This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kayla Sommese, a Taylor Swift fan who traveled from Los Angeles to Vienna to catch Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her expenses.
19.07.2024 - 15:17 / insider.com
A massive IT outage hit flights and travel hard on Friday, leaving one passenger with very little to show for his trip to the airport.
Jordan van den Lamb was planning on catching a flight Friday with Australia's low-cost airline Jetstar.
When that fell through, he was left holding vouchers worth a bit less than $11.
He was supposed to travel to Melbourne from Hobart on the island of Tasmania, an easy 75-minute hop.
But the flight was grounded as IT problems with the CrowdStrike security software roiled networks around the world.
Van den Lamb told Business Insider his flight was first delayed, then said to be back on track, then canceled.
By way of compensation, van den Lamb said that Jetstar offered each passenger two vouchers worth 8 Australian dollars, for a total of 16 Australian dollars, or around $10.70.
He was left stuck on Tasmania overnight, with no way home.
Unlike with many international flights, domestic Australian carriers have no obligation to find hotels for passengers left stranded.
So van den Lamb just had his vouchers, which he said offered no change if the purchase was less than the voucher amount.
Related stories
"There are only two food places in the Hobart terminal, so we mainly got burrito bowls," he said.
Jetstar's 8 AUD vouchers have been irking travelers for as long as 17 years, per a report in the Sydney Morning Herald dating back to 2007.
"I'm not personally too fussed about the amount — $16 in an airport can get you maybe one beer; they should perhaps have considered two beers as a treat," said van den Lamb, who said he found his own accommodation and would wait for more news.
Jetstar told Business Insider in a statement that all flights were canceled until 2 a.m. local time on Saturday, July 20.
"The IT outage is impacting multiple Jetstar systems, including the system we use to contact customers and we sincerely apologise for the frustration this is causing.
"Our teams are working on recovery options and we will contact customers with updates as soon as our systems are back online. If you're due to travel today or tomorrow, but no longer wish to travel, we're offering free moves (+7 days from date of travel) or voucher refunds," read the statement.
Airlines across the world have been hit by the outage, with passengers stuck at airports for hours.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kayla Sommese, a Taylor Swift fan who traveled from Los Angeles to Vienna to catch Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. It has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her expenses.
As the aviation industry navigates and prepares for future growth, two events must be on every aviation professional’s calendar: Skift Global Forum in New York City (September 17-19) and the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas (November 12). These forums present invaluable opportunities to gain insights from top industry leaders. Here is a snapshot of just a few of the leaders who will be taking the stage at each event:
Aug 7, 2024 • 8 min read
Aug 5, 2024 • 6 min read
With 43 countries under her belt, Claire Sturzaker has backpacked through a range of destinations, from the Americas to Europe and Australia.
I am not a hot-weather person. As soon as the thermometer starts climbing toward 80 degrees Fahrenheit, you'll find me indoors with the air conditioning blasting. So it should come as little surprise that I prefer to skip typical summer vacations to warm-weather destinations in favor of milder — or perhaps even snowy — climes.
Thinking ahead to travel later this year and into early next? American Airlines has launched one of its best fare sales with major discounts on numerous flights across its network.
Southwest Airlines will start assigning seats to passengers, ending its longstanding policy of allowing passengers to pick their seats once they have boarded, the airline said on Thursday.
It’s been whispered about for months, but now it’s official. After more than 50 years, Southwest Airlines is doing away with one of its signature policies — open seating.
Southwest Airlines is ditching open seating, one of the hallmarks of its brand over the last half-century. Southwest is moving forward with plans to add assigned seating, the airline announced Thursday. It's also planning to add extra-legroom seats to its cabin for the first time.
Jul 24, 2024 • 9 min read
This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Yusuf and Sumaiya Omar, co-founders of Seen TV . They have no fixed address and travel constantly with their son, Noah. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.