Man books 58 flights for free
A Jetstar passenger has become locked in a legal battle with the Aussie airline after exploiting a promotion to get 58 flights for free.
Lawyer Tyrone Barugh was one of many travellers who made use of Jetstar’s promotion that offered people a free return fare.
Barugh booked a flight from Auckland to Sydney for $260 and received the free return, although he soon cancelled the outbound flight and was given credit with the airline.
However, he did not cancel the return trip.
Mr Barugh then used the credit to book another flight, before doing the same thing a further 57 times.
The would-be passenger told news.com.au that he had not planned to board any of the flights, and has taken Jetstar to the Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand, claiming he is entitled to approximately $4,500 in taxes owed on the flights.
“They’re [Jetstar] not out here with the most saintly of intentions,” he said.
“They have terms and conditions that are designed to potentially avoid having to do the right thing by a lot of their customers and limit their liability to their customers, and they’re pretty happy to pull those out when it suits them.”
He claims he is owed the money as he has paid the Passenger Movement Charge, which is a $60 fee the Australian Government collects when a person leaves the country.
Mr Barugh says he would accept a settlement of a “small flight credit and a toy plane”.
“There is a spirit of larrikinism,” he said.
A spokesman for Jetstar declined to comment on the case, saying, “As this is a matter before the Tribunal, we won’t be making any comment.”
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