Sky high fares as Jetstar cancels

SOME passengers flying in and out of Hobart face fares of more than $1000 on competing airlines after Jetstar announced multiple flight cancellations over three days from today.

In a move that has “disappointed” Premier Will Hodgman, Jetstar yesterday announced it would cancel 90 flights nationwide this weekend as pilots walk off the job over a pay dispute.

Hobart-to-Sydney flights advertised online last night ranged from $325 to $1792 across Jetstar’s competitors.

Hobart-to-Brisbane flights for today ranged between $219 and $1540 while Hobart-to-Melbourne flights remained steady at $89 to $1002.

A Jetstar spokesman said two Hobart flights would be cancelled today and a further four tomorrow. Sunday will also see four flights cancelled for Hobart travellers.

“Out of Hobart we are cancelling one return Hobart-to-Sydney flight on Friday, and two return flights on Saturday — Hobart to Melbourne and Hobart to Brisbane,” a Jetstar spokesman said.

“Two return services on Sunday will be cancelled — one Hobart-to-Melbourne flight and one Hobart-to-Brisbane service.”

Six Launceston flights scheduled for tomorrow also have been cancelled.

Hobart resident Kate Brown said she paid $300 for a flight today with Virgin Australia after Jetstar refunded her $150 fare.

“The uncertainty of not knowing whether or not the flight would go ahead, or even be significantly delayed, was too much for me in the end, and I chose to cancel my Jetstar booking,” she said.

An Andrew Jones Travel agent told the Mercury she had three clients who reported having to buy new flights to Melbourne “well in the high hundreds”.

“Living on an island like Tasmania can be hard as other airlines can take advantage of events like this by increasing their prices,” she said.

Mr Hodgman said: “At one of the busiest travelling times of the year, for the country’s best tourism state, this disruption is very unwelcome.”

All Jetstar customers will be able to claim a refund for flights booked from December 13 to 20.