Pay budget money, get budget service/timing/everything
Anyone who writes in to complain that they flew budget and their flight got delayed (or multiply delayed) should get a reply consisting of just four words: "YOU ASKED FOR IT."http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_481562.html
Jan 25, 2010
Honeymoon marred by terrible Jetstar experience
I AM writing to share my recent experience with Jetstar as a warning to other passengers, and to express my concerns over the dismal level of service, as the airline has limited the channels where customers can give feedback.
My wife and I were due to return home from Bangkok to Singapore after our honeymoon, on Jan 3 on flight 3K516. Our flight was scheduled to leave Bangkok at 1.45pm (local time) and arrive in Singapore at about 5pm (local time).
We reached the airport at least an hour before departure and saw the departure time changed to 4pm. Without offering any explanation, the Jetstar ground staff checked us in, and told us the gate number could be confirmed only at about 3pm. Our slight displeasure with an 'acceptable' two-hour delay changed soon after we checked in, when we realised the departure time had been changed to 10pm. This meant we would reach Singapore in the wee hours of the morning, not to mention the thought of work the next day.
We could not access any Jetstar staff as we had already passed Customs. The information counter staff in the airport could not help us as calls to the Jetstar hotline went unanswered.
Later, we found out from a fellow passenger that some Jetstar staff were giving out meal vouchers at an isolated gate D5. There was no Jetstar flight at that gate, so why were staff handing out vouchers there? Several disgruntled passengers failed to obtain vouchers as the staff had run out of them.
The terrible experience did not end there. The flight was further delayed, despite assurance from the ground staff that the 10pm flight was confirmed. We managed to board the plane only at about midnight, and reached Singapore at 3.45am.
I travel frequently on other budget airlines but this is the first time I have experienced such an extreme lapse of service from a carrier owned by a reputable parent company.
Jetstar made no attempt to assure passengers that all was well and we would make it home on time. Our honeymoon trip was marred by this ugly experience, which we will never forget. We will still travel on budget carriers, but will skip Jetstar for good.
Sim Joo Jin
Ummmm... Mr Sim, I have a newsflash for you: it's not just Jetstar, ALL budget carriers are like that. If you really wanted a good air travel experience, the only way you can be reasonably assured of one is on a full service carrier. After all they are called 'full service' for a reason. What else did you expect from a budget airline?
When low cost carriers first emerged on the market, weren't there lots of newspaper and magazine articles which explained what set them apart from full service carriers? People only see the apparent differences on every flight: less baggage allowance, no aerobridges, no assigned seats, no food, no Inflight Entertainment, cramped seats, out-of-the-way airports, and of course, much cheaper tickets.
A lot of people seem to have the impression that a budget airline is essentially a full service carrier without meals and assigned seats-that's like checking into Hotel 81 and expecting a smaller version of a room at the Ritz without room service and a swimming pool. There are also quite a number of differences that people don't realise until it hits them. Mr Sim just found out one of them the hard way: budget airlines utilise their aircraft so heavily and stretch their schedules so tightly [turnarounds can be planned for as short as 25 minutes] that it's very often that delays are experienced simply because the aircraft coming in is delayed. And when flights get delayed, it's your problem. In fact, of the few times I've taken budget airlines to and from BKK, I don't recall any occasion where there wasn't a delay to the departure time "because the aircraft isn't here yet".
If the flight gets cancelled, be prepared to wait ages for the replacement aircraft (and crew) to arrive, because they don't have a spare aircraft that can easily just fly up to get all of you back. And the extent which they push their aircraft, it's a gamble whether any particular flight is going to depart on time or not. "Jetstar made no attempt to assure passengers that all was well and we would make it home on time"? Maybe it's because they can't. At least Jetstar kept Mr Sim waiting for 10 hours in the terminal... unlike a US budget airline, who kept their passengers waiting in the plane for 10 hours whilst on the ground.
And don't get me started about safety, and how yes it's true that safety is not compromised by slashing their costs... and yet, still not exactly completely true.
I find it rather amusing that Mr Sim makes it a point to mention that he didn't expect this "from a carrier owned by a reputable parent company" (in this case, Qantas). Who owns the budget airline isn't important-it's still a budget airline, so be prepared for budget service. What did you expect Qantas to do? Appropriate some of their budget to beef up Jetstar services? Where else do you think budget airlines save money from to become so cheap? After all, they claim say it's not from safety and they use the same fuel (which costs the same everywhere), so it has to come from somewhere.
If you're going to fly budget solely because of cheaper fares, be prepared to give up all the other reasons why people fly full service carriers: reliability, quality, flight schedules, connections, frequent flyer programmes and comfort. If you expect those latter requirements, the only place you can reasonably expect to get them is on a full service carrier. You choose.
