Jetstar flew my grandkids across the country, then refused to fly them back

You are kidding

I recently booked flights for my grandchildren (aged 11 and 13) from Melbourne to visit me on the Gold Coast for the weekend. This was their first solo adventure. I booked the Jetstar flights with Qantas points. We contacted Jetstar before departure to check protocols and what documentation was required. A passport or student ID was sufficient and was checked by the cabin crew on departure from Melbourne. They arrived safely without any issue. On their return flight to Melbourne, the cabin manager refused to board the children. It caused significant distress for my grandchildren and her manner was appalling. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years [so] I think I know what I’m talking about,” she said. I was able to get them on a Qantas flight via Sydney, albeit five hours later. I got the usual platitudes from Qantas, who acknowledged its booking system is inadequate for this situation, while Jetstar closed their file by listing them as a “no show”. So much for customer service.
John Lithgow, Mansfield, Vic

Letter of the week: Ganga glories

I absolutely endorse the words of your editor, Anthony Dennis, in relation to his visit to Varanasi, India. My wife and I recently spent two nights at the magnificent BrijRama Palace Hotel on the banks of the Ganges River. The evening Aarti ceremony, mentioned in Anthony’s story, is a brilliant display of flames, smoke, lights and music. We also highly recommend walking along the river banks in the late evening and early morning. The cleansing of sins taking place and paying homage to the sun is a spectacle to behold (together with great photo opportunities). We also suggest an early morning excursion on the river to appreciate the Hindu customs and to understand “receiving moksha”, the concept of ultimate freedom from the cycle of death and rebirth.
Colin Hobson, Williamstown, Vic

Out on bail

Referring to Sue Williams’ story, I, too, found the Amazon such an intriguing, mind tingling adventure. It was 2003 and a real challenge. We landed on a grass airstrip – as the man mowing the tarmac moved for us. A rickety bus took us to the river to embark in a 15-seater, basic canoe. Not long after, I informed the man operating the outboard motor that water was coming in. The solution? He handed out plastic containers and told us to all bail the water back in the river. Luckily, I switched to a safer one 15 minutes in. All part of the adventure of finding anacondas, trudging through mud, hanging from vines, drinking water from huge leaves, sighting capybaras scrambling up the bank, sleeping in netted rooms listening to the jungle chorus. Truly magical and never forgotten.
Roz Jaeger, Shoalhaven Heads, NSW

Building bridges

We agree with Brenda Mattick’s letter about the Caucasus (Traveller Letters, July 11), having recently returned from there. Every day your eyes open wider to new experiences. There is stunning scenery and modern and ancient architecture including cave cities and, my favourite, the caravanserai [defined as a traditional roadside inn]. In Georgia, the new Silk Road is under construction, with 52 tunnels and more than 100 bridges having been built, along with improvements to rail and ports.
Denise Jensen, Mitcham, Vic

Not so smart

I am disgusted that you published a letter describing the “benefits” of ignoring the federal government’s Smartraveller website “do not travel” advice and that your reader receives the gift of your endorsement of what she claims she did.
David Wright, Launceston, Tas

EDITOR’S NOTE: At the time of writing, the Smartraveller warning for the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is part, is at the “reconsider your need to travel” level, and may change due to events. Traveller does not endorse the flouting of such warnings, which at the highest level, can result in the voiding of travel insurance coverage. However, any decision to travel remains at the discretion of the traveller.

Waiting game

Like Greg Vale (Traveller Letters, July 4), we’d also recently booked Emirates from Singapore to Zurich via Dubai. We were also at the time concerned about flying through the Middle East. As per Emirates’ website, we could cancel with no penalty, which we did on April 12. We received a refund of all but $626.73 within a matter of a few days. I have since called Emirates four times requesting the balance be paid and each time I have been told that an investigation will be lodged as to why I did not receive the full amount. As per their website, you are unable to email them if you do not have a live booking. It is now 10 weeks since cancelling and I have given up.
Susanne Burroughs, Cronulla, NSW

Care flight

Two weeks ago, while walking in Italy, I fell heavily and badly damaged my hip. A visit to an Italian hospital resulted in painkillers, ice, rest and two weeks on crutches. As a solo traveller, my main concern was the trip home – particularly traversing the huge international airports in Rome and Dubai. A quick enquiry to Emirates and its help and support department took over, offering free wheelchair assistance from check-in at Rome to the taxi rank in Melbourne. The Emirates response was fast, efficient and worked seamlessly. Well done, Emirates.
John Evans, Glen Iris, Vic

Never been there, never done that

I recently did a group tour in Algeria only to discover that no one at the Australian booking company had ever been there. The itinerary was ill-thought-out and the logistics a disaster. Transport was totally inadequate. Hotels were sometimes out of town in seedy areas away from any possibility of dinner or even going outside. Long days were spent on the road when flying would have taken a quarter of the time. We never even got to see the desert in Algeria – my anticipated highlight – because the guide, who had never been to the destination, had no idea where they were going. There was practically no spare time and zero flexibility. Algerian law requires registered tourists to be accompanied by a police escort – a legality skipped over by our local operator whenever possible. Since our horror trip, the itinerary has been amended but I (and others) remain deeply disappointed and resentful of the assumption that we were the “test group”, expected to suck up all the failures while paying full price. After detailed complaints, we received some compensation but nothing equating to the cost (a lot) of a replacement trip.
Margie Cook, Paddington, NSW

