When I get e-mails promoting those ultra-cheap fares being advertised for travel to Asia, I’m more than happy to take them up on it. But what are those flights really like? Let’s start with Qantas’ little sister and their long-haul services.
I flew Jetstar back to Japan in August 2023 and have an updated post with updated information on prices and terminal facilities. I’ve kept this post up for archival reasons but you can read the new one here.
Jetstar Flights 15/16
Cairns, Australia (CNS) – Osaka, Japan (KIX) and return
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8 “Dreamliner”
The Deal: Cairns to Osaka, return in economy class, for $309 return (taxes included). I did cheat and add a few extras, though.
The fare I purchased was a Starter Plus bundle ($75 each way), which includes a 20kg checked baggage allowance, an in-flight meal from a pre-set list (you choose your meal at the time of booking), no penalty if the booking has to be changed (although you might have to pay the difference in fares) and the ability to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points and status credits. Base fares only include a 7kg allowance for hand luggage, and no checked bags- the cabin baggage limit didn’t appear to be heavily enforced on my flights, but on previous Jetstar domestic services I have found them to be quite strict on this point.
Add on a $2.47 payment fee for credit card use, and a $9 charge for the in-flight entertainment; you don’t need to pre-book access to the movies but it’s a touch more expensive ($10) if you pay for it on the plane. These additions made my fare $470.47 all up.
The Schedules: Flights are about 7 hours and 3611 miles each way. The flights out of Cairns leave at 1 pm, so arrive in Japan at about 7 pm local time. The return leg leaves Japan at 9 pm local and arrives in Cairns at 5 am, which is fairly convenient for making domestic connections (although you’ll need to allow time to clear airport formalities before making your connection).
The Airport: Occasionally low-cost carriers use some odd, out of the way airports in order to reduce fares (for example, Jetstar advertising flights to “Melbourne” that go to Avalon Airport rather than the main airport at Tullamarine). In this particular case this doesn’t apply; Cairns has the one international airport (CNS), about a 500m walk from its domestic terminal, and Osaka’s Kansai Airport (KIX) is the third busiest in Japan, handling most of the Kansai region’s international traffic.
(Update May 2019: while Jetstar’s equivalent service to Tokyo Narita airport (NRT) still operates, it uses the low-cost-carrier Terminal 3 and is decidedly less swanky (and slightly further away) than Narita’s normal airport terminals.)
Cairns Airport is not terribly large, so its shopping options are limited once you clear security; on the day I travelled there was essentially one cafe open, offering toasted sandwiches, tea and coffee, and bar service. There is an Eagle Boys Express offering pizza which might be just part of the cafe, and in any case, might be one of the last Eagle Boys outlets still operating. The monopoly on food does lead to some pretty expensive options, even by airport standards; I think getting charged $5.47 for a 600mL Coke is possibly a record.
Osaka has a lot of food options landside (that is, before you go through passport control and security checkpoints). If you’re looking to sit down and eat before you board your flight home, do so before you complete the formalities; there are very limited eating options after the checkpoints unless you plan on gorging yourself on duty-free chocolate. There are a few Tully’s and Starbucks and a coffee shop offering some basic Italian dishes, as well as a sushi place. But if you’re after something a bit more substantial, definitely eat before you hit the checkpoints. The airport’s website has more info on your culinary options.
Lounge Access: Cairns’ international terminal has a Cathay Pacific lounge after you clear security. If you pay for a Max or Business Max fare bundle (the latter being for Jetstar’s business class), you can access the lounge, but it doesn’t appear that regular Qantas Club membership gets you access.
The same deal applies in Osaka; Max and Business Max bundles get you access to the KIX Airside Lounge, but Qantas Club membership is not applicable for regular Jetstar passengers. (Qantas Club members flying on Qantas’ service to Sydney can use the lounge, however.)
The Aircraft: The Boeing 787 seems to be gaining popularity amongst low-cost carriers, with Singapore-based Scoot and Europe’s Norwegian Air Shuttle both operating Dreamliners on long-haul routes.
Jetstar’s original 787s entered service in December 2013. My outbound flight was on the second 787-8 Jetstar received (VH-VKB for the #avgeeks). In addition to the economy class seating, Jetstar’s 787s have a 21-seat Business Class cabin- I wasn’t able to try it out on this flight, although that would kind of defeat the purpose of reviewing a super-cheap international airfare if I upgraded, I guess.
