An airline passenger describes the mortifying moment she was 'kicked off' a Jetstar flight after being informed that she had a 'dangerous' item in her checked luggage.

Clare Vertannes was sitting in her seat, ready to take off from Sydney to Perth on April 10, around noon, when a flight attendant came up to her out of the blue and told her that she would have to leave the plane immediately.

A traveller said she was 'kicked off' a Jetstar flight after being told she had a 'dangerous' item in her suitcase. Credit: TikTok/littleclaree.​

Clare remembered beginning to panic and feel scared because she didn't know what was going on, and she was being told to leave the plane without being told why.

'I kept asking the flight attendant what was going on, and I essentially started to freak out. Many thoughts started to rush through my head at this point,' said the 26-year-old.

'I felt beyond confused and in disbelief because I had no idea what was going on.'

At some point, she was alerted that her checked luggage had a battery pack that was classified as 'dangerous.' This was impossible, however, because Clare's battery pack was stuffed into her carry-on bag.

'I knew my battery pack was not in my suitcase because it was in my handbag, which I proceeded to take out and show her,' she said.

'After I showed her my battery pack and tried to tell her that there had been a mistake, she proceeded not to acknowledge what I was saying and kept repeating that I needed to collect my suitcase from baggage claim.'

Clare was in Sydney for work as an event planner. Credit: 7News/Clare Vertannes.​

Clare's day job is as an event coordinator, and the reason she was in Sydney at the time was solely for work-related reasons.

Since the staff were still holding her up and she was going to miss her flight, she asked if they were going to put her on the next flight to Perth, considering all the trouble they were giving her.

'The flight attendant said to me that Jetstar will not be paying for another seat for me,' said Clare. 'She said it was my fault that I had held up all these people on the plane and that I, in fact, had to compensate them because I had held up the scheduled flight.

'Again, I was in disbelief, and this is when I started to feel angry and annoyed because she was blaming me and not giving me the benefit of the doubt.'

Since there was only one option left for her: miss the flight and cooperate, Clare was brought to tears as she made her way to the baggage claim area.

As soon as she arrived, however, another member of staff informed her that her checked bag had no 'hazardous' items whatsoever.

'I'm very sorry; there was a miscommunication… there is nothing wrong with your bags. I left the desk to go to the restroom and returned to this mess. I'm so, so sorry,' said the staff member.

When she realised that she had missed her important flight for no apparent reason, she was left completely speechless and in disbelief.

At one point, she even made a joke about hoping that there really was something dangerous in her suitcase so that all of this trouble wouldn't have been for nothing.

The Jetstar employee said that there had been a 'miscommunication' and that there were no 'dangerous' items in her luggage. Credit: Stock. (Stock photo)​

Clare admitted that in her frustration over the mishap, she began to 'raise her voice' and became 'upset and angry' at the airline staff. But after she took a moment to breathe and calm down, she said: 'Ok, well, it is what it is. What's the plan now? Can I get on the next flight?'

When the flight attendant told her that there were no more seats available for today's flights to Perth since they were all sold out, her disappointment only grew.

'I then told her that I needed to be on a flight back to Perth today and that I'd sit and wait for a flight - and that's what I did,' said Clare.

Luckily, Clare was given the option of a free flight on Qantas to Perth on the same day after waiting for one hour; however, she was required to wait another seven hours.

'Qantas had a spare seat, and they had secured it for me. No upgrades or compensation - just the seat,' she said.

While she was waiting, she thought about going back to the city for a while, but she was surprised when the airline told her it would cost her an extra $50 to store her luggage.

'When they were asking me to pay to put my luggage somewhere after the whole ordeal, I was over it,' she said. 'I decided to lug my suitcase back to the city. I ended up catching a cab because the trains weren't working.'

Jetstar gave her a refund and a voucher but charged her $10 for a pie delivered to her seat, even though she had been kicked off the flight. Credit: 7News/Clare Vertannes. ​

As if mistakenly removing Clare off her flight wasn't enough, Jetstar added salt to her wounds by sending her an email charging her $10 for a food order.

Even though Clare had been removed from the flight, it appears that someone placed an order for a pie using her seat number, and the airline charged her for it.

