Mum’s ‘disgraceful’ experience flying Jetstar sparks big debate

“So I am all packed up and I have my daughter on my hip, nappy bag and pram … I literally don’t have a free hand.”

Flying with kids is always a stressful experience and one mum has taken to social media to express her frustrations over Jetstar flight.

Larissa Gray, a mum and kids’ clothing entrepreneur  based in Melbourne, shared a blow-by-blow account of her experience flying to the Gold Coast with her young baby in tow. 

She begins the viral TikTok clip by saying that Jetstar’s treatment of women flying alone with babies is “absolutely disgusting”.

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Image: TikTok @waveclothingco

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"Not our responsibility"

She describes how she was supposed to be flying with her sister but due to a problem at Jetstar’s end, their flight was cancelled and she was put on a separate flight alone with her baby.

Larissa says she asked if someone from Jetstar would help her with getting her bags onto the plane as she was now solo, but that the response from the employee was “only if they want to”.

“It gets better,” she adds to the clip that has now been viewed over 145,000 times.

“When it comes to boarding, I’m in line and I hadn’t yet packed up the pram … I was on my own … they make me get out of the line and get to the very back.

“So I finally get it all packed up and I have my daughter on my hip, nappy bag and pram in hand … I literally don’t have a free hand, and I get to where they check you in with your boarding pass.

“I said, can someone help me across the tarmac as it was raining and I had to walk out there and she goes, ‘it’s not our responsibility’.”

She said that this unhelpful response was “disgusting”.

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"They are just a**holes"

“What about your responsibility as a freaking human,” she says before adding: “They are just a**holes.” 

Larissa then describes how as she finally made it to the top of the stairs with all her luggage, another flight attendant handed her the special infant seat adapter. Again she asked for help as her hands were full, but was treated instead to an eye roll.

“As far as I’m concerned, all staff on Jetstar JQ438 need to get a lesson in manners and a new job,” she concludes.

According to news.com.au a spokesperson from Jetstar said they had reached out to Larissa following her experience.

“We want all parents to feel welcome and comfortable on our flights and we’re really sorry to hear about her experience,” the statement read.

“Our customer care team has reached out to her to better understand what happened.”

While the experience sure sounded like it was no fun for Larissa and her baby, people commenting on her TikTok had mixed opinions - sparking a big debate.

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"I've never had issues"

“I’ve never had issues with Jetstar,” one wrote.

“It’s a low cost airline, you get what you pay for. The staff don’t HAVE to help you, and you shouldn’t expect staff to drop all other responsibilities to cater to you, and your baby. Make it work, that’s what everyone else does.”

“Your kid is your responsibility. Not mine. Not Jetstar's,” another added.

“Jetstar is also a cheaper carrier, so I’m not sure what you expect or why you expect other people to be responsible for you.

“Just because you travel with a baby doesn’t mean everyone must bend over backwards to help."

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"People have no idea"

There were plenty of others, however, who were empathetic to Larissa's challenging experience.

“I can’t believe some of these comments - people have got no idea,” one woman wrote next to the clip.

“This is ridiculous and so shitty of jetstar staff. Literally shouldn’t be working in customer service with an attitude like that.”

“I hear you - my son is blind and has other complex disabilities,” posted another mum.

“I’ve travelled with him on multiple airlines (he travels really well all things considered) and Jetstar is the hardest.”

At the end of the day, it might just come down to individual acts of kindness as one poster concluded.

“It may not be ‘their responsibility’ but what happened to just being kind and offering help where it is needed?”

Originally published as Mum’s ‘disgraceful’ experience flying Jetstar sparks big debate