§ Technorati tags:
flying;
social commentary
Jan 25, 2010
Honeymoon marred by terrible Jetstar experience
I AM writing to share my recent experience with Jetstar as a warning to other passengers, and to express my concerns over the dismal level of service, as the airline has limited the channels where customers can give feedback.
My wife and I were due to return home from Bangkok to Singapore after our honeymoon, on Jan 3 on flight 3K516. Our flight was scheduled to leave Bangkok at 1.45pm (local time) and arrive in Singapore at about 5pm (local time).
We reached the airport at least an hour before departure and saw the departure time changed to 4pm. Without offering any explanation, the Jetstar ground staff checked us in, and told us the gate number could be confirmed only at about 3pm. Our slight displeasure with an 'acceptable' two-hour delay changed soon after we checked in, when we realised the departure time had been changed to 10pm. This meant we would reach Singapore in the wee hours of the morning, not to mention the thought of work the next day.
We could not access any Jetstar staff as we had already passed Customs. The information counter staff in the airport could not help us as calls to the Jetstar hotline went unanswered.
Later, we found out from a fellow passenger that some Jetstar staff were giving out meal vouchers at an isolated gate D5. There was no Jetstar flight at that gate, so why were staff handing out vouchers there? Several disgruntled passengers failed to obtain vouchers as the staff had run out of them.
The terrible experience did not end there. The flight was further delayed, despite assurance from the ground staff that the 10pm flight was confirmed. We managed to board the plane only at about midnight, and reached Singapore at 3.45am.
I travel frequently on other budget airlines but this is the first time I have experienced such an extreme lapse of service from a carrier owned by a reputable parent company.
Jetstar made no attempt to assure passengers that all was well and we would make it home on time. Our honeymoon trip was marred by this ugly experience, which we will never forget. We will still travel on budget carriers, but will skip Jetstar for good.
Sim Joo Jin
Ummmm... Mr Sim, I have a newsflash for you: it's not just Jetstar, ALL budget carriers are like that. If you really wanted a good air travel experience, the only way you can be reasonably assured of one is on a full service carrier. After all they are called 'full service' for a reason. What else did you expect from a budget airline?
When low cost carriers first emerged on the market, weren't there lots of newspaper and magazine articles which explained what set them apart from full service carriers? People only see the apparent differences on every flight: less baggage allowance, no aerobridges, no assigned seats, no food, no Inflight Entertainment, cramped seats, out-of-the-way airports, and of course, much cheaper tickets.
A lot of people seem to have the impression that a budget airline is essentially a full service carrier without meals and assigned seats-that's like checking into Hotel 81 and expecting a smaller version of a room at the Ritz without room service and a swimming pool. There are also quite a number of differences that people don't realise until it hits them. Mr Sim just found out one of them the hard way: budget airlines utilise their aircraft so heavily and stretch their schedules so tightly [turnarounds can be planned for as short as 25 minutes] that it's very often that delays are experienced simply because the aircraft coming in is delayed. And when flights get delayed, it's your problem. In fact, of the few times I've taken budget airlines to and from BKK, I don't recall any occasion where there wasn't a delay to the departure time "because the aircraft isn't here yet".
If the flight gets cancelled, be prepared to wait ages for the replacement aircraft (and crew) to arrive, because they don't have a spare aircraft that can easily just fly up to get all of you back. And the extent which they push their aircraft, it's a gamble whether any particular flight is going to depart on time or not. "Jetstar made no attempt to assure passengers that all was well and we would make it home on time"? Maybe it's because they can't. At least Jetstar kept Mr Sim waiting for 10 hours in the terminal... unlike a US budget airline, who kept their passengers waiting in the plane for 10 hours whilst on the ground.
And don't get me started about safety, and how yes it's true that safety is not compromised by slashing their costs... and yet, still not exactly completely true.
I find it rather amusing that Mr Sim makes it a point to mention that he didn't expect this "from a carrier owned by a reputable parent company" (in this case, Qantas). Who owns the budget airline isn't important-it's still a budget airline, so be prepared for budget service. What did you expect Qantas to do? Appropriate some of their budget to beef up Jetstar services? Where else do you think budget airlines save money from to become so cheap? After all, they claim say it's not from safety and they use the same fuel (which costs the same everywhere), so it has to come from somewhere.
If you're going to fly budget solely because of cheaper fares, be prepared to give up all the other reasons why people fly full service carriers: reliability, quality, flight schedules, connections, frequent flyer programmes and comfort. If you expect those latter requirements, the only place you can reasonably expect to get them is on a full service carrier. You choose.
§ Technorati tags:
flying;
social commentary