Why fly Jetstar?

[travelislife]

JohnK it is hard to take your posts on Jetstar seriously as you have never flown them. If they cancel your flight it is likely you'll end up on Qantas, happened to me Friday night a week ago MEL-SYD. Also why would you avoid buying a fare on sale? Seems crazy to me. My preference is QF>VA>JQ but more and more struggle to justify the premium Qantas charges, I usually book in advance. Yes when you look close in prices on JQ do rise to sometimes be more than QF.

 

[boomy]

If you are going to use that comparison then you will allow me to use my comparison. Random date of Sunday 15 June.

- Jetstar $134 for 3:55pm flight for starter plus with luggage and $144 for 6:40pm and 7:40pm flight for starter plus with luggage
- Virgin 7 flights in evening $119 saver lite or $135 saver with luggage but I have status already
- Qantas 5 flights in evening $146 including everything

I think Friday night BNE-SYD gets even worse. I am not going to purchase my airfares during the gimmick sales but I could purchase a little in advance.

Oh and Jetstar has those 3 flights on Sunday afternoon/evening. What do you think would happen if I was on say the 6:40pm flight and it was cancelled. When do you think I would be able to get to BNE for work? Tuesday? Wednesday?

So why would I fly Jetstar?

I didn't say JQ will always be cheaper then QF or VA but sometimes, as I demonstrated on my previous post, they are.
To answer your question, you should fly JQ on short haul flights when they are seriously cheaper then QF and VA. You still get QF lounge access, points & SCs and save money. All that for 1-2 hours flight is not a bad deal.

 

[JohnK]

JohnK it is hard to take your posts on Jetstar seriously as you have never flown them. If they cancel your flight it is likely you'll end up on Qantas, happened to me Friday night a week ago MEL-SYD.

I dont need to fly them to see what is happening all round me. You don't see many threads QF, VA cancelled my flights and left me stranded. Do we?

Hypothetical. The JQ 6:40pm flight is delayed until 7:40pm when I get to airport. Then delayed until 8:40pm and before you know it the flight is cancelled. They are not going to put people on other carriers for slight delays and when there are no other flights from other carriers on the night. So once my flight is cancelled when do I get to go to BNE and back to work?

I am not buying airfares during gimmick sales. Have better things to do than sit there waiting for website to break down every 2 minutes. Normal sales are not much cheaper than QF, VA sales.

I dont need to find out how poor JQ customer service can be. I dont need that stress. I would happily pay a few dollars extra for peace of mind.

 

[burmans]

JohnK it is hard to take your posts on Jetstar seriously as you have never flown them. If they cancel your flight it is likely you'll end up on Qantas, happened to me Friday night a week ago MEL-SYD. Also why would you avoid buying a fare on sale? Seems crazy to me. My preference is QF>VA>JQ but more and more struggle to justify the premium Qantas charges, I usually book in advance. Yes when you look close in prices on JQ do rise to sometimes be more than QF.

JohnK is pretty famous for his anti Jetstar bigotry and he's entitled it his (apparently uninformed since he has no experience himself) opinion. Meanwhile we get to make our own assessment, for me I'd rather take the opinion of people who actually have some direct experience than someone whose clearly biased and wants to cherry pick rates and others posts.

But you must all make your assessment of the value of others posts.

 

[JohnK]

JohnK is pretty famous for his anti Jetstar bigotry and he's entitled it his (apparently uninformed since he has no experience himself) opinion.

Thanks for the dictionary definition.

I dont need to fly Air France to find out I dont want to fly them. I dont need to fly Aeroflot to find out I dont want to fly them. I dont need to fly Middle Eastern carriers to find out I dont want to fly them. I dont need to fly Garuda to find out I dont want to fly them. I definitely dont need to fly Ryanair to find out I dont want to fly them.

Now why should I fly Jetstar when most of the people I know have said never again? To form my own opinion? Every single one of my reasons for not flying them is valid.

I have never started a Jetstar bashing thread. Should I leave all the Jetstar comments to the experts?

 

[burmans]

Thanks for the dictionary definition.

I dont need to fly Air France to find out I dont want to fly them. I dont need to fly Aeroflot to find out I dont want to fly them. I dont need to fly Middle Eastern carriers to find out I dont want to fly them. I dont need to fly Garuda to find out I dont want to fly them. I definitely dont need to fly Ryanair to find out I dont want to fly them.