'I remember sitting in my (Qantas) seat, thinking what else could possibly happen? And then I get an email from Jetstar,' Clare recalled.

The email read: 'Thank you so much for your pie purchase on your recent Jetstar flight.'

'I was shocked... Someone on my flight had charged a pie to my seat, and I got that invoice,' said Clare, who admitted that she was 'done' at that point.

Following the incident, Jetstar provided her with a cash refund of $116.22 as well as a voucher for $350.78.

However, Clare is demanding that she be given a full cash refund of $467, in addition to being reimbursed for the cab ticket into the city, which amounted to $50.

'They didn't give me the compensation I asked for, but they sent me a voucher to “compensate” for the flight I was kicked off,' she said. 'I don't know why they bothered giving me a voucher - it's not like I will be flying with them again.'

Clare insisted that she be refunded in full via cash, however Jetstar did not comply with her request. Credit: 7News/Clare Vertannes.​

Clare received an explanation from a member of the Jetstar team, in the form of a letter, detailing the reasons the airline could not provide her with a 'monetary refund'.

'I hope you'd appreciate that we can only return something to you in its original form,' the letter read. 'Since you have paid for this booking using a voucher and a credit card payment, we can only process a voucher equivalent to the amount paid via voucher and a cash refund equivalent to the amount paid via credit card.

'We are unable to process a cash refund for a booking which wasn't paid in cash in the first place.'

The letter added: 'We have assessed your claim in line with all relevant laws and conventions, and I appreciate how unhappy you are with this outcome.'

'However, we're comfortable that we've met our obligations under applicable law by providing this outcome to you. We will respect your opinion and decision on this matter however our position remains the same.'

A spokesperson for the airline has already made a statement about the incident, saying that they have already apologised to everyone involved and are looking into what really happened.

​

Four months after the whole airline fiasco occurred, Clare decided to open out about the traumatic experience that she went through on the trip on her TikTok channel.

'Now that I've overcome my PTSD, I can finally share with you all the trauma that Jetstar gave me,' she said in a video that has now been watched more than 815,000 times.

She added: 'I'm glad I shared my experience because everyone is starting to share their horror stories too, and hopefully, something will change on how budget airlines treat their customers.'

What an insane story! We couldn't even imagine how hard and inconvenient it was for her because of a simple misunderstanding.

What about you, members? What would you do if you were in her place? And have you had any similar experiences with Jetstar or any other airline? Tell us more about it in the comments section below!

 

[Zoya]

We have been through similar situation in Thailand but not so bad. We actually had the batteries in the check in luggage and my husband was told to take them out and put in the hand luggage. And we were on our way. No dramas whatsoever.

 

[Truds]

I must be one of the lucky ones, I have flown with them many times and have not had a single problem.

 

[Leeta069]

I went to Melbourne a few years ago with Jetstar, never again, yeah sure, the flights were cheap but the cost of the luggage was more expensive than the flight and there was NOTHING on the website about paying for luggage and I only had a small carry on bag and a small soft material suitcase, not even a hard one. Weighed no more than 6kgs. Anyway, I had a stroke while there, ended up in hospital, I got a doctor to ring Jetstar telling them everything, they offered to change my flight back home with no cost, all I had to do was ring them myself with a doctors' letter as proof, so I did and in the end they still charged me over $180.00 extra!!!! I wasn't happy but just glad to be getting home as it was only 5 days before Christmas Day. Anyway I rang them once I got back home n threatened them with a lawyers letter, I still had the official doctors letter, and where she wrote that they agreed not to charge me to change the flight. Phone call after phone call went on but in the end after 2 weeks I got the initial cost of the flight over, with the luggage cost, plus the flight back and extra it cost me all returned and into my credit card AND a free flight to Melbourne and back voucher.......which ended up in shreds in the rubbish bin!!!!! As for Qantas, I will travel with them any time, have never had a problem with them ever!

 

[Thecheesequeen]

Clare needs to read the signs that tell you what can and cannot go in hand luggage, they are there for a reason. So no sympathy for her

But there was nothing in her luggage that shouldn’t have been there!

 

[relljube]

Clare needs to read the signs that tell you what can and cannot go in hand luggage, they are there for a reason. So no sympathy for her

I may have felt a little bit sorry for if she had not posted so many "selfies" to enhance the story. Another case of self promotion in the "me" generation.

