Sullivan said she and the other passengers were given forms to fill out so their luggage could be returned at a later date, but were not offered compensation or emergency bags.
Since she arrived at her daughter’s home in Coolangatta, Sullivan said she had to go out and purchase emergency toiletries and underwear, and she was borrowing clothes from her daughter “to tide me over for a couple of days”.
“Today is obviously day two, with still no sign of my suitcase.”
She said she had been speaking to a contact person from Jetstar via the phone number listed for luggage loss or delays, but she still had no idea when to expect her bag or if it had even left New Zealand.
“I was left frustrated and annoyed by her inane questions; i.e. ‘Was there anything important in [your] suitcase?’”
She said there were at least two other affected families with children who are now facing the task of replacing missing Christmas gifts at considerable expense.
“So it’s kind of stuffed a lot of people’s Christmases.
“It’s more of a lack of respect from them and the lack of an update. No, ‘Hey guys, this is where we’re at after two days - they’re on their way’, or, ‘I’m sorry, you’re not going to have them for Christmas’.
“The worst thing is that it’s Christmas Day tomorrow and there are going to be a whole lot of families left out... Of course, all my Christmas presents for the grandkids and my daughters aren’t here.”
In a statement, Jetstar said it was investigating why a number of bags weren’t loaded on to a flight from Auckland to the Gold Coast on Friday.
“The bags are now on the Gold Coast, and our teams are working hard to deliver them to customers as quickly as possible.
“We know this has been a really frustrating experience for passengers and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience.”
Jetstar’s customer team was contacting impacted customers to apologise and offer them a travel voucher in light of their experience.
