Some Jetstar Asia customers confused, frustrated by poor communication after closure announcement

SINGAPORE: When Mr Daniel, 25, first heard that Jetstar Asia would cease operations on Jul 31, he thought that his two planned trips with the airline would not be affected.

He had booked flights to Bangkok in early July and Okinawa in late July, and did not realise the airline said it would operate with a “progressively reduced schedule” before closing permanently.

He and 10 friends are heading to the Thai capital for a graduation trip and have already booked accommodation that cannot be refunded.

On Wednesday (Jun 11) morning, he received an email saying his flight was cancelled, so he made plans to book a different flight to Bangkok. 

But a friend who was going on the trip with him called Jetstar Asia’s hotline, got through after 45 minutes and was told that the flight is still on. 

“If it's a mass email kind of mistake, like they just sent it out (to everyone), then it will make sense. But for me, they included my specific booking reference,” said Mr Daniel, who did not want to give his full name.

“We were very confused … if it’s still on, then why was there a cancellation email?”

For now, Mr Daniel said he will hold off booking a new flight and hope that Jetstar Asia can provide more clarity. 

He also feels that there is uncertainty over whether his flight to Okinawa might be cancelled, since it is unclear which flights would be cut from the airline’s schedule before it closes.

“I'm wondering, when would they tell me about it? Or how late would they tell me about it?”

Jetstar Asia is the only airline that flies directly from Singapore to Okinawa.

“It would help if Jetstar said okay, we will inform all of you by this certain timing, what flights are being cancelled and what flights are still on,” he said.

The budget airline operates 16 routes within Asia, and flights before Jul 31 may be cancelled.

Jetstar Asia said travellers whose trips are after Jul 31 will be offered full cash refunds or alternative flights, depending on availability.

For another Jetstar customer, Ms Lim, it was clear that her flight was off. Her trip to Surabaya was planned for August.

But the 30-year-old, who also declined to give her full name, has yet to receive any email or notification about a refund, which the airline has said will be offered to customers. 

Jetstar should be providing “more timely communication”, she said. The website said passengers can request a refund from the booking management page, but there is no option to do so, said Ms Lim.

“If they were genuinely committed to customer support, notifications about refund processes should have been delivered at the same time as the closure announcement, or at the very least, within a clearly communicated timeframe thereafter,” she said. 

Another traveller who only wanted to be known as Mr Yong also has not heard from the airline about a refund for his trip to Phuket in December.

"We understand they are going through a lot, but I feel they should be more ready to reach out to customers when this was announced," he said.

CNA understands that Jetstar is in the process of contacting affected customers.

Income Insurance said on Thursday evening that its customers with pre-trip cancellation cover would be able to claim for "unused and prepaid expenses such as accommodation, travel packages, local tours, amusement park tickets and transport expenses (outside of Jetstar air ticket expenses), which include land transfers".

But this would apply only if the insurance plan was bought before 8am on Jun 11.

"A full refund, within stipulated policy limit, will be given, if and when affected eligible customers failed to obtain refund of expenses from their accommodation, transport or service providers, as stipulated in the travel insurance policy terms and conditions," said Income.

Etiqa Insurance Singapore said on Jun 16 that it too will extend coverage for eligible travel insurance customers with affected Jetstar Asia bookings as "a gesture of goodwill" since an airline's cessation of operations is not covered by travel insurance policies.

Customers who have purchased single-trip or annual travel insurance plans before 8am on Jun 11 can submit claims for non-refundable expenses related to pre-booked accommodation, local transportation and activities during their trip.

Etiqa has also extended the claim submission period from 30 days to 90 days to give customers more time to review their travel plans and file their claims.

REBOOKING FLIGHTS

Mr Yong booked the Jetstar Asia flights to Phuket two months ago for himself and his partner. The tickets cost him about S$600 (US$467) then.

After today's announcement, he had to quickly rebook his flights on Jetstar Asia’s competitor, Scoot, for over S$800.

A check on Scoot’s website shows that no-frills return tickets on the same dates ranged from S$744 to S$854 for two passengers, depending on the flight timing.

“The moment we saw (the news), we quickly booked the replacement flight this morning,” he said. “We were afraid that other passengers would also start to book alternatives as well.”

Ms Lim also booked replacement flights for her trip to Surabaya. She initially chose Jetstar Asia because the flight back to Singapore was scheduled in the afternoon, whereas Scoot’s flight was in the morning.

She said prices for Scoot’s flights seemed to be rising when she checked them today, but she managed to get a Singapore Airlines flight and “peace of mind” for about the same price as her original Jetstar Asia tickets.

CNA has contacted Jetstar Asia to ask how many passengers are affected by the cancelled flights.

Travel agency Chan Brothers Travel said Jetstar Asia did not inform it in advance about the impending closure. 

"Like the general public, we only became aware of Jetstar Asia's planned closure today," said Ms Trista Foo, senior marketing communications executive at the company.

She said Chan Brothers has contacted Jetstar Asia to understand how its bookings will be affected and to seek clarity on the cessation process, and is waiting for more information from the airline.

Chan Brothers' customers fly Jetstar Asia for tours to Okinawa and Broome, a town in Australia. Both direct flights from Singapore are offered only by Jetstar Asia. 

Ms Foo said her company is offering customers alternative flights to Okinawa with stopovers in Hong Kong or Taipei, where the journey will be about 2.5 hours longer.

"Customers will be informed of any marginal fare top-up required for these alternative flight options," she said, adding that they can also change their destination or cancel their bookings.

For Broome, the direct flight is four hours long, and transit flights usually extend travel time to around 10 hours, she said.

"This significantly longer travel duration will affect overall experience and impact demand for Broome as a destination from Singapore," added Ms Foo.

Tour agency EU Holidays said only a handful of customers would be affected by the closure of Jetstar Asia. These are independent travellers who engage the agency's help in booking their trips, said director Wong Yew Hoong.

"Normally, our group tours (use) full-service carriers," he said.

EU Holidays will inform customers who are affected and alternative arrangements will be made where needed. 

If they cannot be placed on different flights, Jetstar Asia will refund EU Holidays, which will in turn refund its customers.

CTC Travel told CNA on Thursday that its affected group tours will be operated by alternative partner airlines.

"We are working closely with various carriers to ensure a smooth transition and to minimise any disruption to our customers’ travel plans," said public relations head Diana Tan, adding that there have been no cancellations to date.

Consumers Association of Singapore president Melvin Yong said in a Facebook post that it is working with Jetstar Asia to clarify how it intends to "handle and process" the refunds and rescheduled flights, as well as the recourse for customers in disputes.