Now why should I fly Jetstar when most of the people I know have said never again? To form my own opinion? Every single one of my reasons for not flying them is valid.

I have never started a Jetstar bashing thread. Should I leave all the Jetstar comments to the experts?

To parapharase our Attorney General you are entitled to be a bigot. However teh fact you are entitled doesn't stop you being one, and we are entitled to call you on it.

As for you're never started a Jetstar bashing thread, sorry but what's the relevance, for someone who never actually flies Jetstar what your rationale for handing around a thread like this and posting negative comments except to be a Jetstar basher. Should you leave Jetstar comments to the experts, that's your decision but I can only comment that I personally try to avoid commenting on things I dont know anything about because I feel it would make me look a bit stupid. You clearly don't feel so concerned about looking stupid, and that's your right.

 

[Hydevanity]

I've found the level of service to be inconsistent but I guess it depends on your mindset as well?

 

[Spongbob]

I started this thread not to be anti-J* or pro-QF. The intension was to partly highlight the small gaps between the price of a J* bundles ticket with the lower priced QF tickets, and partly understand why AFFers fly J* when there are other options.

If the J* pricing and schedules meets your needs, well and good. However, given the generally small price gap and the poor experiences of many J* pax, I cannot see the attraction.

I have flown J* a few times, only because no other airline had direct flights, and I have no complaints. But, if there is to be a problem it is more likely to happen with a J* flight.

So I agree with JohnK, the few extra $$ to fly QF or DJ for a stress-free experience (arriving at my intended time) has more value than the minor savings from flying J*.

 

[JohnK]

To parapharase our Attorney General you are entitled to be a bigot. However teh fact you are entitled doesn't stop you being one, and we are entitled to call you on it.

You can do whatever you want but not nice to call me names. I never called you any names.

And I have actually been very placid in this thread.

I have never had anyone give me a valid reason why I should fly Jetstar which is the question posed in this thread if you care to read. And I posted facts (not speculation or personal opinion) about JQ/VA and QF flights SYD-BNE on 15 June.

So please continue to call me names, personally attack me and my opinion because you think it is wrong. I won't report your post and this is the last conversation between you and I on this and any topic.

 

[boomy]

As for you're never started a Jetstar bashing thread, sorry but what's the relevance, for someone who never actually flies Jetstar what your rationale for handing around a thread like this and posting negative comments except to be a Jetstar basher. Should you leave Jetstar comments to the experts, that's your decision but I can only comment that I personally try to avoid commenting on things I dont know anything about because I feel it would make me look a bit stupid. You clearly don't feel so concerned about looking stupid, and that's your right.

I don't appreciate your name calling, each person has a right to have an opinion even if it's different then yours.
As JohnK said, you don't need to fly an airline to know of it's good or bad. Without ever flying on any of them, I can tell you that airlines like Ryanair, Easy-jet and the rest of the £1 European LCCs are totally rubbish.
There is no argument that JQ is not as good as QF or VA, it's just (usually) cheaper. It doesn't make it a good airline, just a cheap one. Now it's anyone's decision if they want to pay the $$ and fly on QF or VA at any cost.

 

[ermen]

I fly 3K HKG - SIN quite a bit. I buy row #1 and status credit bundle...
Need the ~ and to a lesser extent, points... normally cheaper than CX, SQ etc and quite comfortable in row #1...

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Reasons I use Jetstar:

- lounge access where available
- often cheaper than other options (if the price is almost the same at Qantas and fits my schedule I'll fly Qantas)
- status credit and points earning options
- the jetstar price beat guarantee ( point 3 not included though if using this point)
- mostly new aircraft in good condition
- efficient web check in process means I can arrive at the last minute with boarding pass in hand and board (with hand baggage only)
- huge network in Australia and they fly direct on routes I need like MEL-OOL while still allowing me to earn SC with my QFF membership
- I actually find them generally quite reliable, have flown them hundreds of times and never been left stranded, only ever had one flight cancelled and was rebooked onto the next one

So yes I find them perfectly adequate at times.

