Communication - its the simplest yet most neglected part of an airline delay.
Airline delays happen ALL THE TIME and they're frustrating at best but throw in no communication and most passengers reach their limits. In this survey 36% of respondents stated they did not receive enough communication during a delay.
On a recent Jetstar flight (JQ106) our takeoff was aborted and without boring the reader with details a four hour delay followed.
But this delay was different to other delays. This delay had communication.
After the aborted takeoff the pilot told us exactly what had happened and what was going to happen ( back to the gate we go). From that point we were stuck on that plane for some 90 minutes as border force would not let us off.
Our pilot updated us every 10 minutes sometimes 5 as to the situation. Almost every update was, 'I have no more news- border force wont let us off and maintenance are still looking at the issue', but that was ok. There doesn't have to be an answer - there just has to be communication.
As someone travelling with a 1 and 2 year old (bad idea I know) having regular updates that there 'were no updates' was crucial to managing the delay.
Sitting at the back of the aircraft I also heard the pilot check in with the cabin crew regarding the temperature more than once ( it was a 40 degree day).
Eventually the pilot appeared to pull rank and get us off that plane and on to a new one.
AirlineRatings had just announced Jetstar as our safest low cost carrier of the year so it was quite fitting for this editor to be on the receiving end of Jetstar's serious attitude to safety.
I don't remember the pilots name but I hope he reads this and encourages his colleagues to do the same. Communication really does make the difference during a delay.
Have questions or want to share your thoughts?
