Category Archives: Jetstar

Bridget McKenzie forced to deny her oped on aviation divestiture signals support for breaking up Qantas

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Just hours after opinion appears in AFR, shadow minister clarifies divestiture as ‘one of the various tools the treasurer needs to look at’ but not Coalition policy

The shadow transport minister, Bridget McKenzie, was forced to clarify the Coalition does not support breaking up Qantas just hours after floating the possibility of forced divestiture powers in the aviation sector.

McKenzie warned the competition watchdog’s review of the aviation sector “will be a failure if it does not address the role of divestiture” in an opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review on Monday.

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As many as 360 workers sacked at Rex with hundreds more jobs to go

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Employees reportedly told the airline will no longer operate flights between capital cities

As many as 360 staff at Rex Airlines have been sacked already and hundreds more are on the chopping block after administrators were called in to run the embattled carrier, with remaining staff told they may not get paid until a new buyer is found.

It comes amid speculation that Asia-based private equity firm PAG, which funded Rex’s $150m expansion to jet operations, was considering becoming the airline’s new owner out of administration.

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Australian airlines push back on calls to compensate passengers for delays and cancellations

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Exclusive: Companies say a compensation scheme like the EU’s would drive up air fares in Australia

Australian airlines are pushing back against calls for new laws that would force them to pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled, with claims it would force carriers to preemptively raise air fares to fund payouts.

The resistance follows the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, consumer advocate Choice and the Australian Lawyers Alliance all separately raising the prospect of a compensation scheme to rein in airlines arbitrarily changing their schedules, as the government considers its aviation white paper.

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Qantas criticised for ‘unfair’ Covid credit scheme despite 12-month extension

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Choice says flight credits should work like gift cards with customers able to split them over a number of transactions

Qantas and Jetstar are being criticised for an “unfair” Covid credit scheme, despite extending the deadline for customers to use the credits by 12 months.

The airlines announced on Thursday they were giving customers an additional 12 months to use their Covid credits, carry-overs from the extensive cancellations and border closures that came during the pandemic.

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Jetstar flight forced to land in central Japan after reportedly receiving bomb threat

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Footage posted to social media showed passengers disembarking via emergency slides and walking across tarmac

A Jetstar flight has been forced to make an emergency landing in central Japan after receiving a bomb threat, according to local media.

The aircraft was reportedly travelling from Narita airport near Tokyo to Fukuoka on Saturday, when it was forced to divert to Aichi prefecture, public broadcaster NHK said.

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‘Second-class citizen’: man lifted on to plane as Darwin airport had no ramp for wheelchair users

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Being carried across the gap between the air bridge and the plane risked his, his wife’s and airline staffs’ safety, says passenger

An Australian man has said he was made to feel like a “second-class citizen” by being lifted on to a Jetstar flight in Darwin, as disability advocates call for a complete overhaul of the way airlines treat passengers.

Brad Wszola, 50, suffered a spinal cord injury in 2016. He uses a wheelchair, but was not able to navigate the gap between the air bridge and the plane when boarding a Jetstar flight from Darwin to Cairns on 12 August.

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Jetstar flights cancelled, leaving 4,000 passengers stranded overseas for up to a week

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Travellers in Bali have run out of medication and been offered tortuous routes home

Mass flight cancellations have left 4,000 Jetstar passengers stranded or forced to cancel trips, with the carrier only able to offer flights a week later in many cases.

Many have reported being left in Bali well beyond their planned return date without access to medication, or being forced to lose wages because they could not return home in time to work.

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Dozens of flights cancelled at Sydney and Melbourne airports as industry struggles with staff shortages

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Multiple airlines experience delays due to crew absences while Qantas technical glitch left passengers waiting for hours

Widespread flight cancellations across multiple airlines have frustrated travellers at Sydney and Melbourne airports on Monday, as the industry grapples with staffing shortages as well as a technology glitch that affected Qantas flights on Sunday.

Across Qantas, Virgin Australia, Jetstar and Rex, 23 domestic flights were cancelled out of Sydney airport on Monday.

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Qantas mandates full Covid-19 vaccination for all its employees

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Frontline staff must be inoculated by 15 November, with remainder of staff given until 31 March

Qantas will require all of its employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, as debate about mandatory vaccination in Australian workplaces intensifies.

By 15 November, all frontline employees, including cabin crew, pilots and airport workers, will need to be fully vaccinated. All remaining employees will have until 31 March 2022 to get vaccinated.

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