumbo" to entice buyers.

L'Oreal Paris declined to comment.

The Choice 2009 Shonky Award winners were:

Aldi's Chefs' Cupboard and Massell liquid stocks

Reconstructed from plain old stock cubes

Credit protection insurance

Not worth the paper it is written on

L'Oreal Elvive shampoo, condition and serum

For promoting the products using dubious statistics

Qantas

High credit card surcharge of $7.70 per domestic passenger

Reegan Micro Plug

Claims to reduce your power bills by 30 per cent when it does not

Tel Pacific prepaid phone cards

For ridiculous hidden fees and charges

Tiffany FP 807 food processor

Failed to shred cheese on three occasions

Uncle Tobys Honey Oat Crisps

For shrinking the product but not the price

 

[Smurf1976]

Looks like I might have to give Jetstar another go after all.

Can't even book with Virgin - just keep getting silly "time expired" messages from their website. Tried several times and still no luck, and I wouldn't consider entering all relevant details in under a minute to be taking too long.

And airlines wonder why they end up losing money! It's fairly hard to be profitable when your attempted customers are turned away by your primary point of sale two weeks in a row.

 

[Solly]

Looks like I might have to give Jetstar another go after all.

Can't even book with Virgin - just keep getting silly "time expired" messages from their website. Tried several times and still no luck, and I wouldn't consider entering all relevant details in under a minute to be taking too long.

And airlines wonder why they end up losing money! It's fairly hard to be profitable when your attempted customers are turned away by your primary point of sale two weeks in a row.

Mate even ASF gets DNS issues, if you have probs again give them a call on 13 67 89 or 07 3295 2296 off shore, 24 hr I'm sure they'll help. We need a strong Bluey, it keeps The Rat in line .
"I love things that seem impossible".....

 

[Garpal Gumnut]

Anyone having problems with the Velocity Gold Card sent out by Virgin recently should contact.

Carol Beer
Velocity Gold Card Manager

131875

or if calling from outside Australia

+612 8667 5924

She was extremely helpful to me and I got to keep my Gold Card.

I find with problems with Airlines that it is just a matter of speaking to the right person, one who is capable, has a good phone manner and above all else, a person who cares.

gg

 

[Kelly2011]

There is no Airline Ombudsman in Australia. If you have a complaint about an airline you should contact Consumer Affairs in your State, and it is EASY to do this online and fill out a complaint form & send. Wouldn't it be good if everyone who had a bad experience did this? Then the government might set up an Airline Ombudsman! At least it would give them a true indication of the level of bad service.
My experience too was one that has made me NEVER buy a ticket from Jetstar again. Our outward flights were cancelled but we were never informed of this. Jetstar rang me on my mobile and when I returned the call 4 minutes later I was told they were confirming my hire car booking. I asked 3 TIMES if my flights were all the same & ok and was told yes 3 times by the call centre staff member. When I rang Jetstar the next day (2 days before departure) to confirm the hire car details I was told the flight had been cancelled. What it really came down to was - their staff member had lied to me on the phone. Really really bad service!