Jetstar and their flight changes

[Sam_goUUUdogs]

I'm extremely frustrated with jetstar at the moment, as i had booked various flights with them for the up coming Ashes tour that they have now changed significantly.
A few weeks ago they emailed me advising that the flights i had booked for the Brisbane test had changed, I was originally to fly out at 4:30pm on wednesday the 24th (After work) they had changed the flight time to 6:30am, so there goes the plan of working that day if I decide to accept the changes.
The flight back was supposed to be at 7pm on Saturday the 27th (after the 3rd days play) they advised me that that flight time is now 10am, meaning i would miss the 3rd days play.
Now i can understand some slight changes here and there, but both of those are not even remotley close to what was originally booked.
I ended up having them giving me a refund (which took 18 days to come through) and having to book flights with Virgin Blue via Melbourne, which did cost me an extra $110 on what i had originally forked out for flights, If i had just booked with Virgin Blue first up instead of the Jetstar flights, i would have only been about $20 extra out of pocket on the original flights
I've now just received an email regarding a flight for the Melbourne Test, I was originally to be flying out at 3:15pm on the 25th, that time is now 9:40pm, which ultimately will be ok if it absolutely has to be, but again its a very significant change on the original flight time, plans to meet people at the pub in the evening have now been scrapped as we wont get into the city til about midnight.
I'm amazed that Jetstar make such significant changes to flight times people have already booked on, if they are unsure on the time, then why sell the flight?
So much for it pays to be organised
I'm now fairly close to putting Jetstar in the same category as Tiger and only flying domestically with Virgin Blue and Qantas.
Has anyone else experienced these difficulties with Jetstar?

[Wedgie]

Yeah mate, never fly with them, they partially stuffed up my holidays in the past and I'll only fly locally with Qantas these days.
There's absolutely no use in booking flights in advance with Jetstar as they'll just change them with no compensation at a latter stage to stuff you up.

[Sam_goUUUdogs]

This is the first time I've booked in advance with them, and so far 3/5 flights have been changed, the other 2 are for the Sydney test in January, so there is still plenty of time for them to stuff around with them also.
I've probably flown 20+ times with them in the past without any problems, but those flights were usually booked with 2-3 weeks to spare, never had any issue with Virgin Blue and I would have had 50+ flights with them, so I reckon i will be sticking with them and Qantas only in future.

[mighty_tiger_79]

jetstar on a regular basis have flights cancelled if they are the last departure of the night from adelaide - especially friday and sat

[Footy Chick]

They charged me 3 times for one flight to Darwin and then they said I booked 3 flights. Why I'd book the same flight for myself 3 times is beyond me - but then they said it would be 21 days before refund.

With a bit of wheeling and dealing ( or threating to go to ombudsman and today tonight) I got my refund within 5 days

[Sam_goUUUdogs]

And that's now 4/5 flights they have changed on me, stuffed up my plans once again

[Psyber]

Has anyone heard about their pilot training and co-pilots needing only 200 hours experience?
There was a report on TV about a near accident related to this, and their delay in reporting the near accident.

[Booney]

I agree with Wedgie, QANTAS is clearly the best domestic airline and yes, you pay for what you get.

But for consistency and adhering to their timetables you cant beat them. I think this is even more important when looking for a two/three days getaway as time is even more crucial when plannig that sort of trip.

[Wedgie]

And that's now 4/5 flights they have changed on me, stuffed up my plans once again

Thought you would have learnt your lesson after the first one! Once bitten, twice shy?

[Sam_goUUUdogs]

And that's now 4/5 flights they have changed on me, stuffed up my plans once again

Thought you would have learnt your lesson after the first one! Once bitten, twice shy?

Nah all the flights were booked at the same time, they've just been getting changed one by one though, certainly wont be booking anymore flights with them in future.

[Alaska]

You have me really worried now.
We have used them the odd time, with no trouble in the past, but mostly Virgin/Qantas.
I have booked 6 flights to Sydney with them in March in order to get on a Cruise.
I am paying for all the flights and cruise costs so any extra cost is multiplied.

[Sam_goUUUdogs]

You have me really worried now.
We have used them the odd time, with no trouble in the past, but mostly Virgin/Qantas.
I have booked 6 flights to Sydney with them in March in order to get on a Cruise.
I am paying for all the flights and cruise costs so any extra cost is multiplied.

They did give me a refund without many troubles when there was just no way their changes could fit in with me, it did take 19 days to bounce back to my account though, the alternative flights I booked weren't exactly what i was after, but at least I'm now able to be where i need be when I need to be.
Could be worth doing a quick search of other airlines just to have in the back of your mind as a plan 'B' if they do decide to change your flights around to something that doesn't quite fit in.

[Wedgie]

And that's now 4/5 flights they have changed on me, stuffed up my plans once again

Thought you would have learnt your lesson after the first one! Once bitten, twice shy?

Nah all the flights were booked at the same time, they've just been getting changed one by one though, certainly wont be booking anymore flights with them in future.

Ahh, that explains it, thought you were smarter than that!

[Sam_goUUUdogs]

Seems CityJet might be the European equivalent, they've just changed a Luxembourg to London flight for April that I've had booked for a few months, although their way of dealing with the flight changes is a lot more satisfactory than Jetstar's.

You are kindly asked to choose one of the following three options:

· Agree with the proposed new flight

· Choose any other flight and change free of charge

· Receive a full refund

[Alaska]

You have me really worried now.
We have used them the odd time, with no trouble in the past, but mostly Virgin/Qantas.
I have booked 6 flights to Sydney with them in March in order to get on a Cruise.
I am paying for all the flights and cruise costs so any extra cost is multiplied.

Well Jetstar delivered so all went well for the outgoing.
But the trip was eventful; no engine, tsunami, glow to the north, etc.
So we asked Virgin about our trip back for a bit of slack and all we got was full price fares for all if we missed the flight.
Fortunately we did not need to test our reactions (planning webjet from the airport) but we made it with minutes to spare.

[Brucetiki]

I've just had the dreaded 'schedule change' e-mail for a Jetstar flight I have booked next month. Thankfully they haven't bumped me off my flight, just changed the departure so that it leaves 20 minutes early. Means I lose half an hours sleep but it's was the cheapest way to get home in time for the Centrals match that day without resorting to Tiger (not that I've had a problem with Tiger in the past, but their reputation still has me feeling like I'm playing Russian Roulette whenever I book with them).

[Sam_goUUUdogs]

I've had another couple flight changes come up, although these ones don't bother me too much.

Easyjet has changed my Lisbon to Madrid flight from 7:15am to 7:10am for the hassle of sending out the email and needing everyone to confirm the changes, plus the fact the flight will probably end up taking off at 7:15 anyway, surely they would just leave it the same

Ryanair (Who I've been warned about) have changed my Ibiza to Valencia flight from 4:35pm to 8:20am, which to be honest I don't mind at all, we originally wanted an early flight, but there were none in our price range, plus we weren't going to have all that much time in Valencia, but this effectively frees up the best part of a day
Still not really ideal for airlines to be changing flights that dramatically 3-4 weeks our from their departure though.