Jetstar wants passengers to turn up earlier in major check-in change

Better be on time! Jetstar is warning passengers that check in will be closing earlier from next week. Photo / Phillip Capper, CC2

The Australian budget carrier Jetstar is asking passengers to check-in earlier as part of a major shake up for the airline’s operations.

From May 23, bag drop and gate closure times will be changing for travellers on Jetstar.

The move is to help improve the airline’s punctuality, so travellers had better be on time.

From next week, bag drop will close 10 minutes earlier on domestic flights in Australia and New Zealand, with passengers having to check-in 40 minutes before departure. This is increased to 60 minutes for international services.

Boarding gates will now close 20 minutes before departure on all flights.

In the year to date Jetstar’s “on time performance” has dropped to an average of just 70 per cent. With April seeing fewer than 64 per cent of Jetstar flights arriving or departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled times in New Zealand, the carrier says changes are well overdue.

“We know our performance hasn’t been up to scratch and we are working hard to boost punctuality and reliability,” said the airline’s chief operating officer Matt Franzi, yesterday.

He says that all passengers with upcoming flights will be notified of the changes via email and there will be signage in airports reminding travellers to get a move on.

“To improve our performance, we’re also recruiting more airport staff, cabin crew and engineering team members.”

Franzi said that the changes will bring Jetstar in line with other low-cost carriers internationally.

Jetstar on time performance not up to scratch

The Australian Department of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Development (Bitre) publishes monthly “on time performance” for airlines operating in Australia.

For April Jetstar was by far the bottom of the pile with 62 per cent of arrivals and less than 60 per cent of departures on time. It also had the highest cancellation rate with 7.1 per cent of flights cancelled versus an average of 3.6 per cent for all airlines operating Australia in April.

While Jetstar is taking remedial action to improve flight punctuality, there has been a decrease in on-time performance across all airlines post pandemic.

While scheduled flight cancellations were higher from March 2020 to January 2022, on time performance was between 85 and 92 per cent.

Total Industry On Time Performance by month from March 2020; Source / Bitre Australia