Jetstar is the low cost brand of Qantas, the Australian airline. I had an opportunity to travel on Jetstar for the first time yesterday, flying to Kuala Lumpur from Sydney. This is a reflection of the end to end experience of travelling on a budget airline.

Booking

I had use my frequent flyer points to redeem my flight to Kuala Lumpur. Here's the kicker, it costs me exactly the same number of points to redeem this flight on Jetstar as it would have on an equivalent leg on Qantas. That is, Qantas does not discount the points cost to reflect that the flight is operated by its low cost subsidiary. And furthermore, even though it costs me the same number of points as an equivalent economy class ticket, I have none of the benefits of that standard ticket - meals and entertainment. All this had to be purchased in addition my points. 

Experience : D

Check In

Okay, here's strike two for Jetstar. I have Gold status with Qantas' frequent flyer program yet this means absolutely nothing when it comes to travelling on Jetstar. Jetstar had no priority lane for frequent flyers nor would Qantas' priority lane check in any Gold members travelling on Jetstar. I had to join the standard queue to check in and it was a mile long. It took more than 30 minutes standing in line before I could check in.

I understand the need for Qantas to differentiate its regular brand from its low cost brand but I think its approach of casting its frequent flyer members adrift when they travel on Jetstar is a huge strategic mistake. Here's why. Firstly, a high value customer is a high value customer. It doesn't matter if the high value customer is occassionally flying the low cost airline because it will cost Qantas far more to acquire new high value members than to keep existing ones. Why go to all the lengths to attract and retain high flying customers and then to abandon them should they step foot on their low cost program ?

Secondly, it wasn't as if I had a choice between Jetstar and Qantas. Qantas does not operate any flights to Kuala Lumpur, only Jetstar.  So on routes where their passengers do not have a choice, they should honour the frequent flyer privileges of their members.

Experience : D

Pre flight

My flight was delayed an hour leaving Sydney. But I don't think this is unusual. The boarding process was the standard board by row number process which nobody observes. So as soon as the announcement is made, there was a mad rush to the gate (don't know why). Again, no priority boarding for Gold members.

Experience : B  

In flight

There are a number of surprising positives when flying Jetstar. The flight to Kuala Lumpur was an Airbus A330 and it was surprisingly comfortable. All the seats were leather or faux leather (didn't really examine them closely) and they were a lot more comfortable than the standard fabric seats on the Boeing 747s that Qantas operates. And the leg room was quite good as well. It definitely felt roomier than the standard Qantas economy class seat. This is a pet peeve for me on many airlines - the toilet. The Airbus standard toilet is far more comfortable than the cubicle you get on the 747s.  Overall, the Airbus configuration is a lot more passenger friendly.

This point could be contentious but the inflight air crew on Jetstar was quite a pleasant surprise as well. The crew was a very young and friendly crew unlike the far older crew on Qantas. I won't be deducting any points for the fact that Jetstar has no personal inflight entertainment screens unless you pay for it. This is their business model.

Experience : A

Baggage claim

I have already bemoaned the fact that my Gold status is worth nothing on Jetstar so I had no priority tagging on my bags. It was quite a wait for my bag to turn up, probably 20 minutes or more. But I don't know if this was due to the inefficiencies of the Kuala Lumpur airport baggage handling or anything that Jetstar can control. I was glad that my bag did actually show up.

Experience : B

Overall

If you were a regular paying Jetstar customer, then I think the overall experience is fine. It is a low cost airline. But I think for Qantas frequent flyer members, flying Jetstar is an experience to be avoided, despite their better inflight comforts. Qantas must review their policies regarding equivalent member benefits on Jetstar. 

Please share your thoughts using the forum discussion link below. 

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