 

[Truds]

I may have felt a little bit sorry for if she had not posted so many "selfies" to enhance the story. Another case of self promotion in the "me" generation.

Maybe she had every reason to complain

 

[Ezzy]

An airline passenger describes the mortifying moment she was 'kicked off' a Jetstar flight after being informed that she had a 'dangerous' item in her checked luggage.

Clare Vertannes was sitting in her seat, ready to take off from Sydney to Perth on April 10, around noon, when a flight attendant came up to her out of the blue and told her that she would have to leave the plane immediately.

A traveller said she was 'kicked off' a Jetstar flight after being told she had a 'dangerous' item in her suitcase. Credit: TikTok/littleclaree.​

Clare remembered beginning to panic and feel scared because she didn't know what was going on, and she was being told to leave the plane without being told why.

'I kept asking the flight attendant what was going on, and I essentially started to freak out. Many thoughts started to rush through my head at this point,' said the 26-year-old.

'I felt beyond confused and in disbelief because I had no idea what was going on.'

At some point, she was alerted that her checked luggage had a battery pack that was classified as 'dangerous.' This was impossible, however, because Clare's battery pack was stuffed into her carry-on bag.

'I knew my battery pack was not in my suitcase because it was in my handbag, which I proceeded to take out and show her,' she said.

'After I showed her my battery pack and tried to tell her that there had been a mistake, she proceeded not to acknowledge what I was saying and kept repeating that I needed to collect my suitcase from baggage claim.'

Clare was in Sydney for work as an event planner. Credit: 7News/Clare Vertannes.​

Clare's day job is as an event coordinator, and the reason she was in Sydney at the time was solely for work-related reasons.

Since the staff were still holding her up and she was going to miss her flight, she asked if they were going to put her on the next flight to Perth, considering all the trouble they were giving her.

'The flight attendant said to me that Jetstar will not be paying for another seat for me,' said Clare. 'She said it was my fault that I had held up all these people on the plane and that I, in fact, had to compensate them because I had held up the scheduled flight.

'Again, I was in disbelief, and this is when I started to feel angry and annoyed because she was blaming me and not giving me the benefit of the doubt.'

Since there was only one option left for her: miss the flight and cooperate, Clare was brought to tears as she made her way to the baggage claim area.

As soon as she arrived, however, another member of staff informed her that her checked bag had no 'hazardous' items whatsoever.

'I'm very sorry; there was a miscommunication… there is nothing wrong with your bags. I left the desk to go to the restroom and returned to this mess. I'm so, so sorry,' said the staff member.

When she realised that she had missed her important flight for no apparent reason, she was left completely speechless and in disbelief.

At one point, she even made a joke about hoping that there really was something dangerous in her suitcase so that all of this trouble wouldn't have been for nothing.

The Jetstar employee said that there had been a 'miscommunication' and that there were no 'dangerous' items in her luggage. Credit: Stock. (Stock photo)​

Clare admitted that in her frustration over the mishap, she began to 'raise her voice' and became 'upset and angry' at the airline staff. But after she took a moment to breathe and calm down, she said: 'Ok, well, it is what it is. What's the plan now? Can I get on the next flight?'

When the flight attendant told her that there were no more seats available for today's flights to Perth since they were all sold out, her disappointment only grew.

'I then told her that I needed to be on a flight back to Perth today and that I'd sit and wait for a flight - and that's what I did,' said Clare.

Luckily, Clare was given the option of a free flight on Qantas to Perth on the same day after waiting for one hour; however, she was required to wait another seven hours.

'Qantas had a spare seat, and they had secured it for me. No upgrades or compensation - just the seat,' she said.

While she was waiting, she thought about going back to the city for a while, but she was surprised when the airline told her it would cost her an extra $50 to store her luggage.

'When they were asking me to pay to put my luggage somewhere after the whole ordeal, I was over it,' she said. 'I decided to lug my suitcase back to the city. I ended up catching a cab because the trains weren't working.'

Jetstar gave her a refund and a voucher but charged her $10 for a pie delivered to her seat, even though she had been kicked off the flight. Credit: 7News/Clare Vertannes. ​

As if mistakenly removing Clare off her flight wasn't enough, Jetstar added salt to her wounds by sending her an email charging her $10 for a food order.

