Disadvantages booking Jetstar via Qantas?

[muehli3]

I'm looking for international flights (MEL-DPS) and I can book Jetstar flight via Qantas which seem to be cheaper than booking directly at Jetstar, e.g. Qantas as Bag & Meal for 691 AUD vs. Jetstar as Starter Plus for 710 AUD. Since I plan to pay for extra leg room seats anyway, this comes on top.

Is there anything I am missing or are there any disadvantages when booking Jetstar via Qantas?

 

[aikman]

Jetstar starter plus includes a meal. I wonder if the Qantas fare includes a meal.

 

[CaptJCool]

That surprises me as historically the QF sold JQ fares were higher cost than booking direct with JQ

Also
IIRC only QF Reward seats ON JQ CAME with checked baggage, no meals and no seat selection

There are some variations between the two ways of booking. I’d suggest reading VERY carefully the inclusions - attention to detail matters here lest you “think it’s included and then on the day of travel discover it’s not”

 

[muehli3]

The fare is called "Bag & Meal", so I assume both bags and a meal are included, when I look at the fare rules and when continuing the booking; 30kg of baggage allowance.

According to https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/flights/your-jetstar-experience.html "An inflight meal voucher will be provided to use onboard" which has the downside to order after everyone got their pre-ordered meal.

 

[CaptJCool]

Changes were made on 4 June to JQ Bundles - no wonder id not heard about Bag & Meal

Guide to Jetstar's Fare Bundles

When you buy a Jetstar ticket, the base fare only includes a seat, up to 7kg of carry-on luggage and water during the flight.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[elanshin]

The fare is called "Bag & Meal", so I assume both bags and a meal are included, when I look at the fare rules and when continuing the booking; 30kg of baggage allowance.

According to https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/flights/your-jetstar-experience.html "An inflight meal voucher will be provided to use onboard" which has the downside to order after everyone got their pre-ordered meal.

Changes were made on 4 June to JQ Bundles - no wonder id not heard about Bag & Meal

Guide to Jetstar's Fare Bundles

When you buy a Jetstar ticket, the base fare only includes a seat, up to 7kg of carry-on luggage and water during the flight.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Yeh this might be a change on the QF side too.

It used to be that you get luggage (20kg from memory) and no meal from the QF side and the packages from JQ almost always was significantly cheaper.

Looking again at the difference, for Starter Plus you get ability to change flights without penalty (fare difference still exist) and earn QF Status/Points. The QF status and Points can be a big value for those that care hence the price difference.

 

[Mwenenzi]

According to https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/flights/your-jetstar-experience.html "An inflight meal voucher will be provided to use onboard" which has the downside to order after everyone got their pre-ordered meal.

On the JQ flights I take few people pre order meals even when they could (voucher)

 

[p--and--t]

On the JQ flights I take few people pre order meals even when they could (voucher)

On my JQ flights BNE-NRT-BNE in Feb there seemed to be a lot of hot meals being handed out before they came round taking orders.

 

[muehli3]

On my JQ flights BNE-NRT-BNE in Feb there seemed to be a lot of hot meals being handed out before they came round taking orders.

I had the same for international flights, where lots of meals were pre-ordered.

 

[downgraded]

I had the same for international flights, where lots of meals were pre-ordered.

Yet QF still hasn't taken the hint and reversed some of its service reduction enhancements such as pre ordering meals (that would not only create happier customers, it should also reduce waste).

 

[kangarooflyer88]

It is my understanding that if you book a JetStar flight via Qantas you'll never earn Qantas status credits or points since Qantas does not sell JetStar fares which attract these things. Whereas on the JetStar website you can choose fare bundles which provide both. What value those are for you, I'll leave up to you but I will point out that they can be considerable depending on the bundle. For instance, in 2022 I flew Sydney to Honolulu on JetStar in a plus bundle (I believe it was roughly $500) and I netted 70 status credits on the flight which was just enough to push me over the threshold to requalify for Gold at the time.

-RooFlyer88

 

[dylarr]

It is my understanding that if you book a JetStar flight via Qantas you'll never earn Qantas status credits or points since Qantas does not sell JetStar fares which attract these things.

This is wrong. You can buy a Jetstar with Max fare with Qantas. It even earns at the older "Flexible Economy" earn rate where the newer bundles sold on jetstar.com only earn at the lower "Economy" rate. You will pay through the roof for it, however.

 

[muehli3]

Just a FYI after we took our flights: With the Bag & Meal option, we got a voucher of $25 each. After they handed out pre-ordered meals, they came around for everyone else, told us this and we could order.