United we stand

Further to Chris Birrell’s “Tight flight” letter (Traveller Letters, June 6), for our own recent flight to Mexico City with United Airlines, we were to transfer at San Francisco. Despite numerous phone calls to both the travel company and United Airlines, we were assured we had plenty of time. We missed our flight (as we expected) but were given a later one. Knowing a similar thing would happen in Los Angeles on the return trip, we took an earlier shuttle to Cancun Airport. We spoke to a United Airlines person and explained our predicament. He managed to get us, not only on an earlier flight, albeit to San Francisco, but on a connecting flight to Sydney. He apologised for us not getting seats together on the first leg, and for the four-hour layover in San Francisco. When asked about any additional cost, he said there wasn’t any, and he waived the airport charge as well. Well done, United Airlines.
Elizabeth Lemcke, Kiama, NSW

Tip of the week: Seals of approval

I have just spent three nights in the Orkney Islands at the top end of Scotland. The minute I saw the town of Stromness from the ferry, I knew I’d seen the most beautiful place I’d ever been to. The rugged landscape was breathtaking. The ease of seeing seals and puffins was exhilarating; just a short walk over a causeway to the lighthouse and there they were. But be careful to make sure the tide is your way. The causeway is covered within half an hour, leaving you stranded. The people are delightful and extremely helpful and the history dates back to Neolithic times.
Ruth Pojer, Double Bay, NSW

Feeling flat

Be warned. A recent hire of a fully electric vehicle in England proved to be a challenging experience. When we picked it up at Gatwick Airport at 9.30pm, we were surprised that the vehicle was only charged to 71 per cent and that there was no obligation for more. We made it to our destination, just. Later we encountered banks of chargers fenced and not commissioned, incompatible plugs, difficult-to-navigate apps, lengthy journeys to find chargers and the need to queue at services to plug in. A local summed up our attitude, saying, “I’ve only had my EV for three weeks and wish I’d never bought it”.
Lyn Langtry, East Ryde, NSW

Drawing a line

The same week as the letter, topped with a photo of the queue to the Louvre, was an enquiry asking about city passes. Paris queues will eat hours of your precious days, so pre-booking may increase your enjoyment of sites. The pre-booked queue to the Marmaton Gallery moved fast, but I missed the Sainte-Chapelle as the queue for it went around the block, so do remember to book.
Carol Griffiths, Doncaster, Vic

Weak spot

Having recently returned from a five Stans trip to Central Asia (Traveller on Sunday, July 12), I can confirm that the Darvaza Gas Crater blaze is indeed starting to weaken. In my opinion, and that of my fellow travellers, the promised spectacle was not worth the arduous trip.
Anneli Kaendler, Mordialloc, Vic

Short cut

Use the over-65 free lounge-to-gate buggy service at Istanbul International. You’ll find it at the bottom of the escalator, down from the business lounge. It can help avoid a 25-minute walk which could mean you miss your flight at an airport with zero customer service. It could also mean the purchase of expensive replacement tickets for a following flight and paid in cash (Turkish lira).
Alan Pead, Aveley, WA

Just do it

June Money’s letter “Bring the family” (Tipometer, July 12) reminded me of when I first went overseas for a year with my parents, age 12. It was the most amazing experience and I always said that if I ever had children I would do the same for them. When our daughters were nine and 11 we took them to Europe and the Middle East for three months. It was the most amazing experience for all of us and they were never bored for a minute because we put them in charge of the budget and itinerary. Armed with maps and guidebooks, great discussions took place. Patience, resilience and humour were all learnt during that time. If you are thinking of travelling with your children, just do it. You and your children will never regret it.
Margaret Zarifeh, Nunawading, Vic

Right on track

I recently returned from seven weeks in France and Italy and I can highly recommend travelling by train and using the excellent app, Trainline. It displays all available trains, prices and reservations and tickets are downloaded to your phone. It also provides reminders and notifications of any changes to bookings. The great thing about trains is that you start a journey in the middle of a city and end that journey in the middle of a city, avoiding airports that are often located miles out of town. Of all my train trips the most amazing was between Catania, Sicily and across to the Italian mainland. It was mind-blowing being on a train that goes onto a ferry to cross the Strait of Messina.
Victoria Mahoney, West Melbourne, Vic

Full circle

Our trip of a lifetime was across Scandinavia in February 2025. We started in Helsinki’s design streets, then headed north to Saariselka for Arctic Circle adventures. In Kirkenes we raced Huskies through silent snowy forests, and in Tromso we slept under the stars in a glass igloo as the Aurora swirled overhead. Oslo’s fjord views came next, before we ended in medieval Tallinn, Estonia, with cobblestones and candlelit cafes. From reindeer country to northern lights, ice hotels to warm saunas, this trip in winter was pure magic — cold, bright, and unforgettable.
Rhoda Silber, Manly, NSW

Card sharps

Even though I had an international driver’s licence, and I’d fully paid for the car hire and full insurance months earlier with AutoEurope in Australia, Autovia in Sardinia, Italy, refused to let me use my credit card issued by Australia’s St George bank in my name to pay the standard refundable €500 ($825) collection fee because the credit card wasn’t in my “full name”. Furthermore, Autovia wouldn’t let me pay the fee with any debit card (as I have done in other countries) that does have my full Christian name and surname printed on it, and they wouldn’t accept my Wise travel card. They also wouldn’t allow the person I was travelling with to pay the €500 refundable fee with their credit card. Autovia would only give me the car I’d booked and paid for if I paid them a €216 ($355) non-refundable fee (which they described on the receipt as “insurance”) which – surprise, surprise – they would accept my debit card to pay for. I ended up paying the fee because I had booked the car for a cheap price and didn’t want to go through the hassle of trying to find another car at short notice. Autovia told me they would charge me three times the price I had originally paid for the car to issue a new contract if my friend was to use their credit card for the €500 fee. I’ve complained to AutoEurope, and on social media (where I’ve found similar complaints from other people – one mentions a credit card being refused because it would expire within the next six months) and have ordered a new credit card from St George in my full name.
Name and address withheld

The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com

The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com