By aviation writer SCOTT MAYMAN

AFTER months of campaigning for answers, there’s a positive outcome involving Jetstar which has turned around its policies to put its customers first when it comes to delayed or cancelled flights.

The big problem was first brought to the airline’s attention last year after multiple flight issues involving “Irregular Operations” such as mass delays or cancellations involving international flights as well as a Canberra service in December last year.

The big problem involved the airline’s after-hours operation when Jetstar’s call centre closed at 10pm. But if you’re flight cancelled after 10pm and ground staff refused to help, then you were stuck at the airport with no assistance.

In such instances, so many issues were reported to media outlets which caused red faces at Jetstar.

Since February, this reporter has been seeking answers on ways to correct this problem. Now it seems Jetstar has listened and is promising to do better.

From last month, the airline quietly re-introduced its 24 hour call centre. It was a measure that Jetstar previously operated, prior to the pandemic.

It’s a far cry from my previous report earlier this year in which some ground staff refused to help while others were so upset, they resigned from the airline.

According to Jetstar’s Chief Operations Officer, Matthew Franzi: “After a lot of hard work by our teams, our operations are turning a corner.

“We’ve seen significant improvements in our punctuality and reliability with more flights taking off and arriving on time and fewer services cancelled.

“The work is not over yet as we continue to invest in new aircraft and hire more people.

“While no airline can guarantee there won’t ever be disruptions due to things like weather or engineering issues, we’re now much better placed to get customers on their way if things don’t go to plan.

“We’ve made these improvements while continuing to offer millions of low fares and launching new routes.”

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