A passenger on a Jetstar flight has taken to the internet to air his dirty laundry with the airline, claiming that he was victim to a “scam” when he was told to buy a pen from the mid-flight store as opposed to borrowing one from the staff.
What do you do when you have a bone to pick with an airline? If you answered “post a TikTok” then you would be correct!
Travel influencer Douglas Lazickirk (@onlytravel) was travelling from Sydney to Seoul in South Korea with Jetstar, when he encountered an issue while filling out his arrival form during the flight’s descent.
No, it wasn’t that he had any illegal substances, or was carrying over $10K in cash, or even that he didn’t recall how much he bought in the duty free shopping.
Douglas’ problem was that he didn’t have a pen to write with.
But that’s not a worry, pens are pretty easy things to borrow… right?
Well that’s what Douglas thought. But according to his two minute video on TikTok recounting the experience, that assumption was wrong.
“I’ve gone to the back and I’ve asked the lady, ‘Hey do you have a pen I can borrow?’” Douglas recounted himself asking.
“It’s not too busy right now, it’s a good time to ask, I think.”
He then found himself surprised when instead of being given the pen to borrow quickly, suddenly he was getting upsold one.
“She goes: ‘No you can’t use my pen but you can buy one for $5. You can buy a pen on board for $5, or when you arrive use a pen there,’” recalled the TikToker.
“I was like, ‘so you’re seriously not gonna give me your pen, just to use?’”
Douglas then alleged that the attended would not let him use her pen, apparently stating “I don’t have to give you my pen” to the customer.
Allegedly she said to Douglas that it was her “right” not to have to share her pen, as she may need it for work. Fair TBH.
Douglas then stated in the TikTok that he said: “Fine, I’ll buy a pen for $5.”
However there are conflicting accounts from him.
When speaking to Yahoo! News Douglas explained that instead of buying a pen, he asked another attendant if he could borrow theirs — to which they obliged.
“I’ve caught more than 1000 flights in my life I’ve never been denied a pen,” he said to the publication.
Jetstar confirmed that it does not give out pens on the flight, and that staff are not required to allow customers to borrow their own as they may need them to work with. Additionally, Jetstar do sell pens on board for a three for one deal priced at $5.
Look, my two cents is that for the sake of saving $5 it seems pretty sensible to wait to fill a document in upon arrival at the destination.
Or, better yet, if you’re another customer on the same flight, sell your pen off to any needy travellers at a competitive price. Now THAT’s a scam.
@onlytravel #jetstar #jetstarau #jetstaraustralia #qantas #qantasaustralia #airlinescam #jetstarscam #airlineprofit #jetstarcomplaint #airlinecomplaint #Australianaviation ♬ original sound – onlytravel
Further in the video Douglas also alleges he was victim of another “scam” that saw him charged twice for the purchase of an in-flight lasagne, a Solo and a snack, which cost upwards of $20.
However this sounds more like an issue with the machine reading the card, rather than an intentional move by the airline — as Douglas alleges. Airlines might be sharp, but Occam’s Razor is sharper.
If anything, the real scam happening here is that airline food doesn’t even sound expensive anymore.
I just read that he bought a meal and a drink for ONLY $20, and honestly that’s a better deal than my local pub.
Cost of living really got me booking flights to save money on meals… yikes.