I knew of course before I even joined this thread that JohnK would be in here bashing the airline because he has for some reason developed a non-sensical dislike for the airline (when you consider he will happily fly Tiger Airways). John: stick with what you know buddy. You clearly know nothing of Jetstar other than a few beat up media articles which could have been written about any airline. All airlines cancel flights and they quite often completely stuff up the subsequent fall out (including Qantas and Virgin).

 

[markis10]

If you are going to use that comparison then you will allow me to use my comparison. Random date of Sunday 15 June.

- Jetstar $134 for 3:55pm flight for starter plus with luggage and $144 for 6:40pm and 7:40pm flight for starter plus with luggage
- Virgin 7 flights in evening $119 saver lite or $135 saver with luggage but I have status already
- Qantas 5 flights in evening $146 including everything

I think Friday night BNE-SYD gets even worse. I am not going to purchase my airfares during the gimmick sales but I could purchase a little in advance.

Oh and Jetstar has those 3 flights on Sunday afternoon/evening. What do you think would happen if I was on say the 6:40pm flight and it was cancelled. When do you think I would be able to get to BNE for work? Tuesday? Wednesday?

So why would I fly Jetstar?

Why would you fly Jetstar, to save money of course, given that 6.40PM flight with JQ would cost $83 and the 1350 flight $65, it's sans baggage and points, the baggage can be added for $17. $65 versus $119 x 40 weeks a year, that's $2160 saving just in flight coming home in a year.

 

[Spongbob]

But you could not even buy a bottle of 1959 Grange with the $2160 saving.

 

[Cynicor]

But you could not even buy a bottle of 1959 Grange with the $2160 saving.

Actually, it's listed at around that and shouldn't cost $3k currently...

 

[cambriamarsh]

In Nz we don't have a choice except Air NZ. Jetstar nz was terrible at one stage but has improved and is now mostly just as good as Air NZ unless you need a bit of flex on check in etc. If you need that forget it, they have no mercy.

However my last 6 or so flights with them have been on time with clean planes and pleasant crews.

Works for me.

 

[PaulST]

Also, I've flown with JQ around 20 times in the last 2 years (mostly between SYD and MEL) and never had a problem. Slight delays of 10 or so minutes but otherwise the planes are clean and the service is OK.

 

[JohnK]

I didn't say JQ will always be cheaper then QF or VA but sometimes, as I demonstrated on my previous post, they are.
To answer your question, you should fly JQ on short haul flights when they are seriously cheaper then QF and VA. You still get QF lounge access, points & SCs and save money. All that for 1-2 hours flight is not a bad deal.

Australia's lowest fares airlines should always be cheaper? Perhaps not.

There are many things to consider when choosing an airline. Cost of airfare is one. Customer service is another. Schedule. Reliability. Luggage. Seat choice. Status benefits.

Jetstar customer service is a joke. The way they treat customers is unacceptable. Their SYD-BNE schedule is poor. It is better now but much worse a few years ago with no evening flights.

You and I have discussed this in the past. You choose to fly JQ when QF and VA are ridiculously priced. That makes sense as most of your travel is last minute travel.

I can plan months in advance. My airfares are relatively cheap around the $90 mark. Any saving on JQ flights is going to be negligible and not worth the hassle.

And I can work all that out without having to step into one of their planes.

 

[boomy]

You and I have discussed this in the past. You choose to fly JQ when QF and VA are ridiculously priced. That makes sense as most of your travel is last minute travel.

I can plan months in advance. My airfares are relatively cheap around the $90 mark. Any saving on JQ flights is going to be negligible and not worth the hassle.

And I can work all that out without having to step into one of their planes.

So we can both agree that flying JQ is justified when they are much cheaper then QF or VA. This is what I was saying all the time.
Believe me, I take no pleasure in flying JQ (I don't even like VA) but it's really not too bad for short and cheap flights (and the occasion F lounge treat)

 

[JohnK]

So we can both agree that flying JQ is justified when they are much cheaper then QF or VA. This is what I was saying all the time.

I wouldn't say flying JQ is justified. I won't do it but I can see how some people can justify it.

The price difference between QF and VA for me is ~$20-30. Anything less and is not worth it and I will book QF.
To save $20 I would go train, bus and bus to airport on Friday afternoon instead of the Airtrain.
To save $30+ I will occasionally go to OOL on a Friday afternoon instead of BNE.

I haven't yet been in a situation where I needed to include JQ in my choice of flights.