Jet Airways-horrible service-HELP!!

PoojaD

Hi All,

I flew Jet Airways from Newark-Brussels-Chennai route on 3rd March 08 only to find that when I landed in Chennai there was a queue of passengers at the baggage loss counter of JET airways,including me there were approximately 8 customers. One of the customers, a family, said they had not received even a single bag out of their 5 bags. Also they made us sign a customer declaration form where these young boys mentioned that "MADAM plz do not declare more than 25,000 Rs as the customs will question you about it" I signed it as 25,000 as the total loss of my baggage whereas the value of my contents was 70,000Rs. Later I learnt from my lawyer that this was a bad and very cheap gimmick by them to make customers sign the declaration for a lower amount(for legal reasons). This route EWR-BRU-MAA happens to be the most recently advertised route for JET airways in Chennai as I see it across hoardings here. I like other poor souls who have gone through this episode, searched frantically on the internet to find out what are the laws here in India. I questioned the airport officials about the compensation, the Warsaw( 20$ per kg) and Montreal Conventions(1500$) and got an email saying that since my flight originated from India earlier to US and back to India I will be covered under Warsaw convention. It was an utterly poor & pathetic service from the customer service where I followed up with them each and every day. After 2 weeks when I learnt about the baggage tracer facility on Jet's website, I again reached the airport manager as to what file ref no they had put up my case in the World tracer system. I was surprised to see the color of my baggage was noted wrongly as BLACK instead of BLUE. Also the baggage type , i.e. a stroller bag / Type 22 was mentioned when it was not a stroller bag , it was Type 23. I got an apology mail from the manager regarding this error. Since I work for an IT company I came to know about the GM of JET Airways and contacted him personally. All that they can fetch for the amount of the bag is a miserly 600$ just a few dollars above the regular 20$ per kg limit ,which is still pathetic and makes me feel miserable about the valuables and gifts I purchased from USA on my way back. I also saw several links where recently a lady won a case against AIR FRANCE for baggage loss and was awarded 1 lakh and Supreme court has made it a law where airlines could be liable to the tune of 1 lakh rupees. This entire episode leaves me drained emotionally as to what I have felt in this entire month of hopelessness and request whoever travels internationally make sure your airlines cover you for a larger amount.

Some tips:

1 Avoid connecting flights, Brussels in my case is very busy point for JET as they have connections to Mumbai, Delhi Chennai etc. Fly an airline with no stops overs, here your risk of baggage loss is minimised.

2. Have a prominent bag tag with your NAME, ADDRESS AND EMAIL ADDRESS outside and papers of identity inside your baggage.

3. I read the AIR INDIA lost baggage rules on their website, and they give you the opportunity of a higher cover. In their loss baggage section they say they will cover you under Montreal convention if you pay supplementary fees. Otherwise they will cover you under Warsaw. Jet airways does not have this facility, they said you have to make a declaration at check -in if your baggage value is more than the normal.

4. DO NOT FLY JET AIRWAYS INTERNATIONALLY, it has a long way to go to improve its customer service where your baggage details are not even noted correctly !!

Aishah

Oh dear, this is not filling me with confidence. Sorry to hear about your experience too,Pooja. I'm flying Jet Airways code sharing with Qantas from Delhi - Sydney via Singapore shortly. There is a 3 hour stopover in transit at Singapore - should I pick up my luggage and re-check in, or do I check it all the way through to Sydney from Delhi?

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karuna

Chennai implicated again eh? Thank goodness you won't be transiting there, Aishah!

jyotirmoy

The airline may not allow you to retrieve your luggage in Singapore and recheck in for your Quantas flight. Your principal carrier is Quantas so God forbid if your luggage is lost you will deal with Quantas.
Once a suitcase of mine reached Bucharest while I waited at the convoyer belt in Budapest. I got my luggage back after two days.

Aishah

That's a point Jyotiji- Qantas should be better to deal with, and as you say Karuna, not going through Chennai. I'll keep my fingers crossed but hedge my bets by packing a spare set of clothes in my cabin baggage (as previously suggested in this Thread).

Nick-H

Chennai has to be a damn site better than the new London Heathrow Terminal 5 .

brownboy66

so who had the better holiday do you think?

jyotirmoy

It is always wise to carry some essential items, medicines, toilet items etc. in the cabin baggage.
Missing baggages are not always the fault of the airlines.

Aishah

Certainly will, Jyotiji - but I must remember to extract the nail scissors and pack them in the checked through bag!

karuna

Absolutely unbelievable! I think it was a backlog of about 28,000 bags last time I read the news. How on earth could they have made such a monumental cock-up?! It deserves some kind of incompetence award I think.

Nick-H

Remember that what what one carry in cabin baggage these days has become very restricted.

So many bags look just the same as each other, it seems to me a wonder that more don't get taken away by mistake. Some brightly-coloured and distinct label, strap, markings, sticker, etc are a help, both in finding yours, and preventing others finding it.

Nick-H

Utterly unbelievable, yes: a complete management failure. Long-haul flights start there soon.

Aishah

Excellent idea - will do - 'Tie a yellow ribbon round the ol' suitcase' for sure. (Karuna we'll have to make another lyric up here I think!)

Nick-H

Tom Jones Alert!

I'm getting out of here !

The_Londoner

I doubt if distinct labeling will help as bags are all sorted behind scene by Barcoding system. I have to say, it is such bad news for all these people whos luggage isn't travelling with them due to Heathrow T5 launch, if previous launch of major new terminal in other country is anything to go by, it's going to take months for system to work as intended.

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