An Unpleasant Jetstar Experience

 

This is my first experience travelling with the Jetstar airline with my reservation number TEI5UA.

 At around 3.00 pm on February 20, 2014, my wife, my daughter and I arrived at the Changi Airport in Singapore. My daughter went straight to the Jetstar check-in counter with our travelling documents. The Chinese lady at the counter insisted that all of us have to avail our presence before her before she would issue the boarding passes which I think the clerk was overreacting as my wife had the difficulty of dragging her feet over a seemingly short distance as she is suffering from osteoporosis. If the identity of a passenger has to be verified in front of the check-in clerk, how is it that most airlines permit passengers to do web check-in? It could be that that particular clerk had forgotten that she was not an immigration officer! This kind of practice was not carried out by the Jetstar staff at the Penang airport. Neither was it practised by other Airlines which I had travelled before.

To my daughter’s request to have my wife’s seat changed closer to the entrance of the plane, it was also turned down abruptly by the inconsiderate lady. Unlike her counterpart, at the Penang airport, who automatically changed our seats without much difficulty.

Further request by my daughter to have a wheelchair provided by the Jetstar airline was also rejected as the lady said that the wheelchair would only be provided one hour before boarding time which to my mind was very ridiculous as my wife needed a wheelchair to move around in the airport waiting area during the long hours of waiting. Moreover, in the circulars emailed by the Jetstar, it was clearly stated that any passenger requesting for wheelchair assistance should be in the airport at least two hours before the flight.

As we could not get a wheelchair from the Jetstar, my daughter had to hunt for an alternative wheelchair from the Changi Airport to ferry her mother around the waiting area of the airport during the five hours of waiting time.

Finally, at around 8.00 pm when the time had come for us to enter the boarding hall, the Indian lady at the check-point entrance told us that the airport wheelchair we were using could not be utilized to ferry my wife to board the plane. According to the Indian lady, my wife had to make an effort to walk to the plane. No attempt at all was made by the lady to contact the Jetstar office at the airport to send an 'appropriate' wheelchair for my wife at the boarding hall. Luckily, one of the staff who was supposed to push a passenger on a wheelchair at the boarding hall was willing to make an extra trip to ferry my wife to board the plane. Our experience travelling with the Jetstar Airline in Singapore did not give us any good impressions that Jetstar had provided customer-friendly service or satisfaction. By contrast the Jetstar staff at the Penang International Airport had provided really good service. This made me wonder why an airline company would practise double standard in its customer service in different countries. Don’t tell me that this is corporate culture of the Jetstar Airline!

Hope the Jetstar Airline will not get any further complaints from other flyers in the near future.