“Well if your family meant so much to you, the money should not be an issue”

Due to a recent fog event in Brisbane on Friday 7th July, our flight was cancelled. An event that we understand was unavoidable. Jetstar website states that their customer guarantee is for us to expect a high level of customer satisfaction. This we did NOT experience.
My wife and I were booked on Brisbane to Newcastle departing Friday 7th July 8.05pm returning Sunday 9th July, Flight cancelled due to heavy fog.
The next available flight offered by Jetstar did not provide us with sufficient time for our journey. Therefore, after much agonising with the Jetstar “customer care” person, we accepted the offer to reschedule our flights to the 4th & 6th of August at the same times as our previous booking.
“Travis” (Jetstar customer care) asked us to pay a total of $460.00 for the new flights. Disputing this fee, in a circular conversation for 40 minutes, Travis agreed that because it was not our fault he could waive the $80.00 rebooking fee per flight however the new flights would still attract the $35.00 fare increase as we could only change our flights with like for like tickets. Our tickets were Starter flights and we would have to exchange with Starter flights.
Looking at the Jetstar website the advertised rates to fly on these dates for a Starter flight were and still are $75.00. We paid $139.00 per flight person, plus credit card fee and Travis could not explain in plain language why we could not see the flight charge increase in charges to $165.00, $26.00 more per flight than the advertised rates. We still do not understand why we had to pay $140 more for a like for like exchange, especially when the advertised fares are $64.00 less per flight per person.
Only that we had been on the phone in a circular conversation for 40 minutes did Travis reduce the additional payment from $460 to $140. We would have accepted a like for like exchange and paid $139 per flight person, however, our choice as presented by Travis was to lose the flights ($530) or pay $140 to rebook. The Flight difference Travis stated adds to an additional $104 not $140. I ask how is this not profiteering?
My wife, in her extreme frustration, said what Travis was telling us was “bulls&*t” a regrettable choice of words for which she immediately apologised, and explained to Travis that she just wanted to go see her family. Travis replied, “Well if your family meant so much to you, the money should not be an issue”. Total rudeness, zero empathy and certainly no customer satisfaction experienced here.
And this is not the first time - we have experienced this rudeness and poor customer care in the air as well as on the ground.
Travis may believe he has done his job by following unclear Jetstar rules, however a little empathy would not have gone astray and we believe that he could have done more to assist us on this occasion. Disappointingly, we believe Jetstar have taken advantage of our situation and immediately profited from our circumstances.
Long term, we will not be flying with, nor recommending Jetstar again.