Post by Dave Homewood on Apr 9, 2015 17:46:31 GMT 12
Jetstar flies back to Christchurch with Wellington passengers' bags
AMY JACKMAN
Last updated 17:26, April 9 2015
A plane-load of Jetstar passengers were left with only the clothes on their backs after a plane flew back to Christchurch with their bags still on board.
Two other flights also had baggage problems, with a 9am flight to Auckland delayed for three hours. Passengers on a flight from the Gold Coast waited more than two hours for their bags.
The Christchurch-to-Wellington flight arrived at 11.30am on Wednesday and passengers waited for an hour for their bags to appear on the carousel, only to learn that the plane had flown back to Christchurch, taking their luggage with it.
The bags were finally flown to Wellington on Thursday, but Jetstar's communication about the issue was criticised, with passengers saying no one seemed to know where the bags were or why they weren't offloaded in Wellington.
Were you on the plane or know someone who was? Email newstips@stuff.co.nz.
Jessica Emerson had flown to Wellington with her two small children for a week-long holiday in Wairarapa. The delay meant she missed her bus and connecting train and had to walk around Wellington for the afternoon with her children, aged 1 and 4.
"The three of us have no clothes, no toiletries and my four-year-old's asthma medication is also in our suitcase. Our bag did not materialise, neither did we receive any communication from Jetstar.
"I had to buy pajamas so we had something to sleep in."
She said she had rung Jetstar twice on Thursday and both times the customer service operator knew nothing about her bag. At 4pm an operator said that it was still in Christchurch. However, the bag arrived on her doorstep an hour later so that was clearly not the case, she said.
"It's the lack of communication that's the problem. No one seemed to know where the bag was. It leaves you unconvinced that they know what they're doing. Mistakes happen, but you want to know that you are going to get your bag back."
William Te Ratana and his son had flown to Wellington to visit relatives during the school holidays and were left without spare clothes or a car seat after the incident.
"I was lucky that my son was over 5 and the size of a 10-year-old so can sit in the back seat, otherwise we would have been stuck."
Passengers were told the bags would be on a later flight, so Te Ratana rang Jetstar's 0800 number at 5pm.
"The lady that I spoke to said there wasn't anything filed about our flight and no record that any bags had gone back to Christchurch.
"I'm a cruisy person most of the time, but I just wanted my bags back."
Te Ratana said the phone call was just once incident during which no one seemed to know what was happening.
He said the two Jetstar representatives collecting passenger details in the baggage lounge after the flight had been telling different stories, while the customer service centre could still not tell him anything when he rang again on Thursday morning.
"There was no communication whatsoever from Jetstar when we were trying to find out what was going on or even why the bags were sent back to Christchurch."
Te Ratana eventually went back to Wellington Airport on Thursday and was told his bag was with the couriers.
"I asked if they were going to tell me that and if I could have a tracking number. They were very unhelpful. I eventually found out who the courier was, and went and picked my bags up from them. There were a lot of bags there just waiting."
Derek Johnson said he waited more than an hour for his baggage after arriving from the Gold Coast, but it did turn up by courier at about 4.30pm on Wednesday.
A Jetstar spokesman apologised for any inconvenience caused and said there was a technical fault with the baggage loader in Wellington that meant some flights were delayed and bags on some flights could not be unloaded, but most had now been delivered.
WOTIF SURVEY:
36.6 per cent of Kiwi travellers said their luggage has been lost
96 per cent said they got their luggage back
More than 3300 people surveyed
- Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel-troubles/67669768/jetstar-flies-back-to-christchurch-with-wellington-passengers-bags
AMY JACKMAN
Last updated 17:26, April 9 2015
A plane-load of Jetstar passengers were left with only the clothes on their backs after a plane flew back to Christchurch with their bags still on board.
Two other flights also had baggage problems, with a 9am flight to Auckland delayed for three hours. Passengers on a flight from the Gold Coast waited more than two hours for their bags.
The Christchurch-to-Wellington flight arrived at 11.30am on Wednesday and passengers waited for an hour for their bags to appear on the carousel, only to learn that the plane had flown back to Christchurch, taking their luggage with it.
The bags were finally flown to Wellington on Thursday, but Jetstar's communication about the issue was criticised, with passengers saying no one seemed to know where the bags were or why they weren't offloaded in Wellington.
Were you on the plane or know someone who was? Email newstips@stuff.co.nz.
Jessica Emerson had flown to Wellington with her two small children for a week-long holiday in Wairarapa. The delay meant she missed her bus and connecting train and had to walk around Wellington for the afternoon with her children, aged 1 and 4.
"The three of us have no clothes, no toiletries and my four-year-old's asthma medication is also in our suitcase. Our bag did not materialise, neither did we receive any communication from Jetstar.
"I had to buy pajamas so we had something to sleep in."
She said she had rung Jetstar twice on Thursday and both times the customer service operator knew nothing about her bag. At 4pm an operator said that it was still in Christchurch. However, the bag arrived on her doorstep an hour later so that was clearly not the case, she said.
"It's the lack of communication that's the problem. No one seemed to know where the bag was. It leaves you unconvinced that they know what they're doing. Mistakes happen, but you want to know that you are going to get your bag back."
William Te Ratana and his son had flown to Wellington to visit relatives during the school holidays and were left without spare clothes or a car seat after the incident.
"I was lucky that my son was over 5 and the size of a 10-year-old so can sit in the back seat, otherwise we would have been stuck."
Passengers were told the bags would be on a later flight, so Te Ratana rang Jetstar's 0800 number at 5pm.
"The lady that I spoke to said there wasn't anything filed about our flight and no record that any bags had gone back to Christchurch.
"I'm a cruisy person most of the time, but I just wanted my bags back."
Te Ratana said the phone call was just once incident during which no one seemed to know what was happening.
He said the two Jetstar representatives collecting passenger details in the baggage lounge after the flight had been telling different stories, while the customer service centre could still not tell him anything when he rang again on Thursday morning.
"There was no communication whatsoever from Jetstar when we were trying to find out what was going on or even why the bags were sent back to Christchurch."
Te Ratana eventually went back to Wellington Airport on Thursday and was told his bag was with the couriers.
"I asked if they were going to tell me that and if I could have a tracking number. They were very unhelpful. I eventually found out who the courier was, and went and picked my bags up from them. There were a lot of bags there just waiting."
Derek Johnson said he waited more than an hour for his baggage after arriving from the Gold Coast, but it did turn up by courier at about 4.30pm on Wednesday.
A Jetstar spokesman apologised for any inconvenience caused and said there was a technical fault with the baggage loader in Wellington that meant some flights were delayed and bags on some flights could not be unloaded, but most had now been delivered.
WOTIF SURVEY:
36.6 per cent of Kiwi travellers said their luggage has been lost
96 per cent said they got their luggage back
More than 3300 people surveyed
- Stuff
www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel-troubles/67669768/jetstar-flies-back-to-christchurch-with-wellington-passengers-bags
