Leaving Asia

I had about eight hours to kill between checking out of my hotel and getting to the airport and I wasn't really sure what to do with the time. It felt a bit like a wasted day but I made sure my last dinner was a good one and went back to VIN+ for another steak and glass of red wine.

I took an Uber to the airport to meet my friend who was also flying out at roughly the same time as me. I needed her to look after my large (overweight) bag while I checked in. There was a look of worry on the staff and they didn't think I had the right visa as I was due to be at Melbourne airport for more than eight hours. As a result they changed my flight to Auckland to go via Sydney and get me there eight hours earlier than planned which suited me perfectly. After three long phone calls with Jetstar failed to result in a flight change, all it took was a few minutes for some airport staff (not Jetstar) to sort it. This also meant that I was on the same two flights as my friend.

When we boarded the plane, I turned left towards the cockpit and realised I was in an upgraded seat. The couple sitting next to me said they paid $25 AUD each extra for the nicer seats. I was feeling lucky! I managed maybe an hour's sleep before we landed at 4am in Bali time, so I was in zombie mode. We went straight to a cafe for a coffee and snack. Connecting to the wifi, I received an email from Jetstar to say the next flight had been delayed but no details on the new time. Helpfully the screens at the airport didn't even acknowledge a delay at all and it didn't for the next six hours. There were no Jetstar staff anywhere and not a single announcement. Customers are frustrated by delays but it's understood they are usually for a good reason. What makes people angry is how the delays are handled by the airline. Jetstar did absolutely nothing and everyone was left in the dark during the five hour delay. Even when the staff turned up, they failed to make any announcement until boarding started and they didn't offer any apology or explanation. There were a lot of pissed off customers.