A Jetstar passenger broke down in tears after being forced to shell out hundreds of dollars for a new airfare home when she was told she couldn’t use her existing ticket booked under her married name instead of her maiden name.
The 28-year-old woman, who wished to remain anonymous, was checking in for her flight back to Melbourne on Sunday night after a long weekend getaway in Hobart.
The self-check-in terminals were not working, so she went to the reservations desk to get tags for her luggage and was asked to show her ID, which she did by showing her driver’s license still in her maiden name.
While you can normally change a name on a domestic Jetstar flight for $70 because half of the return ticket had already been used, the woman was told she would need to buy a new ticket to fly with her husband and friends.
The $559 cost was almost double the price of its original $330 round-trip fare.
Although her friends and her husband considered spending one more night in Hobart to resolve the problem, the woman decided to cover the expense of the new ticket.
“They made my friend cry,” said his traveling companion Ammad Arshad. 7news.com.au.
“I was very distressed last night (Sunday) and during the flight.”
A Jetstar passenger was left in tears when she had to buy a new ticket because her return ticket had been booked in her married name, while the only ID she had showed her maiden name.
Mr Arshad said that ‘“The experience felt like a predatory practice.”
He also called the additional cost clearly unfair under the circumstances.
The group ended up splitting the cost of the new plane ticket between themselves.
“These tactics left us feeling frustrated and exploited, which undermined the overall enjoyment of our trip,” Mr. Arshad added.
«They justified it by stating that, since she had already traveled part of the trip, it was not allowed to change the name.
“This was particularly frustrating because their website clearly states that name changes can be made at any time for a $70 fee.”
In the ‘rates and charges’ section of its website, Jetstar states that names can be changed for $70 without giving any conditions, which are listed elsewhere on the site.
Jetstar has since offered to refund the passenger for the additional fare she was forced to pay.
“Name changes can be made for an individual passenger on a booking, but must apply to all of that passenger’s flights,” the website notes on a page providing initial fare rules.
That section also states that name changes are not permitted on tickets purchased with Qantas Frequent Flyer Points Plus Pay, or with Jetstar or JAL Mileage.
However, there is no charge to change the name on a ticket from a maiden name to a married name if it is done by contacting Jetstar before travel.
A Jetstar spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the passenger has since been offered a full refund of the additional $559 she had to pay on Sunday night.
‘While it is a federal government requirement to travel with a ticket under your legal name and be able to present identification when requested, we have reviewed this particular case and have reached out to refund the customer for the purchase of the new ticket,’ they said.