The note below was received from the U.S. Department of Transportation 2 days after my complaint was filed on 26 Dec. Since the DOT compiles the frequency of these complaints, it would be very useful for ALL HONOLULU COMPLAINTS to be filed with the US DOT at this link: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-complaint
U.S. DOT Response to 26 Dec 2017 Complaint:
This responds to your communication regarding the airline issue. The U.S. Department of Transportation seeks to ensure that all airline passengers are treated fairly. Complaints from consumers are helpful to us in determining whether airlines are in compliance with our rules and to track trends or spot areas of concern that warrant further action.
We will forward your complaint to the airline and will ask the company to respond directly to you. Airlines are required to acknowledge receipt of a consumer complaint within 30 days and provide a substantive response to the complainant within 60 days. If you have not received a reply within this time frame please let us know. If you need to contact our analyst assigned to your case, you may leave a telephone message on our Aviation Consumer line, 202-366-2220, or send an email to xxxx.xxxxxxxx@dot.gov. Please include your name and case number. We will make every effort to reply to your message within one business day.
We have entered your complaint in our computerized industry monitoring system, and it will be counted among the number of complaints filed against this airline in our monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. This report allows consumers and air travel companies to compare the complaint records of individual airlines and tour operators. The data in this report also serve as a basis for rulemaking, legislation and research. Consumer information for air travelers, including the Air Travel Consumer Report and our pamphlet Fly-Rights, a Consumer's Guide to Air Travel, can be found on our website, www.dot.gov/airconsumer. Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
Sincerely,
xxxxx xxxxxxxxxx
Aviation Industry Analyst
Aviation Consumer Protection Division
Office of the General Counsel/Office of the Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
Comments
So you complained to the US
So you complained to the US department of transportation because YOU didn’t read the terms and conditions of the weight of your luggage?
No, I complained to the U.S.
No, I complained to the U.S. Department of Transportation because Jetstar clearly presented baggage info that didn't apply to my flight, under the heading: "To view baggage fees applicable for your flight, please see below". In contrast the fees that would be applied to my flight were hidden behind the link with the title: "To view OTHER fees applicable for your flight visit our fees and charges page." To me this looks like a deliberate bait and switch approach with the express intent to trick passengers into showing up at the airport and having no choice but to pay "at-airport" baggage fees that are 5 to 10 times the price that are so clearly presented in the Jetstar documentation. I did carefully review all of the 2 pages of baggage fee info provided by Jetstar, and yet was tricked into paying extreme baggage fees that were 5 times our prior highest costs.
I find their documentation fails to live up to a reasonable duty of care to inform passengers on their pricing. And I find their "at-airport" pricing extremely excessive and usurious.
Are you, Hayley Guthrie, related in any way to a Jetstar employee? I think most in the travelling public would find the Jetstar actions here quite "complain-worthy".
No I am not related to anyone
No I am not related to anyone from Jetstar - don’t know anyone who works there. It’s just that the majority of complaints against Jetstar appear to be for things that are clearly stated in the terms and conditions (baggage and being there on time) and I get sick and tired of people bagging companies for no good reason. I read all the terms and conditions to ensure a smooth trip and all of the information related to baggage is there - regardless of whether it is a link or not. You failed to read them, so complaining to US transportation is ludicrous. Maybe take some responsibility your own actions and chalk it up to a lesson learned?