Jetstar staff to stop charging baggage and seat fees in union protest

Jetstar staff will stop charging a range of fees during protected industrial action as part of a protest over pay and conditions. The Australian Services Union (ASU) said members will, from 12:01am on Wednesday September 23 to midnight on Thursday, waive or record as zero dollars sales-related charges that usually apply, including excess baggage, seat changes, late fees and other transactions. The low-cost unit of Qantas will also skip revenue from those extras during one of the busiest travel windows, coinciding with the first week of Victorian and Queensland school holidays and days ahead of the AFL Grand Final in Melbourne. The ASU says staff will still help passengers, but won’t collect fees on Jetstar’s behalf. The action follows Jetstar’s earlier launch of an overhead bin priority access charge. Jetstar said it is meeting with the ASU and has plans to avoid operational impacts.