Even though Clare had been removed from the flight, it appears that someone placed an order for a pie using her seat number, and the airline charged her for it.

'I remember sitting in my (Qantas) seat, thinking what else could possibly happen? And then I get an email from Jetstar,' Clare recalled.

The email read: 'Thank you so much for your pie purchase on your recent Jetstar flight.'

'I was shocked... Someone on my flight had charged a pie to my seat, and I got that invoice,' said Clare, who admitted that she was 'done' at that point.

Following the incident, Jetstar provided her with a cash refund of $116.22 as well as a voucher for $350.78.

However, Clare is demanding that she be given a full cash refund of $467, in addition to being reimbursed for the cab ticket into the city, which amounted to $50.

'They didn't give me the compensation I asked for, but they sent me a voucher to “compensate” for the flight I was kicked off,' she said. 'I don't know why they bothered giving me a voucher - it's not like I will be flying with them again.'

Clare insisted that she be refunded in full via cash, however Jetstar did not comply with her request. Credit: 7News/Clare Vertannes.​

Clare received an explanation from a member of the Jetstar team, in the form of a letter, detailing the reasons the airline could not provide her with a 'monetary refund'.

'I hope you'd appreciate that we can only return something to you in its original form,' the letter read. 'Since you have paid for this booking using a voucher and a credit card payment, we can only process a voucher equivalent to the amount paid via voucher and a cash refund equivalent to the amount paid via credit card.

'We are unable to process a cash refund for a booking which wasn't paid in cash in the first place.'

The letter added: 'We have assessed your claim in line with all relevant laws and conventions, and I appreciate how unhappy you are with this outcome.'

'However, we're comfortable that we've met our obligations under applicable law by providing this outcome to you. We will respect your opinion and decision on this matter however our position remains the same.'

A spokesperson for the airline has already made a statement about the incident, saying that they have already apologised to everyone involved and are looking into what really happened.

​

Four months after the whole airline fiasco occurred, Clare decided to open out about the traumatic experience that she went through on the trip on her TikTok channel.

'Now that I've overcome my PTSD, I can finally share with you all the trauma that Jetstar gave me,' she said in a video that has now been watched more than 815,000 times.

She added: 'I'm glad I shared my experience because everyone is starting to share their horror stories too, and hopefully, something will change on how budget airlines treat their customers.'

What an insane story! We couldn't even imagine how hard and inconvenient it was for her because of a simple misunderstanding.

What about you, members? What would you do if you were in her place? And have you had any similar experiences with Jetstar or any other airline? Tell us more about it in the comments section below!

Never had an incident like this myself. I believe Claire definitely received a raw deal from Jetstar from go to woe.

Claire said her CHECKED ON LUGGAGE was in question. Wouldn't this immediately put the onus on Jetstar staff who erred in their duties? Then she wasn't given an opportunity to state her case but was just put off the flight & when it was sorted minutes later she'd missed her flight. Her request for re-reimbursement incl. $50 taxi fare was reasonable & what she was offered is unreasonable. I am sure Jetstar made more than enough profit on this flight alone to pay Claire what she requested. Be worth it to avoid having further bad service added to that which they have already amassed, wouldn't it?

 

[tonymc55]

Clare needs to read the signs that tell you what can and cannot go in hand luggage, they are there for a reason. So no sympathy for her

Pot calling kettle black here. Read the article again.

 

[Suzanne rose]

Omg If I was her I would have taken it further

My husband, myself and two friends went from Sydney to Melbourne for an October long week end . Flying Jetstar, going there was fine but coming back on the way to the airport we took a wrong turn and ended up arriving late at the airport.
Our husbands took the car back and we went to check in but all check in machines were not working , it was 35 minutes until our flights and the lady at the jetstar would not let us check our husbands in and my friend had to check in then as she had a large suitcase with all her shopping.

We needed to board but I had my husbands wallet ect. My friend boarded and she gave me her husbands bag.

Husbands arrived 2 minutes are check in closed and the jetstar checkin would not let us check in.

We stayed the night at the airport and needed to purchase new tickets. We went with Qantas.

