Jetstar refunds family after bumping them off Auckland flight to Queenstown

Atika Bhalla and her young son were bumped off a flight to Queenstown due to overbooking.

A family was stranded at Auckland Airport and then stuck in Queenstown without their luggage after a series of errors from Jetstar saw them bumped from a flight without warning.

A woman and her 9-month-old baby were stuck at Auckland Airport with her elderly mother and cousin yesterday after she says Jetstar refused to let them board flight JQ295.

Jetstar told the Herald the incident had been caused by unintentional errors, which included not loading the group’s luggage on to a flight they were rebooked on.

Abhishek Bhalla recounted the “mental torture” faced by his wife, Atika, their 9-month-old son, Atika’s mother, and her cousin visiting from Canada. The group was heading to Queenstown for three days of sightseeing when the incident unfolded.

Bhalla received a call at 6am yesterday from Jetstar offering an upgrade to emergency exit row seats for extra legroom. “I was half-asleep and said, ‘Yep, that’s fine’,” he explained, adding it was so early he didn’t consider the fact that infants cannot sit in emergency exits.

Their original boarding passes were cancelled and they received new ones upon check-in.

However, when Atika and her family arrived at the gate, the flight was overbooked and they were told they could not board.

Bhalla claimed staff were dismissive and unhelpful and after an argument got heated, they threatened to call security.

“My wife’s on the phone with me, she’s crying, the baby’s crying,” he recalled. After the flight was boarded, they were told one person could get on the flight.

“Are you serious? We are showing someone who’s first time coming to New Zealand and there’s a baby with us, and you’re basically telling us that you have overbooked,” Bhalla said, adding that it wasn’t their fault.

After returning to the Jetstar check-in desk, an employee rebooked them on the next flight and provided coffee vouchers. During this time, the employee allegedly said the group was moved to the exit row to try and solve a booking mistake, not realising the group was unsuitable to sit in the exit row.

Eventually, the group caught a 10.20am Jetstar flight to Queenstown. When they arrived, they realised their bags had been forgotten and were still in Auckland.

Jetstar admitted mistakes had been made and apologised for the disruption caused.

“We’re really sorry to hear about Ms. Bhalla and her family’s experience and appreciate it would have been a very frustrating situation for them,” the airline said in a statement.

“We acknowledge errors were made and will work with our team to learn from this experience.”

The family has received a refund for their flights from Auckland to Queenstown and provided travel vouchers. Their luggage was also placed on a flight to Queenstown.

Bhalla criticised Jetstar’s handling of the incident and said he felt the 6am phone call offering an upgrade had been deceptive.

“What they have done in this situation by ringing us and playing a trick on us – that is something everyone should know,” he alleged.

Jetstar said the incident was the result of a series of errors.

The family is set to return to Auckland on Friday, but Bhalla said the experience was embarrassing for both his wife and her cousin visiting New Zealand for the first time.

“I don’t know what to say. I mean, I’m still getting those jitters in my tummy out of anger,” he said.