If you’re looking for a premium travel experience for a budget price, Jetstar Business Class could be one option. The low-cost carrier doesn’t have lie-flat Business seats, but you will get more space and other creature comforts like full meals and drinks (including champagne) on board, a 30kg checked baggage allowance, an amenity kit and in-flight entertainment.

Jetstar offers Business Class exclusively on its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. These are used for long-haul international flights from Australia to destinations including Honolulu, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Bangkok, Phuket and Ho Chi Minh City. The Dreamliner can also be found on Jetstar’s flights from Melbourne to Singapore, as well as from Sydney and Melbourne to Bali. (Note that other Jetstar routes from Australia to Singapore and Denpasar are operated by Airbus A320 or A321neo aircraft which do not have a Business Class cabin.)

Jetstar is a low-cost carrier so if you’re looking to travel in luxury, Jetstar might not be your first choice. But for the price paid, it can be good value.

If you’re struggling to redeem your Qantas points for a Business Class flight to Asia or Hawaii, Jetstar could also be worth looking into because you can sometimes find up to four Classic Flight Reward seats per flight that are available to book using Qantas Frequent Flyer points.

This guide explains exactly what to expect…

Jetstar Boeing 787 Business Class seating

There are 21 Business Class seats on Jetstar’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft. These are located in the first three rows of the plane, with seating in a 2-3-2 layout.

Each leather Business Class seat is a bit wider than a standard Economy seat, and there’s more legroom with a 38-inch seat pitch. However, if you’re in rows 2 or 3 and not in an aisle seat, you would not be able to get out without disturbing your seat neighbour.

Each seat offers a reasonable amount of recline and there is an extendable legrest. However, this type of seat would be classed as “Premium Economy” on most other airlines because it is not a lie-flat bed.

There’s a seat-back in-flight entertainment TV screen at every seat with complimentary access to movies and noise-cancelling headphones provided to Business Class passengers. There is no wifi available.

Jetstar Business Class service

While the Jetstar Business Class seats are closer to Premium Economy, the “soft product” is closer to Business Class on other airlines.

Jetstar offers complimentary meals and unlimited snacks & drinks, including alcoholic beverages, to Business Class passengers on its long-haul flights. Here’s an example of a menu from a flight from Sydney to Denpasar:

And here’s a previous menu from a flight from Denpasar to Melbourne:

And here’s the drinks list:

In addition to noise-cancelling headphones, Business Class passengers normally receive a complimentary “comfort pack” with things like a blanket, toothbrush, earplugs, lip balm and eye mask.

Jetstar Business Class fares

Business Class tickets are available to book on the Jetstar website, on routes where this cabin is offered. There are two fare types – Business and Business Max:

If you choose to add a Max Bundle to your Business fare, you’ll receive complimentary lounge access as well as Qantas points and status credits. Max fares can also be cancelled for a fee.

If you’re collecting Qantas points and status credits, upgrading to a Business Max fare could be worthwhile because you’ll receive full Qantas Business Class status credits which could help you to attain or retain a higher Qantas Frequent Flyer status tier.

If you happen to have a Qantas Club membership or Qantas Gold, Silver or Platinum One status, you can enjoy access to Qantas lounges anyway when flying with Jetstar. But that benefit is only automatically offered to Qantas Club members and eligible frequent flyers (booked on any Jetstar fare type) at airports where Qantas operates its own lounge.

Upgrading on Jetstar

Before COVID-19, Jetstar would routinely offer paid upgrades by email to customers booked in Economy around 14 days before departure. These would typically cost around $200-300 per passenger and were quite popular. However, these don’t seem to be offered any more and it’s not possible to pay for a cheap upgrade at the airport on the day of travel.

Many Jetstar flights are currently selling out in Business Class, too, so the only way to guarantee a seat at the front of the plane is to book it in advance.

It’s not possible to upgrade on Jetstar using Qantas points. However, you can redeem Qantas points to book a Classic Reward ticket.

Redeeming Qantas points for Jetstar flights

If booking far enough in advance, it’s possible to book up to four Business Class seats on many Jetstar international flights as Classic Flight Rewards using Qantas points. Subject to availability, these seats can be booked on the Qantas website.

When redeeming Qantas points for a Classic Flight Reward on Jetstar, you’ll get a 30kg included checked baggage allowance in Business Class (or 20kg of included checked baggage in Economy).

If you wish to travel to Europe, and you can’t find Business award availability on other Qantas partner airlines out of Australia, you might consider redeeming Qantas points to fly Jetstar to Asia. On the same Classic Flight Reward ticket, you could then connect onwards to Europe on other Qantas partner airlines such as Emirates or Qatar Airways. As long as you’ve booked all the flights on the same ticket (use the multi-city booking tool on the Qantas website to do this), and the connecting flight is on an eligible partner airline, your luggage can generally be checked through to your final destination.

Jetstar award seats are released 274 days before departure, so you can book using Qantas points up to 9 months in advance.

Is Jetstar Business Class worth it?

Jetstar’s premium product is roughly equivalent to Premium Economy on full-service international airlines, so calling it “Business Class” is a bit of a stretch. However, it’s priced accordingly so can be good value.

Even when redeeming Qantas points for a Jetstar ticket, you’ll be charged 20% fewer points compared to redeeming for a Qantas Business Class ticket. That seems fair, and there’s an added advantage with Jetstar Business Class that reward seats are a bit easier to find – particularly if you want to fly your whole family on points.

You won’t get a lie-flat bed, but it’s certainly more comfortable than flying Economy and is generally cheaper than Business Class on other airlines when flying long-haul. For daytime flights where sleeping isn’t as important, it’s a perfectly acceptable product.

It’s perhaps worth noting that unlike ScootPlus or the Premium Flatbed product on AirAsia X, Jetstar does offer full meals, drinks, entertainment and amenities in Business Class. So it’s more than just a bigger seat.

When deciding whether Jetstar Business Class is worth it, consider the cost of a Premium Economy ticket on another airline. If Jetstar Business Class is cheaper than Premium Economy on a full-service airline, it’s probably worth it.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.