I sent a complaint to jetstar , was told they would look into it and I never heard back from them.

It also ment I missed work on the Tuesday

 

[adorableagnes]

An airline passenger describes the mortifying moment she was 'kicked off' a Jetstar flight after being informed that she had a 'dangerous' item in her checked luggage.

Clare Vertannes was sitting in her seat, ready to take off from Sydney to Perth on April 10, around noon, when a flight attendant came up to her out of the blue and told her that she would have to leave the plane immediately.

A traveller said she was 'kicked off' a Jetstar flight after being told she had a 'dangerous' item in her suitcase. Credit: TikTok/littleclaree.​

Clare remembered beginning to panic and feel scared because she didn't know what was going on, and she was being told to leave the plane without being told why.

'I kept asking the flight attendant what was going on, and I essentially started to freak out. Many thoughts started to rush through my head at this point,' said the 26-year-old.

'I felt beyond confused and in disbelief because I had no idea what was going on.'

At some point, she was alerted that her checked luggage had a battery pack that was classified as 'dangerous.' This was impossible, however, because Clare's battery pack was stuffed into her carry-on bag.

'I knew my battery pack was not in my suitcase because it was in my handbag, which I proceeded to take out and show her,' she said.

'After I showed her my battery pack and tried to tell her that there had been a mistake, she proceeded not to acknowledge what I was saying and kept repeating that I needed to collect my suitcase from baggage claim.'

Clare was in Sydney for work as an event planner. Credit: 7News/Clare Vertannes.​

Clare's day job is as an event coordinator, and the reason she was in Sydney at the time was solely for work-related reasons.

Since the staff were still holding her up and she was going to miss her flight, she asked if they were going to put her on the next flight to Perth, considering all the trouble they were giving her.

'The flight attendant said to me that Jetstar will not be paying for another seat for me,' said Clare. 'She said it was my fault that I had held up all these people on the plane and that I, in fact, had to compensate them because I had held up the scheduled flight.

'Again, I was in disbelief, and this is when I started to feel angry and annoyed because she was blaming me and not giving me the benefit of the doubt.'

Since there was only one option left for her: miss the flight and cooperate, Clare was brought to tears as she made her way to the baggage claim area.

As soon as she arrived, however, another member of staff informed her that her checked bag had no 'hazardous' items whatsoever.

'I'm very sorry; there was a miscommunication… there is nothing wrong with your bags. I left the desk to go to the restroom and returned to this mess. I'm so, so sorry,' said the staff member.

When she realised that she had missed her important flight for no apparent reason, she was left completely speechless and in disbelief.

At one point, she even made a joke about hoping that there really was something dangerous in her suitcase so that all of this trouble wouldn't have been for nothing.

The Jetstar employee said that there had been a 'miscommunication' and that there were no 'dangerous' items in her luggage. Credit: Stock. (Stock photo)​

Clare admitted that in her frustration over the mishap, she began to 'raise her voice' and became 'upset and angry' at the airline staff. But after she took a moment to breathe and calm down, she said: 'Ok, well, it is what it is. What's the plan now? Can I get on the next flight?'

When the flight attendant told her that there were no more seats available for today's flights to Perth since they were all sold out, her disappointment only grew.

'I then told her that I needed to be on a flight back to Perth today and that I'd sit and wait for a flight - and that's what I did,' said Clare.

Luckily, Clare was given the option of a free flight on Qantas to Perth on the same day after waiting for one hour; however, she was required to wait another seven hours.

'Qantas had a spare seat, and they had secured it for me. No upgrades or compensation - just the seat,' she said.

While she was waiting, she thought about going back to the city for a while, but she was surprised when the airline told her it would cost her an extra $50 to store her luggage.

'When they were asking me to pay to put my luggage somewhere after the whole ordeal, I was over it,' she said. 'I decided to lug my suitcase back to the city. I ended up catching a cab because the trains weren't working.'

Jetstar gave her a refund and a voucher but charged her $10 for a pie delivered to her seat, even though she had been kicked off the flight. Credit: 7News/Clare Vertannes. ​

As if mistakenly removing Clare off her flight wasn't enough, Jetstar added salt to her wounds by sending her an email charging her $10 for a food order.

