In these financially difficult times all of us are called upon to make the odd sacrifice. For me, I chose to fly to a meeting in KL via Singapore on Jetstar (Business class) to save $1500 bucks or so over the direct J fares on Qantas or Malaysian.
Arrived at the airport and checked in at the priority check in desk without delay. Headed to the QP (empty as no Qantas flights leaving I guess). Tried to print out some meeting papers at the business center but the combination of switching from PC to Mac and US Letter size paper to A4 meant all the printing was useless
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The flight to SIN left on time with a full business cabin. I was seated in 1F to avoid the climb over problem as there is only one other seat in the middle (1E). The food was very forgettable. I’m not a foodie by any stretch but this was Y food at best. I spent a little while trying to find the IFE, until eventually the flight attendant took pity on me and gave me one of their ipads. Now, I thought, where will I stick it while I’m eating. I ended up resting it on the edge of the table and the armrest but was lucky that 1E didn’t want to eat at the same time. Seats didn't recline much (felt similar to QF Y+) but not a problem if you're not planning on sleeping.
Upon arrival in SIN, I headed straight to the Crowne Plaza for the 14 hour layover. Back at the airport at 6am, I realized I was in a spot of bother. After finding a priority check in queue in MEL, I assumed there would also be one in SIN – not true when the A320 is Y only! Still, the staff managed to pull out the KUL passengers stuck in the slow moving queue. The only tense moment was when the check in staff told me that this flight didn’t permit checked baggage (and I’m carrying about 10 kg of publications!), I put on my best DYKWIA face and objected rather strongly. Two minutes later I’m on my way with baggage ticket in hand.
The flight to KUL was uneventful. I was in 1A, with no one in rows 2, 3 or 4 so had plenty of room to stretch out.
On the return leg KUL-SIN I thought I’d be better prepared and get to the airport early. I arrived before checkin opened to see about 15 people in the queue in front of me (again, no priority check in). Check in opened on time, but when I got to the front of the queue the check in agent found a small problem - my booking was listed as “payment pending”. I showed her the reservation printout which clearly showed zero owing but she reiterated that she couldn’t check me in. Her manager shows up and tells me to ring Jetstar customer service…DYKWIA time!
I flatly refuse to make the call (I have a roaming phone but it costs a fortune) and tell the manager that it’s his problem and he can sort it out. It takes him about 40 minutes to get a customer service agent on the line. Guess what the problem was? I work for a US employer so my credit card is in USD. When I paid for the flight on jetstar.com, the Jetstar booking engine offered me the choice of paying in AUD or USD. I looked at the rates, decided that it wasn’t bad, and selected USD. It turns out that when Jetstar got the money they decided they were AUD 0.55 short. I pointed out that the problem was with their system, that I had boarded in MEL and SIN without problem, and I had paid the required fare. In the end, I paid the 55c (in Malaysian Ringgit!) so they can check me in:evil: as I'm now in danger of missing the flight altogether. What do you think my chances of getting my $0.55 back are?
The flights home were pretty much the same as the way over. I noted that Singapore QF business lounge was very overcrowded at times and the internet was too patchy for Skype. I slept most of the way home thanks to a couple of stiff single malts before boarding. When I arrived in MEL there was a glorious surprise – my bag, not priority tagged due to the stuff up in KUL, is the first one off!:shock: I really question whether the bright tag is just to make the J and F passengers feel better.
My conclusion – this trip tipped me over to WP so was worth it. I think I will probably fly Jetstar again if the flight is cheap enough (and I don't need to sleep), but the saving has to be significant for my employer…and I will be getting my 55c back!
Arrived at the airport and checked in at the priority check in desk without delay. Headed to the QP (empty as no Qantas flights leaving I guess). Tried to print out some meeting papers at the business center but the combination of switching from PC to Mac and US Letter size paper to A4 meant all the printing was useless
.The flight to SIN left on time with a full business cabin. I was seated in 1F to avoid the climb over problem as there is only one other seat in the middle (1E). The food was very forgettable. I’m not a foodie by any stretch but this was Y food at best. I spent a little while trying to find the IFE, until eventually the flight attendant took pity on me and gave me one of their ipads. Now, I thought, where will I stick it while I’m eating. I ended up resting it on the edge of the table and the armrest but was lucky that 1E didn’t want to eat at the same time. Seats didn't recline much (felt similar to QF Y+) but not a problem if you're not planning on sleeping.
Upon arrival in SIN, I headed straight to the Crowne Plaza for the 14 hour layover. Back at the airport at 6am, I realized I was in a spot of bother. After finding a priority check in queue in MEL, I assumed there would also be one in SIN – not true when the A320 is Y only! Still, the staff managed to pull out the KUL passengers stuck in the slow moving queue. The only tense moment was when the check in staff told me that this flight didn’t permit checked baggage (and I’m carrying about 10 kg of publications!), I put on my best DYKWIA face and objected rather strongly. Two minutes later I’m on my way with baggage ticket in hand.
The flight to KUL was uneventful. I was in 1A, with no one in rows 2, 3 or 4 so had plenty of room to stretch out.
On the return leg KUL-SIN I thought I’d be better prepared and get to the airport early. I arrived before checkin opened to see about 15 people in the queue in front of me (again, no priority check in). Check in opened on time, but when I got to the front of the queue the check in agent found a small problem - my booking was listed as “payment pending”. I showed her the reservation printout which clearly showed zero owing but she reiterated that she couldn’t check me in. Her manager shows up and tells me to ring Jetstar customer service…DYKWIA time!
I flatly refuse to make the call (I have a roaming phone but it costs a fortune) and tell the manager that it’s his problem and he can sort it out. It takes him about 40 minutes to get a customer service agent on the line. Guess what the problem was? I work for a US employer so my credit card is in USD. When I paid for the flight on jetstar.com, the Jetstar booking engine offered me the choice of paying in AUD or USD. I looked at the rates, decided that it wasn’t bad, and selected USD. It turns out that when Jetstar got the money they decided they were AUD 0.55 short. I pointed out that the problem was with their system, that I had boarded in MEL and SIN without problem, and I had paid the required fare. In the end, I paid the 55c (in Malaysian Ringgit!) so they can check me in:evil: as I'm now in danger of missing the flight altogether. What do you think my chances of getting my $0.55 back are?
The flights home were pretty much the same as the way over. I noted that Singapore QF business lounge was very overcrowded at times and the internet was too patchy for Skype. I slept most of the way home thanks to a couple of stiff single malts before boarding. When I arrived in MEL there was a glorious surprise – my bag, not priority tagged due to the stuff up in KUL, is the first one off!:shock: I really question whether the bright tag is just to make the J and F passengers feel better.
My conclusion – this trip tipped me over to WP so was worth it. I think I will probably fly Jetstar again if the flight is cheap enough (and I don't need to sleep), but the saving has to be significant for my employer…and I will be getting my 55c back!
