You may have noticed that my blog has been quiet for a long long time. I can't say I really have an excuse, except to say that maybe I stopped blogging because I didn't have any advocacy battles to talk about. I don't think this was ever my full intention for this blog to be purely about advocacy issues but somehow it ended up like that. Never the less, here's the latest Jetstar complaint / installment. I think I'm at my last straw with them. We'll see where this leads! - Madeleine.
I have been travelling with you regularly for the past two years or so therefore I know Jetstar's booking and check in procedures for customers needing assistance with a wheelchair very well.
Usually when checking in my 100kg electric wheelchair I am asked how much it weighs and what kind of battery it has. This enables check in staff to contact Jetstar Security via phone to obtain the 'Security Authorisation Number' to gain permission for my wheelchair to fly.
When checking in for this flight everything went to plan except that the check in staff member expected that I had obtained a letter from Jetstar myself with the 'Security Authorisation Number' myself before checking in. She said it was a new ruling that haf been enforced in the last six months.
I didn't bring the letter because I was not aware of this new ruling. I had also not been asked for this previously in the last six months when I had flown with Jetstar. The check in staff had always continued to phone Jetstar Security themselves. The Jetstar website also did not inform me of this when I booked online and told you of my assistance needs on your booking form in appropriate sections.
In previous communications and complaints I have resolved with Jetstar, I have worked with you to make online booking facilities available to those needing assistance with a wheelchair or mobility aid because using the call centre to make bookings should not be the only option.
My problem and why I feel that I have been discriminated against is that by booking online via the Jetstar website, I am trying to avoid having to contact the call centre. If Jetstar's website does not explain the process for obtaining a 'Security Authorisation Number' and/or make that function available on your online booking form, then I am still forced to contact the call centre. This then defeats the purpose of booking online. For some customers with disabilities, using the telephone is not an option for them at all.
What Jetstar needs to do to resolve this issue is: Revise and change your online booking forms to enable customers who require assistance with a wheelchair or other mobility aid to complete the whole booking process via the Jetstar website. You need to add additional space on the online booking form or provide a contact email address specifically for the purposes of gaining a 'Security Authorisation Number' for people who need to travel with wheelchairs or other mobility aids can gain the permission for it to fly.
Please note that I have also lodged a Disability Discrimination Act complaint with the Human Rights Commission because I feel Jetstar have indirectly discriminated against not only me, but other people who would find the new process of making flight bookings impossible.
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