Even though Clare had been removed from the flight, it appears that someone placed an order for a pie using her seat number, and the airline charged her for it.

'I remember sitting in my (Qantas) seat, thinking what else could possibly happen? And then I get an email from Jetstar,' Clare recalled.

The email read: 'Thank you so much for your pie purchase on your recent Jetstar flight.'

'I was shocked... Someone on my flight had charged a pie to my seat, and I got that invoice,' said Clare, who admitted that she was 'done' at that point.

Following the incident, Jetstar provided her with a cash refund of $116.22 as well as a voucher for $350.78.

However, Clare is demanding that she be given a full cash refund of $467, in addition to being reimbursed for the cab ticket into the city, which amounted to $50.

'They didn't give me the compensation I asked for, but they sent me a voucher to “compensate” for the flight I was kicked off,' she said. 'I don't know why they bothered giving me a voucher - it's not like I will be flying with them again.'

Clare insisted that she be refunded in full via cash, however Jetstar did not comply with her request. Credit: 7News/Clare Vertannes.​

Clare received an explanation from a member of the Jetstar team, in the form of a letter, detailing the reasons the airline could not provide her with a 'monetary refund'.

'I hope you'd appreciate that we can only return something to you in its original form,' the letter read. 'Since you have paid for this booking using a voucher and a credit card payment, we can only process a voucher equivalent to the amount paid via voucher and a cash refund equivalent to the amount paid via credit card.

'We are unable to process a cash refund for a booking which wasn't paid in cash in the first place.'

The letter added: 'We have assessed your claim in line with all relevant laws and conventions, and I appreciate how unhappy you are with this outcome.'

'However, we're comfortable that we've met our obligations under applicable law by providing this outcome to you. We will respect your opinion and decision on this matter however our position remains the same.'

A spokesperson for the airline has already made a statement about the incident, saying that they have already apologised to everyone involved and are looking into what really happened.

​

Four months after the whole airline fiasco occurred, Clare decided to open out about the traumatic experience that she went through on the trip on her TikTok channel.

'Now that I've overcome my PTSD, I can finally share with you all the trauma that Jetstar gave me,' she said in a video that has now been watched more than 815,000 times.

She added: 'I'm glad I shared my experience because everyone is starting to share their horror stories too, and hopefully, something will change on how budget airlines treat their customers.'

What an insane story! We couldn't even imagine how hard and inconvenient it was for her because of a simple misunderstanding.

What about you, members? What would you do if you were in her place? And have you had any similar experiences with Jetstar or any other airline? Tell us more about it in the comments section below!

I made a comment on this during the week saying she should have read the signs that tell you what can fly and what can't. One person told me off saying the battery pack was in her suitcase, if this person had read the full article it clearly states that she had it in her handbag and showed it to the flight attendant. Everyone please read the whole thing before chastising other people for their comments

 

[BigRob]

Jetstar were my least favourite long before Covid. I dread to think how bad they are now. Perhaps Alan Joyce should make a few trips under an assumed name!

Most of the pre COVID problems at Qantas started after Alan Joyce became CEO, his cut and burn policy using cheap contract labour instead of a loyal experienced workforce is what is contributing to a lot of Qantas and Jetstars problems which COVID has only made worse.
Remember this is the man who devalued the value of your frequent flyer memberships overnight no matter how long or how loyal you have been to Qantas.
His focus is simply on the bottom line not customer satisfaction.

 

[Stanier123]

Most of the pre COVID problems at Qantas started after Alan Joyce became CEO, his cut and burn policy using cheap contract labour instead of a loyal experienced workforce is what is contributing to a lot of Qantas and Jetstars problems which COVID has only made worse.
Remember this is the man who devalued the value of your frequent flyer memberships overnight no matter how long or how loyal you have been to Qantas.
His focus is simply on the bottom line not customer satisfaction.

There is nothing wrong with contract labour. I worked as a contractor for a company that went into liquidation. The liquidator got rid of the employeees and kept the contractors. He argued that the contractors were more loyal as they were only there for the money. No hidden agendas. No restrictive work practices. No holidays and sickies.

 

[joshram]

Clare needs to read the signs that tell you what can and cannot go in hand luggage,

Clare needs to read the signs that tell you what can and cannot go in hand luggage, they are there for a reason. So no sympathy for her

they are there for a reason. So no sympathy for her.

