Passenger slams Jetstar over ‘wild’ excess baggage fee

A passenger has slammed Jetstar after she claims she was slapped with a massive fee for this very common problem.

A Jetstar passenger has slammed the airline after she was slapped with a “wild” excess baggage fee.

Monique McCreanor explained in a TikTok video that she had booked a flight from Melbourne to Sydney to participate in a fitness competition.

The woman says she was forced to change her flight to a later one because she needed to stay back to accept the prizes she had won.

Travelling with only carry-on luggage, Ms. McCreanor said she made a mad dash to the airport to catch her flight – only to be stopped at the gate due to the weight of her bag.

Her carry-on weighed 900 g more than the weight limit, which is 7kg, so staff assessed her a $75 fee.

“This isn’t a complaint, this is merely just warning you guys,” she said in the clip.

“If you do fly with Jetstar on a domestic flight, and your bag is even 100g overweight, you’re going to get charged $75 at the gate for that excess luggage.

“Now, this kind of sucks, because I’m like damn, I could have had 15kg in this bag to really make it worthwhile.

“But basically what happened was, I booked flights with Virgin, to and from Sydney to Melbourne, but because I ended winning a competition I ended up staying around for the podium ceremony, which is the reason I booked new flights.

She was participating in a fitness competition and had to change her flights. Picture: Instagram / Monique McCreanor

She urged all travellers to be careful with their bag limits. Picture: TikTok / Monique McCreanor

“I had to go with Jetstar, because Virgin did not have later flights. I got to the boarding gate, because I was in a rush, and just made my flight on time.

“I got hit with $75, so just make sure are booking the extra checked baggage, it is better to be safe than sorry.

“Because $75 is a little bit steep for just 900g overweight.”

On her original video, which she has since deleted in order to “provide more context”, people in the comments were left divided over her experience.

“No sorry, it clearly gives [a] weight allowance. You went over, you pay,” one wrote.

“Seriously it doesn’t matter who you are with, you will have to pay any way, they are (sic) the rules,” another added.

Monique's carry on bag was over the weight limit by 900g. Picture: TikTok / Monique McCreanor

Others shared their own experience of having to pay for excess baggage.

“They did this to me on my honeymoon... I was p****d,” one said.

A Jetstar spokesman explained to news.com.au some of the reasons behind the airline’s strict baggage limits.

“Being a proudly low-cost airline, we offer customers incredibly low fares which all include carry-on baggage allowance of seven kilograms across two items and the option

to ask about pre-purchasing up to 14 kilograms,” the spokesperson said.

“Our carry-on baggage restrictions are designed to ensure a smooth boarding process, enough room to safely and comfortably stow all carry-on items and the correct weight

and balance for takeoff.

Jetstar have strict baggage weight limits. Picture: iStock

“We remind customers of carry-on limits during the booking process, in booking itineraries, in pre-departure emails, at check-in and at the boarding gate.”

They added that it is cheaper for customers to pre-purchased additional carry-on allowance online or at the airport service desk.

Excess baggage fees at the airport gate are usually more expensive because exceeding carry-on restrictions could potentially cause operational disruptions.

Customers can pre-book up to 14kg of carry-on baggage online before their flight.