Australian Airline Services at Their Best ( Not )

There are always two sides to the story though … if there were a major problem on the plane and emergency evacuation were required, this woman would be extremely vulnerable. Let’s say that she dies because she can’t evacuate the plane. Do you think that the airline would ever hear the end of it?

There may well be some issues raised here:

  • Is it a legal requirement for all planes to carry a certain number of copies of the safety instructions in Braille?
  • If not, is the government going to change the law?
  • If it is already a legal requirement, was the airline compliant or non-compliant on this occasion?
  • If non-compliant, why, and how is the airline going to change its processes in future to address that?

However I have serious concerns that even with a Braille copy of the safety instructions, this would not be a safe situation !!!

(By coincidence, this woman appeared on the ABC TV “You Can’t Ask That” program in the last few weeks. Apparently this is a question that wasn’t asked. :slight_smile: )

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With a personal carer how would that be different than if a member of the flight crew assisted her? In an emergency one might consider a trained person would be better handling such an event than a possibly panicking ‘layman’. Yours may be an unwinnable ‘argument’ either way except by refusing similarly handicapped people transportation, full stop.

How would that go in the above scenario?

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The personal carer is (and must be) seated adjacently. The personal carer can ensure a 1:1 ratio, in the event of an emergency situation. The personal carer knows how to operate the text-to-Braille device.

Yes, that is possible too. The personal carer may fall apart and be useless.

The airline did (reportedly) attempt to get a member of staff to play the role of personal carer at short notice. Surely that is above and beyond what they can reasonably be expected to do.

I don’t think any airline should have to apologise for making safety the number 1 priority.

At the end of the day, the only incompetence on the part of the airline is that the booking should have been refused at the outset. That would have been less upsetting and more convenient for the passenger - but it doesn’t change the fundamental: a passenger in this situation is required to travel with a personal carer.

Supplementary question: Is this policy any different on any other Australian domestic airline?

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That particular incompetence seems pervasive, not just for refusing bookings but arranging things that were supposedly arranged from properly (or sometimes improperly) refusing bookings or travel (at the gate) to assuring wheel chairs are available if they say they will be, to making arrangements for animals whether they be support animals allowed in the cabin or pets caged in the holds.

As for their policies on this event, they are here

If there is nothing more to the story,
“I called [Jetstar] twice and had a discussion with some staff to make sure that they knew I had a disability, to make sure that they knew I had special needs,” Ms Vlajkovic told the ABC through an interpreter.

“What they said at the time was ‘Yeah, all good, that’s fine’.”

Jetstar was indeed incompetent-looking with that last comment.

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Now we have an article claiming Qantas analogue baggage scales have been found to read high by as much as 30%.

Looks like the passenger have been taken for more than one ride.

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From the link

A&D Australasia national sales manager Brian Johnston said the difference in weight could occur because bathroom scales don’t always measure small amounts correctly.

That is true and the recommendation to weigh oneself and then oneself holding the baggage when using a bathroom scale is right on. OTOH I don’t doubt the veracity of the report. One could imagine QF/JQ and others deploying some pretty cheap scales to save money, and make money :wink:

Disclaimer: I have a portable handheld luggage scale and always weigh my luggage and carry ones before heading to the airport. Any discrepancy and I challenge them. So far never more than a .1 kg difference from their (checkin) scales and mine. Not had a carry on weighed at the gate yet.

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One point of interest is the requirement for scales used in trade or measurement of quantities to calculate charges need to meet calibration and accuracy standards.

Do airlines fall outside of the national and state legislation?

Semantics, do the airlines escape capture as they carry your hand luggage as a service, and not a traded commodity or fixed package - goods?

In the spirit of the law and fair treatment of the customer, it would appear a worthy challenge in court for anyone charged extra. How could the airline defend a position without meeting the legislated national standards for measurement applied to everyday business?

Perhaps the airlines are also relying on the uncertainty of the customers measurements to avoid the challenge.

P.S.
I always use a fish weighing scale for my luggage. It always provides a generous margin on weight, however I do ignore the measured length? :rofl:

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The answer to Jetstar and other airlines when your baggage is overweight.

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Perhaps your article is under the wrong heading. Should be “Another Disgraceful Passenger Incident”?

