It seems low cost carrier Jetstar has been in the media quite a bit in the past few weeks. The stories have mainly revolved around Jetstars policies and their implementation without exception to circumstance.
The first issue involved wheelchairs and their use within the airport. If you haven’t had a chance to read the story yet, click here. In brief, paraplegic adventurer Kurt Fearnly was returning from completing the Kakoda track and if you listen to the media hype, he was made to crawl through the airport, across the tarmac and in to his plane. I will tread VERY carefully here, I’m not looking to upset any Fearnly supporters but this is an over-exaggeration, so much so that its actually disappointing that this story got as much traction as it did. Jetstar followed the procedures set out in their policy:
Wheelchairs
For flights operated by Jetstar (JQ)
Passengers requiring a wheelchair for transfer into the aircraft can be accepted subject to the following limits:
Arrangements must be made through Jetstar Telephone Reservations prior to your travel to advise a wheelchair is required.
Customers requiring a wheelchair will be provided an airline wheelchair and assisted to the aircraft.
Time is required to allow orderly movement of customers using wheelchairs through the check-in system, transfer to the airline’s wheelchair at check-in and stowage of the customer’s wheelchair (where appropriate), preboarding and seating.
Wheelchair customers will be requested to check-in earlier than other customers, 90 to 120 minutes prior to departure for flights departing from a domestic terminal and 120 to 180 minutes prior to departure for flights departing from an international terminal.
So what really happened? Jetstar staff offered a wheelchair that has to be pushed by airport staff, but Fearnly wasn’t having any of it and chose to crawl. Of course this was picked up by the media and eventually Jetstar was forced to apologize for something that had been clearly outlined in their in their booking terms.
The second Jetstar related PR mishap didn’t get as much attention, but I’m not sure how it got any at all (Read article here). A couple flew Jetstar to New Zealand but had to cancel last minute due to a death in the family and were charged a $400.00 rebooking fee. I’m not sure if it was a slow news week, but people being charged a last minute cancellation fee isn’t exactly anything new, not to mention Jetstar offer a fare with more flexible booking conditions for a slightly higher price. If all else fails, a little travel insurance would have gone a long way.
How have we gotten to the point where the general public no longer understand the theory behind low cost carriers? They offer the most simple level of service, comfort and entertainment at the lowest possible price, meaning profit margins are much smaller than full fare airlines. Strict policies protect that slim profit margin from being eroded as much as possible. To illustrate my point, I could fly to Auckland from Sydney return for $144.67 with Jetstar. If I was to fly economy with parent company Qantas, the price jumps to $892.00 for and $2512.00 for business class!
The bottom line- if you book a flight with a LCC, you get what you pay for. There are polices in place to protect the business from lawsuits and a well advertised fee structure to keep costs down for the rest of us.
Yes, people expect too much from all airlines, relative to having sought out the lowest fare. It has a lot to do with airline history. At least in America, most people still remember a time when you got a meal on a flight, could pick your seat, and the airline provided staff you could interact with, in person or by phone. In many cases, this was less than 10 years ago. While the business model has had to change to maintain profitability, especially since 9/11 and with higher oil prices, the customer seldom cares about the airline's financial health, and just wants the services they are used to. The history of consumer behavior is generally that consumers want more for their money, this is the message the media sends with respect to electronics, cars, etc. They don't like being told that they are getting less, even though they are paying less. And they don't like being told that they have to pay lots of extra fees for stuff that used to be included, even if it ends up costing less in total.
Too right Graham. If you have ever seen the television show commissioned by Easyjet in the UK or the Aussie version that features Tiger Airways, you will see hundreds of people who have paid $29 for the flight going mental when the plane is delayed (or cancelled) or they rock up 29 minutes before the flight and check in closed 1 minute prior.
Never has the phrase "you get what you pay for" been more appropriate than when describing low cost carriers, whether in the UK, the States or Australia/Asia.
People need to be realistic - if you pay $29 for a flight that other full service carriers charge $129 for then you could probably expect the experience to be at least $100 crapper. I think sometimes it's a case of people having 'champagne tastes on a beer budget' as my Mum used to say.
Personally, and from a professional point of view, I dont sell my clients tickets on low cost carriers anymore. If they are determined to buy a Jetstar, Virgin Blue or Tiger fare, they are most welcome to, but I just look after their land arrangements. Once (well about six times actually) bitten, twice shy.
Graham Robertson
:) I thought you'd like that! I totally forgot about the lack of support LCC's give to agents... I like to think that the wheelchair incident could have been avoided if an experience travel agent was involved. I don't think disable travel is something someone should just book online and hope for the best. I love watching Airways and laughing at the pax freaking out over a 29 dollar ticket... but at the same time, the lcc's have opened up the market for some passengers that wouldnt have travelled at all.
I haven't read the story, but, airlines could certainly do more to assist passengers with disabilities. It's a topic that I am actually writing a post on. As for low cost airlines, you get what you pay for, so your paying cheap, you can expect no frills, BUT, that does not mean that the airlines have the right to treat passengers like cattle, and delay and cancel their flights.
Ryanair as much as I dislike how they go about their business, tell their passenger exactly how it is. You want expensive you pay for a seat on the likes of British airways. You pay for a flight with us, you'll get a seat and thats about it.
Graham Robertson
I agree, but my problem is with passengers that have an air of entitlement when they've paid a fraction of what they would pay anywhere else. I think we're much better off having LCC's, but people need to remember what their purpose is and what the limitations are. If you want a specialized, custom service you will have to spend the money.
Do we expect too much from low cost airlines?
The first issue involved wheelchairs and their use within the airport. If you haven’t had a chance to read the story yet, click here. In brief, paraplegic adventurer Kurt Fearnly was returning from completing the Kakoda track and if you listen to the media hype, he was made to crawl through the airport, across the tarmac and in to his plane. I will tread VERY carefully here, I’m not looking to upset any Fearnly supporters but this is an over-exaggeration, so much so that its actually disappointing that this story got as much traction as it did. Jetstar followed the procedures set out in their policy:
Wheelchairs
For flights operated by Jetstar (JQ)
Passengers requiring a wheelchair for transfer into the aircraft can be accepted subject to the following limits:
So what really happened? Jetstar staff offered a wheelchair that has to be pushed by airport staff, but Fearnly wasn’t having any of it and chose to crawl. Of course this was picked up by the media and eventually Jetstar was forced to apologize for something that had been clearly outlined in their in their booking terms.
The second Jetstar related PR mishap didn’t get as much attention, but I’m not sure how it got any at all (Read article here). A couple flew Jetstar to New Zealand but had to cancel last minute due to a death in the family and were charged a $400.00 rebooking fee. I’m not sure if it was a slow news week, but people being charged a last minute cancellation fee isn’t exactly anything new, not to mention Jetstar offer a fare with more flexible booking conditions for a slightly higher price. If all else fails, a little travel insurance would have gone a long way.
How have we gotten to the point where the general public no longer understand the theory behind low cost carriers? They offer the most simple level of service, comfort and entertainment at the lowest possible price, meaning profit margins are much smaller than full fare airlines. Strict policies protect that slim profit margin from being eroded as much as possible. To illustrate my point, I could fly to Auckland from Sydney return for $144.67 with Jetstar. If I was to fly economy with parent company Qantas, the price jumps to $892.00 for and $2512.00 for business class!
The bottom line- if you book a flight with a LCC, you get what you pay for. There are polices in place to protect the business from lawsuits and a well advertised fee structure to keep costs down for the rest of us.