Melbourne-based Priyanka Bardhan’s plan to unwind at Bali’s azure blue beaches went under water when she received a message from Jetstar Airways informing her that her flight JQ43 scheduled to fly out on December 15th had been cancelled.
Ms Bardhan said she was just about to reach the airport when she received the airline’s notification.
She took to social media to describe her "horrible and dissatisfying" experience and vent her frustration.
In a strongly-worded post on Facebook, she wrote that when she tried to book a replacement flight for the same day, the Jetstar website was just not responsive.
In fact, her attempts to look into alternative options to book a flight too remained unsuccessful, as the page kept redirecting her to a live chat window, where no one was available to chat, she alleged.
After trying for nearly an hour, when Ms Bardhan finally got to talk to the airline’s customer care executive, she claims she was told that the rebooking couldn't be done as a replacement, though it was available as a fresh booking at Jetstar website.
“It was really frustrating that nobody from Jetstar could help me,” she wrote.
In the end, the budget-savvy traveller had to book a ticket with another airline which she claims cost her three times the fare of the Jetstar ticket she had booked months in advance.
“Also, this caused my loss for the accommodation and other bookings which I pre-paid in Bali for my vacation,” she added.
Snapshot of Priyanka Bardhan's post on Facebook Source: Facebook
In a recent decision, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) has put the Australian airline industry on notice over passengers’ rights to refunds should flights be significantly delayed or cancelled.
As a result, the consumer watchdog has taken Jetstar to court and wants it to pay $1.95 million in a penalty for making misleading representations to its customers about their rights to seek a refund.
Admitting to wrongdoing, Jetstar has conceded that its website did include statements that indicated that some tickets were non-refundable unless customers had purchased expensive tickets, according to ACCC.
But setting the record straight, the regulator said the passengers were entitled to seek a refund in the said circumstances irrespective of the fares.
“No matter how cheap the fares are, airlines cannot make blanket statements to consumers that flights are non-refundable,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Tigerair, Qantas and Virgin Australia have also been pulled up and in turn, have committed to amend their refund policies.
In more good tidings for holidaymakers, Qantas and Jetstar have decided to review complaints and compensate customers who were wrongfully denied refunds as a result of a flight cancellation or a delay between April 10th, 2017 and March 13, 2018.
So if you have been affected by a flight cancellation, here is your chance to seek a refund. Click here for more information.
It is, however, important to note that the airline is not obligated to compensate customers who missed their flight or voluntarily changed their mind.
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