Seriously, don’t try this at home, as this dude found out: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/teen-collapses-mid-air-easyjet-flight-6038649

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Jetstar strikes again.

https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/travel-trouble/no-excuse-passenger-shocked-by-9-sandwich-on-jetstar-flight

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It amazes me that people still book with a budget airline then are surprised when the food is overpriced. People do realise what a business is right? They’re not offering you cheap flights out of charity

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My impression was that the price was not the issue, rather that the sandwich was “not fit for purpose” at any price.

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Food at airports is even more expensive…can be 2-3 times that outside the airport precinct and not as good quality due to a captive audience.

If food is not provided on a longer domestic flight, we take our own as it is cheaper, better and more satisfying.

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Whilst I was waiting for my wife and her sister to board a Jetstar flight to Melbourne this morning, I noticed two employees pushing a digital scale on wheels and a metal table with an EFTPOS terminal on it to the boarding gate.

They then announced that they required all passenger with carry-on baggage which had not had a piece of orange tape affixed at check-in to proceed to have their baggage weighed.

There was also a large digital scale at this position so they could weight 2 items at a time.

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I have experienced this a couple of times when flying Jetsrar (not my domestic airline of choice). Usually carry on a small daypack which they have never bother to weigh…and only afix the tag to handle indicating bag has been weighed/inspected.

It isn’t an issue if one meets their posted, advertised and ticketed cabin luggage allowances.

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A bit of a ramble, but once upon a time not that long ago one could take carry-on baggage as long as it fit into the overhead. Then weight limits were prescribed by some, not all, airlines ostensibly in the name of safety (I’ll allow that the overheads are designed to some weight limit). Cynics saw the evolution when as weight limits reduced further but voila, for a few extra $10s or more of dollars the safety aspect magically evolved into a revenue aspect.

I thus understand why pax have problems with airline behaviour regardless of the airlines rights to put virtually any T&C they want as a condition of carriage.

Then there is discretion, if there is. Is 5, 50, 500, 1000g overweight worth a $35 or more $ hit? Will the airlines enforce it? At what weight? Could they be prosecuted if their scales weigh a bit high (in their favour)?

RyanAir has demonstrated year in and year out that customer service and customer relations matters nought if the ticket is cheap enough. Tell them to rak off and they will be back, at least most of them for the next cheap ticket. But the pax still have their rights to whinge.

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Their behaviour is an absolute disgrace, and if there was even the remotest concern regarding the total mass being loaded onto an aircraft, then they would weigh the passengers as small charter flights often do,

That will come. Expect the small and light of weight to pay about the same as now, and the heavier more, based on per kg.

The only reason they have not tried this so far is the pushback and politics re ‘what is a human’. Is a ‘human’ an item, a mass, and laws requiring equal treatment under law. Whether the latter applies is likely more a PR problem than a legal one.

I prognosticate “We ain’t seen nothing yet” when it comes to extracting dollars from us.

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With many discount airlines one has to pay extra for checked in luggage (such as purchase a luggage allowance or putprchase the next price level of ticket).

Years ago, all tickets came with ~20kg of checked in and ~7kg of carry on. Business/first class on some airlines allowed even more luggage.

Times have changed.

I suspect that some pasenger opt for the cheapest ticket which doesn’t have a checked in allowance and then try to take sverything with them as carry on…to try and save a few $10 notes. The airlines possibly have cottoned onto this and have clamped down on practice.

I have also noticed more recently that passengers seem to take more carry on luggage and the overhead lockers on planes are often full with late boarding passengers being asked to store hand luggage under the seat in front or be taken away from cabin crew to be stored elsewhere in the aircraft.

At the other extreme, in China a flight we took about 20 years ago, one couldn’t get down the isle due to many passengers taking all their luggage on board…possibly many first time flyers not trusting checked in luggage processes. This practice seemed to be accepted by airlines at that time…which fortunately has changed for the better now days.

Maybe the problem is multifaceted and why some airlines charge passengers for excess hand luggage.

Years ago many airlines allowed that ~20 kg +/-, and a 22 incher in the cabin, no weight specified.

Surcharges for extra checked baggage as well as waiting 20-30 minutes or more for luggage encourages that :frowning:

Charging as they increasingly do for cabin baggage puts it at deuce.

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