Fresh bout of Jetstar cancellations compound travel woes

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An ongoing issue with Jetstar’s long-haul fleet has caused another bout of flight cancellations over the past week, disrupting Australian travellers visiting Hawaii and Bali over the school holidays.

The Qantas-owned budget airline is operating with three of its 11 Boeing 787 Dreamliners out of operation, down from five at the beginning of this month, as a string of engineering and operational issues continue to wreak havoc across its network.

“Our Boeing 787 fleet has recently been impacted by a number of unexpected issues requiring engineering work, including damage caused by debris on the runway and multiple lightning strikes and bird strikes, which has impacted our international network,” a Jetstar spokesperson told this masthead on Tuesday, committing to “reaccomodate” passengers as quickly as possible including on special services or with other carriers.

Travellers to Bali, Singapore and Hawaii have been disrupted after three of Jetstar’s long-haul fleet were grounded in the middle of the school holidays. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Jetstar confirmed there have been two Sydney to Honolulu services cancelled since Saturday. One Sydney to Denpasar flight was also cancelled with another delayed for 24 hours on September 24. It’s the second wave of cancellations on the carrier’s Bali service this month, with more than 4000 passengers affected by the axing of eight return services to Bali two weeks ago.

The grounded planes include a 787 that was hit by a freak lightning strike on a flight from Melbourne to the Gold Coast on May 7 and sustained extensive damage to its fuselage. Jetstar said at the time that it expected the aircraft to be grounded for six to eight weeks, but it remains out of service four months later.

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Another lightning strike grounded a second 787 on its way to Cairns over the weekend, while a third remains out of action due to an electrical maintenance check.

The spokesperson confirmed a flight credit or refund will be offered to all eligible passengers who no longer wish to travel and accommodation expenses, meal costs and other “reasonable” expenses would continue to be offered to those stuck abroad on a case-by-case basis. The carrier estimates all grounded aircraft will return to service by the end of this week.

“Unfortunately, with fewer international airlines operating, and the school holidays there are very few seats available to reaccommodate customers, but our teams right across the business are working through all options to get them on their way as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson added.



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