Another Jetstar complaint

Stuff reports:

At 35 weeks pregnant, Sarah Clear was feeling noticeable enough already. The last thing she wanted was to be escorted off a plane in front of 150 passengers.

Mrs Clear, 33, of Wellington, had flown to Auckland with Jetstar last month to visit a friend in hospital.

Unbeknown to her, she was in breach of Jetstar’s policy on pregnant passengers because she had not obtained a clearance letter from a doctor or midwife.

But no staff member raised any concerns with her, and she had no reason to believe there was any reason she could not fly back to Wellington four days later. …

After the flight left, she managed to reach her midwife, who told the Jetstar manager she was fine to fly, but the airline told her a verbal confirmation was not acceptable.

So instead she caught an Air New Zealand flight home without any difficulty.

Mrs Clear was upset that the airline had not enforced its policy on her first flight.

“I have argued black and blue with them that if they’re going to stick to a policy, they must stick with it both ends. You can’t strand me in Auckland.”

If Jetstar had told her about the need for a letter from her midwife when she arrived for her flight in Wellington, it could have been arranged, she said.

Jetstar’s policy requires passengers who are more than 28 weeks pregnant to carry a letter from a doctor or midwife confirming the estimated delivery date, whether it is a single or multiple birth, and details of any complications.

It forbids travel after 40 weeks for uncomplicated single pregnancies, or after 36 weeks for multiple pregnancies.

Air NZ allows passengers to fly up to the 38th week for single pregnancies, or 32 weeks for multiple ones.

Friends don’t let friends fly Jetstar!