Jetstar cancellations hit flights to Phuket and Japan as well as Bali

Passengers remain stranded in Bali and other flights have been cancelled after five of the Jetstar’s long haul planes were grounded due to an extraordinary run of bad luck.

About 180 Jetstar passengers remain stranded in Bali after an incredible run of bad luck for the airline saw its long-haul fleet slashed from 11 aircraft to just six.

As well as eight return flights between Australia and Denpasar, Jetstar has cancelled flights to Phuket and Japan due to the fleet issues.

By the end of Tuesday, the airline expected to have seven Boeing 787s in operation, while four remained grounded for engineering purposes.

The Qantas subsidiary has blamed an extraordinary turn of events including a lightning strike, bird strike, debris on a runway and a delayed part, for throwing its international flying schedule into disarray.

In the past five days, eight return flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Denpasar have been cancelled and numerous others delayed as the low fares carrier juggled passengers’ travel needs.

Travellers affected by the disruption were being offered travel credits if they no longer wanted to fly with Jetstar.

Those impacted by flight cancellations out of Bali, had largely been accommodated on two “special flights” operating to Melbourne on Tuesday, and on Qantas services.

It was estimated there were now 180 passengers yet to be placed on alternative services, down from 200 on Monday.

By the end of next week, three more 787s should have returned to service, leaving only one out of operation.

Australian-based travellers affected by the disruption were being offered travel credits if they no longer wanted to fly with Jetstar, while those stuck in Bali could expect $150 a night towards accommodation and $30 a person for meals.

In an unfortunate twist, Jetstar took to Facebook on Friday to promote its Bali flights as a Father’s Day gift suggestion.

The post received almost 1000 comments, many from people with friends and loved ones caught up in the current disruption.

“How tone deaf is this after Jetstar just cancelled four days worth of Denpasar flights out of Sydney,” said Tim Verrender on the site.

“No help, no alternative flights, just a thanks for your money and good luck getting a refund.”

Jetstar lagged behind Virgin and Qantas in relation to on-time performance in August. Picture: AAP/Daniel Munoz

Anissa Marie asked “why promote more flights when you are cancelling way too many flights already and leaving people stranded?”

The furore came as new figures showed Jetstar again lagged Virgin Australia and Qantas, in terms of on-time performance in August.

Statistics compiled by global aviation analytics firm Cirium showed 42.8 per cent of Jetstar flights landed more than 15-minutes late, well behind Qantas on 33.9 per cent, and Virgin Australia on 30.7 per cent.

Throughout the month, Jetstar cancelled 158 flights, or 1.92 per cent of services, which put it ahead of Qantas with a 2.1 per cent cancellation rate, and Virgin on 2.3 per cent.

Qantas and Virgin Australia have both indicated their on time performance was continuing to improve after sinking to historic lows in July due to high levels of staff absenteeism due to sickness.