Jetstar check in charge

In a move set to catapult Jetstar into the ranks of infamous LCCs like Ryanair, EasyJet and Tiger, Jetstar have announced that from November passengers wishing to check in face to face at the airport will now have to pay for the privilege.

The low-cost Qantas offshoot revealed yesterday that all passengers using its 18-port domestic network could now check in using the web, self-service kiosks and its world-first SMS boarding passes as part of a drive to convert all passengers to self service.
Traditional check-in counters will still be available, but passengers wishing to use them after November 1 will pay a "small" fee expected to be about $5 to $10.

Australian Service Workers Union who represents most of the Jetstar check in crew, are worried that this will result in job losses, despite Jetstar saying all staff will be retrained and switched to customer service roles.

At this stage this appears to only affect domestic services in Australia, but I am awaiting confirmation on the effects on New Zealand domestic services.

Read more from theaustralian.com.au aviation writer Steve Creedy HERE