Jetstar passenger cops $85 mistake over 'annoying' check-in oversight
Graciemae Sinclair, 26, told airport staff she would 'run like Usain Bolt' if she had to. But in the end, she had to buy a new ticket to get through.
A Jetstar passenger is urging others to learn from her mistake after a simple oversight meant she missed her flight and had to front the cost of another ticket, despite being in the airport well before her plane took off.
Graciemae Sinclair, 26, travels between the Gold Coast and Sydney for work at least twice a month and admits it's usually a "chaotic rush" to get to the airport before flying to NSW, but on Tuesday morning she was "cruising" and said everything was going "smoothly".
"I'm usually rush packing the morning of, but on Tuesday I even had time to give my hair a fresh blowout," she told Yahoo News. "I mosey over to the airport and because I hate waiting around I got there about 45 minutes before my flight."
Jetstar passenger in 'no rush', forgets to check-in
After grabbing a coffee and checking her emails, the former reality TV contestant went to the kiosk to check herself in and was prompted by the screen to speak to a staff member. After attempting to check-in on her phone with no success, she wandered over to the Jetstar desk where staff members were chatting among themselves.
"They're having a chat and I wasn't in a rush so I let them finish their conversation, I'm not going to be rude," she said. However, she quickly learned the decision was probably quite costly when she spoke to Jetstar staff.
"Yeah, sorry, check-in closed a few minutes ago," she says she was told. It was then Sinclair realised she hadn't checked in online and had indeed simply allowed time to pass while she was at the airport, with all domestic Jetstar flights closing 40 minutes before departure.
Passenger forced to buy another ticket over 'annoying' mistake
Sinclair hoped staff would let her "slip through security" and assured them she could "run like Usain Bolt" if she had to, but was denied a lenient check-in. In shock at her own blatant oversight, she paid for a second flight, relieved it only cost her $85, and headed through security, all while her initial flight was still on the overhead boards and not yet departed.
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"It's annoying to buy new a flight but I was just angry at myself that I didn't think about it. That's the lesson here, use your f**king brain," she said, poking fun at herself.
"Thank God, at least people noticed my fresh blowout."
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