Following up...
Chose Jetstar to try something new and here were my experiences for others to heed:-
That's a very interesting experience... quite different from what I generally get. I suppose I would put down my comments re the following points, as a way of comparison.
- Priority Boarding is non-existent - even though I specifically paid extra.
It worked fine for me in SIN. Not to sure about HKG, since you would need to be bussed anyway, so if you are departing from HKG, it probably isn't worth it.
- Food (although not a big deal on such a short segment) was very poor quality. I didn't want the sandwich and the guy next to me said he'd had it once and "never again" after I offered it to him. Boy did I feel silly!
I usually get hot meals, but I mostly travel on the longer sectors such as SIN-HKG/TPE/MFM/DRW. These are quite edible, but I'll remember not to try the sandwiches.
- Jetstar Asia a320 planes the overhead bins from rows 1-3 are reserved for crew and can't be used for general stowage. Sitting in Row 1, my carry was all the way back above row 4. Clearly someone saw this as an opportunity and my Bose Noise Cancelling headphones (QC 15) were stolen from my bags during the flight. Contacting Jetstar about this is totally impossible due to many reasons (no contact in malaysia, toll-free numbers only for singapore which are useless unless in SG, no way to follow up, no references unless a checked bag, the list goes on and on).
This is unfortunate, but you will find this sort of situation happening for other budget carriers operating the A320/1 types as well.
- For those who said points/lounge are worth it: FLounge is closed 9:30 - 3pm. Business lounge is a moot point.
The SIN Flounge, when open, has slightly better food/beverages than the J lounge, and the J lounge itself is not exactly glamous either - it works well as a transit lounge for the LHR/FRA-OZ flights, but that's about it. It appears that you may have been spoilt by the SYD/MEL Flounges.
Yes, all of this could have happened anytime with any airline - but in my 1000's of flights it never has. I went to the dark side and Karma bent me over. Jetstar* is officially added to my do not fly list, forever.
That's how luck goes sometimes. e.g. I've had zero issues with QF at all over the past couple of years, while every single attempt from my friend resulted in delays, cancellations, or even lost booking. On the other hand, she had absolutely no issue with SQ, while most of my SQ experiences have been very underwhelming.