The argument was not about hand luggage.

 

[Sue Lay]

Not planning on flying anywhere soon, after all the nightmare stories being told, money being 'lost' etc. will spend my money locally, traveling in Australia by car

 

[BigRob]

There is nothing wrong with contract labour. I worked as a contractor for a company that went into liquidation. The liquidator got rid of the employeees and kept the contractors. He argued that the contractors were more loyal as they were only there for the money. No hidden agendas. No restrictive work practices. No holidays and sickies.

I also worked as a contractor to Qantas, if you read my comments I never said there was anything wrong with contract labour what I actually said was the airline has gone down since they started replacing staff.
Yes Qantas was highly unionised but they were also the safest and most dependable airline in the world.
This would be because they trained from within and had one of the best internal training systems of any airline.
Joyce has cut and burned and got rid of decades of experience that can’t be replaced by well meaning individuals who have undergone two weeks training and are working for a fraction of the cost of the Qantas trained employees no matter how conscientious they may be.
I don’t know what your experience has been but the Qantas guys I worked with hated us .

 

[Stanier123]

I also worked as a contractor to Qantas, if you read my comments I never said there was anything wrong with contract labour what I actually said was the airline has gone down since they started replacing staff.
Yes Qantas was highly unionised but they were also the safest and most dependable airline in the world.
This would be because they trained from within and had one of the best internal training systems of any airline.
Joyce has cut and burned and got rid of decades of experience that can’t be replaced by well meaning individuals who have undergone two weeks training and are working for a fraction of the cost of the Qantas trained employees no matter how conscientious they may be.
I don’t know what your experience has been but the Qantas guys I worked with hated us .

 

[Stanier123]

I also worked as a contractor to Qantas, if you read my comments I never said there was anything wrong with contract labour what I actually said was the airline has gone down since they started replacing staff.
Yes Qantas was highly unionised but they were also the safest and most dependable airline in the world.
This would be because they trained from within and had one of the best internal training systems of any airline.
Joyce has cut and burned and got rid of decades of experience that can’t be replaced by well meaning individuals who have undergone two weeks training and are working for a fraction of the cost of the Qantas trained employees no matter how conscientious they may be.
I don’t know what your experience has been but the Qantas guys I worked with hated us .

I would have thought two weeks training would be perfectly adequate for baggage handlers.

 

[BigRob]

I would have thought two weeks training would be perfectly adequate for baggage handlers.

Mate if you make comments like that you’ve never worked at an airport .
There’s a lot more to an airline than just baggage handling,
actually look out the window next time you’re on an aircraft and see how many different jobs are being attended to to get the plane turned around and you in the air.
Also look around at the amount of different gear waiting to be used,
even driving around in that environment is stressful not to mention avoiding live aircraft who have right of way,
those pretty lights that flash while you are on the ground aren’t just there for decoration.

 

[Stanier123]

Mate if you make comments like that you’ve never worked at an airport .
There’s a lot more to an airline than just baggage handling,
actually look out the window next time you’re on an aircraft and see how many different jobs are being attended to to get the plane turned around and you in the air.
Also look around at the amount of different gear waiting to be used,
even driving around in that environment is stressful not to mention avoiding live aircraft who have right of way,
those pretty lights that flash while you are on the ground aren’t just there for decoration.

I understand your points. Not everyone gets a two week training course and is let loose on the apron. The picture you paint is one of anyone can be let loose compromising the safety of an aircraft. Qantas aren’t that stupid.

As an angineer I have been involved in the storage, distribution and fuelling of aircraft. This is not only domestic and international airports but military as well.

From what I know the contract labour brought in isnt in the highly skilled areas of technicians servicing aircraft, flight controls etc. These folks are highly trained.

Society has had a gutful of trade unions and their restrictive trade practices, closed shop mentalities etc. Do you think the paying public care if the labour is cost effective o4 not. They just want to travel at an 3conomic price and be serviced professionally.

 

[Matariki]

Clare needs to read the signs that tell you what can and cannot go in hand luggage, they are there for a reason. So no sympathy for her

OMG, did you just read half the story....Read it again, s l o w l y and maybe you will understand what she wrote.