On November 25, one month before Christmas, Jetstar NZ cancelled a December 23 Melbourne to Auckland flight. Jetstar very helpfully tried to accomodate the 80 passengers that were affected. Some were offered tickets on a December 26 flight, they claimed and some were offered flights one week before their original date, when people were at work. Passengers attempting to find flights at this late stage with other airlines faced an impossible prospect. Many shelled out hundreds of dollars more to get seats.

Christmas in Australia and New Zealand is the biggest holiday of the year. Most shops and businesses shut down for three to four days over the period. All schools are closed for the summer season. Many Australians and New Zealanders take extended vacations with family members.  To cancel a flight at this time, is risking many people’s travel plans.

People were very unhappy the Jetstar decision and vented this on the airline’s Social media sites. These passengers then claim that Jetstar added insult to injury by deleting the negative comments.

Less than 24 hours after the cancellation, Jetstar found a crew and plane to offer a replacement service. The carrier has refused to say why it had cancelled the flight.  Was it because there were only 80 people booked??