therajman

I traveled R/T JFK to DEL and back in Business Class in December 2009. I had a very poor experience with them. I was lured to Jet by an attractive Business Class fare but I seriously wish I had paid the extra to travel my usual Star Alliance Route on OS or LH or LX or SQ.

I am posting today because I have been fighting with Jet to be reimbursed and/or compensated and their final offer is for a $200 check for all my lost baggage/inconvenience/discomfort.

There has been no offer of miles, or upgrade vouchers or anything of that sort. Its been NO after NO after NO after NO. Makes you wonder!

When I got back to the US, both my bags, that were tagged for JFK ended up in EWR. I waited at the carousel for over 60 minutes. I did not have any warm clothing with me and in December, NY can be cold and it was. So I shivered my way from the terminal to the rental car area to my hotel in sub 20 degree F weather.

The bags were delivered to my hotel 8 hours later. One of the bags was slashed at the bottom. A few items were missing. I have been fighting Jet Airways for compensation and they WILL NOT compensate me for the bag, or the items missing or my TSA locks that were removed. The total value of the missing items is over $600 and they are offering me a measly $200 unless I can produce receipts for these items... I gave them a receipt for 1 item but don't have them for the remaining items. So I am out of luck, according to them. This is SOME cheap airline!!! This is how they treat their PREMIUM class passengers. I shudder at what might happen in Economy.

Here are my observations about the entire experience:
1. Inconsistent and spotty service - hot towels provided on 2 legs and not provided on 2 legs. Amenity kits given out on only 1 of 4 legs. Pyjamas provided on only 1 leg.
2. Food & Wine - food was decent but the crew's knowledge of wine was very limited. Plus the wines were of pretty mediocre quality. More suited to the $6 bottles you buy at a discount wine store that are placed in a shopping cart!
3. Jet advertises herringbone seats and does not mention the regular business class seats - this is seriously misleading because the BRU-DEL AND DEL-BRU sector gets the STANDARD business seats, not the new herringbone seats. Be warned! Plus these seats have a large UNCOVERED metal footrest that is ice-cold so you have to wear socks and wrap your feet in a blanket to keep them warm!!
4. The BRU lounge was packed to capacity and they have one of the more awkward layouts I have ever seen - you end up clambering all over people or having people clamber all over you after you find a seat (if you are lucky). It is difficult to describe in words, a picture would work better but I don't have one! Only 1 shower in entire lounge. Because all Jet flights converge on BRU around the same time, lounge was packed to capacity with a severe shortage of seats. On a scale of 1 to 10, lounge rates at about 3, maybe 4. An, oh, no WIFI. Only wired Internet. They hold your boarding card hostage for an ethernet cable.
5. For DEL-BRU my seat leg rest and footrest was completely non-functional/broken. Jet has a 5+ hour ground halt in Delhi but apparently NO ONE checked the seat for proper functioning so I had an extremely uncomfortable 9.5 hour flight. Crew propped up the broken footrest with a suitcase but that made for an uncomfortable flight because now my feet were higher than my body instead of the other way around. The person sitting next to me told me that such functional issues are a frequent occurrence with Jet due to carelessness in Delhi.

I would AVOID Jet Airways until they GROW up and figure out how to be consistent AND put their CUSTOMERS first. Poor value for money. I believe that Jet started off with brilliant service and attention to detail and it appears that they have seriously declined in quality.

I would give them the benefit of the doubt and go back to them but my experience with their customer service people in India (3-4 days to get a reply to an email) and in JFK has been dismal. They JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SATISFACTION AND WHAT'S MORE, THEY JUST DO NOT CARE.

Keyser

it seems like you had a bad experience....

this is not what jet is like normally....over the last 5 years i must have flown over 500 times with them (both domestic & international) & i have never come across any problems like you have mentioned....there have certainly been minor issues but they have all been sorted out quickly & properly....

i guess any lounge can be a pain to be in if its crowded....even i have a problem with no wifi but the wired internet works just fine for me....specially since you can plug it in pretty much anywhere in the lounge....

i have had lost luggage issues with them but with the amount i travel, i have also had lost luggage problems with ai, aa, sq & a bunch of others i can't even remember....

i would not give up on them due to one bad experience....they are a world class airline but like all airline they have their problems as well....

gr8

If you don't have receipts, what's to prevent you to say the bag had $6,000 of stuff instead of $600? Sounds like they've stepped up to compensate you, but just don't want to settle on a made-up number.

