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Published: March 27th 2007
Walking into Hobart airport an hour before the flight, and therefore 30 minutes before the close of check in at 5.30am is usually a pretty safe bet. Heck it's a dead safe bet ... unless maybe when you're flying Jetstar.
We walked through the airport doors and immediately found ourselves at the end of a very long line. Not a good start.
10 minutes later and the only thing that had moved was the minute hand on the clock. Something wasn't going quite as it should, and the first nerves of missed-flightitis started to emerge.
Fortunately we were surrounded by many others on our flight who were just as nervous as us about the lack of movement. Slowly the clock ticked closer and closer, and then past, the dreaded 30 minute close off for check in and we and many others were still a long way from having a ticket in our hands.
Meanwhile the counter staff were constantly conferring amongst themselves, and as the line snaked back in an arc past the queries counter I heard one of the staff whisper to the supervisor "Shall I make an announcement?". The time had just gone past 6.00pm. The close off for check in. 30 seconds later as the next guy stepped up to the check in counter, the Jetstar attendenet looked at a ticket, told him something, and the customer went through the roof. This was not the start of the holiday I had imagined. Things were supposed to be dead easy, at least until we got to Vietnam.
Two minutes later, with the crowd getting increasingly agitated, the staff at Jetstar finally had the sense to make an announcement - The flight had been delayed until 8.10am (we were supposed to fly out at 6.30am). We later found out that one of the flight atendents had called in sick, so they'd had to wait for a replacement to fly down from Melbourne on the first scheduled flight. Of course they could have announced this hours ago to stop their valuable customers from worrying, but hey it's Jetstar, they still don't have electronic check in booths, and as they say you get what you pay for. By the by, the agitated guy, was worried because he had some meeting to get to and the two hour delay was his concern.
In Sydney we checked in early, and discovered that Jetstars online seat booking system works as effectively as their staff announcements. We were issued tickets in the middle rows, despite having booked and confirmed window seats over their online system. Fortunately there were plenty of seats free, and we managed to bag two exit row seats.
The flight was a flight - what else can I say? We were impressed by the fact that to get your prepaid video system we had to provide photo ID - and passports weren't acceptable. The logic behind that still staggers me. Why do you need ID? Have I somehow managed to get by ticket check in, Customs and then flight check-in only to the somehow change identify and use my forged passport on the plane so as to secretly obtain my video flight monitor? Did they fear that I would steal their precious little video screen, that only works on their planes, as a memento of my travels? There is a genius at work in the ranks of this company.
However, four and a bit movies later, we touched down safely in Ho Chi Minh City, breezed though customs, and made our way through the chaos that is the streets of Saigon to our hotel and the bliss of air conditioning, a comfortable bed and 99 channels of cable TV ... The holidays had begun.
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Sandra Neve
non-member comment
Nice to hear from you
Glad you have had such an eventful star to your holiday. Would like to hear what you thought of Vietnam. ? later trip for us. Hope you are enjoying yourselves . Bye for now