Let’s Fly Jetstar
Call me thoroughly impressed. After completing a nine hour Jetstar flight to Bangkok, I can by far say that this is one of the best airlines I have flown. Jetstar has had a cheap reputation since it started. Having non allocated seats may work on buses but was obviously a nightmare on a plane. The company quickly learned and brought in the traditional seat allocation system.
So what sets this airline apart?
- The planes are new.
Unlike many international airlines which still have ashtrays in the seats. This equates to a nicer looking interior, LCD screens, and new leather seats.
- More legroom.
Generally when I sit on a plane, my knees rest on the seat in front of me but on Jetstar I found I had about 10 cm between my knees and the seat in front of me.
- Cheap.
Jetstar undercuts most airlines flying to Asia although there is some competition coming.
The cheap fare does not include:
Food and drink $30 YES
The food and drink package is well worth it and if you bought the same food and drink individually on the flight, you would be paying a lot more that the preflight price. You are not allowed to bring your own food but I am unsure if this is strictly enforced. When everyone else around you is a eating a nice hot meal and you are stuck with a sandwich you made 8 hours prior, I think the decision is clear. The food was good but nothing especially terrific but what sealed the deal for me is receiving a 4 & 20 meat pie as our light dinner. Bloody beautiful!
Blankets and pillows $7 NO
I actually didn’t freeze to death on the flight. It looks like the new planes have a better climate control system, thus no blanket or pillow for me. Even if it were cold, I brought my own travel neck pillow and blanket.
Entertainment $10 MAYBE
The entertainment pack might be worth it but they play an array of TV shows and movies on the main screens scattered throughout the cabin.
Pros: Meals are great value, More legroom, Newer nicer planes, cheaper than most other airlines.
Cons: 20 kg weight limit per person, meant many people shifting things onto carry on.
Technorati Tags: Jetstar, Melbourne, Australia
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Awesome. I’ve been considering flying Jetstar to Hawaii then skipping over to the mainland, but I wasn’t sure about how the comfort level would be. Thanks for the review!
The 20kg weight limit per person is now also being relatively strictly enforced on “non-budget” airlines. They do however provide concessions, depending on the ground staff, to usually around 25kg for economy passengers
Ideally, in the old days, you were allowed a bag that weighed about 30kg’s (32kg being the iata limit)
Um, My jetstar plane to honolulu was 13 hours late, which they didn’t tell anyone flying from melbourne untill we were changing planes at sydney.
Then they promised those of us with connecting flights via other carriers that things will be sorted by honolulu groundstaff,
only to find that they were lying through their teeth.
They did deliver the point a to point b service, and put us up in a hotel in sydney while we were waiting for the plane. Just don’t trust anything they say, and be ware. Their prices are good, but in the end it ended up costing me $200 more to fly with jetstar due to unforeseen accomodation and a new flight I had to get from honolulu.
Do get travel insurance that covers accomodation and schedule changes due to plane delays, many don’t.