Mr. Bean

does the $200 include compensation for your (slashed) suitcase?

mikeef

I'm truly sorry that your flight lacked a sommelier.

Mike

safari_7

You flew into JFK in the winter time with no Coat/Jacket with you on the flight?

Keyser

when i first saw the title of this thread i thought the op was saying that jet was not taking responsibility about the fact that it was on a serious decline....did anyone else get that too or am i just overthinking again????

d3vski

I was thinking the same. I came back to LHR form BOM in Feb and as soon as the plane landed, The entire cabin got up and put on jumpers/hoodies/coats etc etc

sharmaintl

Sorry, no symnpathy violin played for me while reading this post. We have all had issues with flights off and on. I agree with other posters that (a) you should have had warm clothing with you in the cabin if your destination is a cold place. (b) $200 compensation in the absence of receipts seems reasonable.

Evita_FT

Why aren't they compensating for bag?

Keyser

i have always been compensated for the bag if it has been damaged by the airline....once with jet & once with emirates....

safari_7

Agree with this one. Last year in June, travelled to Gatwick with a friend whose suitcase was damaged a little. He walked up to the Emirates baggage Help desk and showed it to them; and he walked out with a brand new suitcase that looked near identical.

therajman

I don't know about others, but my family and friends would never include a receipt with a gift. And these are gifts that I am talking about. How could you price out set of 1960s and 1970s LP records? Or 4 pairs of my dad's cufflinks from the 1950s? Where does one "produce" receipts for such items?

Its pretty amazing - the airline loses my stuff and I have to prove the value of the stuff!!! Items that are irreplaceable.

It is not about the warm clothing or the broken seat or the mishandled luggage. I paid a premium fare for this flight and it is about the customer service that is being dished out. I have also experienced damaged luggage, lost luggage, lost items, broken seats, missed connections but the customer services in the aftermath has always been stellar. This is the first time I am seeing pathetic customer service and therein lies my issue.

I have been traveling to Euope, Asia, India 8 to 10 times per year, for the last 12-15 years, usually in business or first and sometimes in economy on various airlines and I have not experienced such poor customer service. Airlines value their premium customers and go to great lengths to keep them happy because that is how they RETURN. That is NOT the case with Jet Airways. They flat out told me to go take a hike. I know such things happen, no doubt, and have happened to me, BUT it is how these things are HANDLED that shows the maturity and customer focus of the company.

Keyser

the simple fact is this....if you can't prove how much the items were worth then no airline or insurance company or any other person in the world will reimburse you for your loss....

if jet lost my bag tomorrow & i told them i had items worth $10,000 in my bag then i would be very surprised they would give me 1/10th of that unless i could prove it....

i agree you might have had some things in there that you cannot put a price on but then again, how does the airline know you had those items in you bag to begin with....its an unfortunate situation but it is the way it is....

if you really want to take this further then send me a pm & i can try to give you some contact details of people high up with jet....maybe they can do something for you....but my suggestion would be to move on....things like this can happen with any airline....

SuperFlyBoy

I agree with the OP on this fact - I never need the winter jacket until I land and exit Customs/Immigration - it is too hot in the plane, regardless of the airport...one is always walking to the exit, which is more than enough heat generated - for me even in OSL, REK, EWR, JFK, FRA, MUC, wherever - even in the middle of winter.

Only time one needs this is when you are on tarmac positions, so I keep a windbreaker-type jacket also in there, which is sufficient for the few minutes you are waiting for the bus...

Therefore, I always put my down jacket inside my suitcases.

However, I keep a sweater in my rollerboard, but never end up using it - I simply wear a summer cotton long-sleeved shirt whenever I board a plane, unless it's raining.

I also concur with the OP regarding the wired internet PIA, as well as the seating and the shower situation in BRU - totally ridiculous...