The Seats: Economy class seats have a 30-inch seat pitch and are 17 inches wide. This puts them pretty much on a par with Jetstar’s domestic seats on their Airbus A320 aircraft (29-inch pitch). Plus and Max bundle passengers can pre-select their seats; certain seats up front carry an additional surcharge to enable you to disembark quicker at your destination. (For mine this isn’t that big a deal, given you still have to queue up for customs and immigration checks once you’re off the plane.)
I had a seat in row 44 on the flight up; this has some additional legroom due to being behind the toilets (so there’s no seat in front of you), making it a bit easier to get in and out without clambering over other passengers. The downside to these seats is that you can’t use the entertainment system during takeoff and landing (the screen sits on an arm that extends out from your armrest), and you can’t keep your hand luggage with you (it has to be stowed overhead).
The return flight saw me sitting in row 51, a more conventional economy class seat… for domestic services. Jetstar’s seat pitch is about an inch or two less than full-service airlines, and you might find it pretty cramped if you’re tall- even if only relatively tall, like 6’0″/182cm. That could make a pretty big difference on these longer flights. (For reference, I’m 5’4″/165cm.)
If you find domestic economy seats cramped for two-hour flights, definitely try and reserve a bulkhead or exit row seat for these longer services. An additional fee applies if you’re travelling on the base fare and if you want an exit row, but if you’ve paid for a bundle you can get yourself a bulkhead seat. (Note that you might still get relocated at the last minute, as bulkhead seats have mounts for bassinets and are often needed by families travelling with babes in arms.)
Entertainment: I wrote about my in-flight entertainment experience in my Captive Audience article (click here). The IFE works fine, although I used my own headphones rather than the supplied Jetstar in-ear set. You’ll need a two-prong adaptor to plug your headphones into the system. The selection is a little limited, although the Jetstar website does have a full listing that you can peruse before you travel. Entertainment is $9 if you pre-book, or $10 if you pay on the plane, and gives you access to the full library of movies for the duration of the flight.
If you don’t pay, there is a limited selection of podcasts available for your listening pleasure, or you can just bring up the flight map. The screens will run a loop of ads if they’re not in use, but you can turn the screens off if this becomes distracting (or in the bulkhead seats, just put the screen away so that it is out of view).
Jetstar doesn’t currently offer wi-fi on its fleet.
Food and Drink: The base fare (read: the cheap ones they advertise) don’t include any food or drinks, but Jetstar does have a buy-on-board menu where you can purchase meals and snacks in-flight (credit card only from 1 May 2018), if you didn’t pick anything up in the departures hall. You can peruse the menu here.
The Plus bundled fare includes a meal; you can choose from a pre-set list of meals, and specify whether you want it at the start of the flight or near the end. Bundled meals don’t include a cold beverage, but do include tea or coffee. I opted for the chicken parmigiana with potato wedges on the outbound flight, and a ham and cheese toasted sandwich as a kind-of breakfast on the return leg.
Both were adequate, although a bit bland (especially the parmy, which was cooked fine but justed tasted very plain); there are noodle options in the menu if you want to look at something a bit more adventurous, or you can just eat before you board. That said, depending on your normal eating habits and given the return flight out of Osaka is an overnight service, you might consider a bland-but-adequate 3 am sandwich to be a godsend.
Punctuality: No problems here, as both flights left and arrived as per schedule. Again, if you’re having to spend the next hour queueing for passport control the odd minute or two here and there isn’t that big a problem, but my flights performed admirably in this respect.
The Bottom Line: The basic question has to be: sure, Jetstar might charge for services that are included on other airlines, but can I go without for a cheap international flight? The answer in this case is an absolute ‘yes’. The flight went smoothly, the cabin crew were very good, and I got the things I did pay for. At this fare, I would definitely recommend Jetstar on long-haul.
If you’re looking at the super-low promotional fares, I wouldn’t consider missing out on any of the optional extras a deal-breaker; a 7-hour flight is still short enough that you could probably pack a sandwich and a good book, or load your phone with music or podcasts, and skip most of the additional services that Jetstar offers. Getting by on 7kg of luggage might be a bit more problematic if you don’t want to check a bag, but can be done with some planning (and assuming you’re not heading to a ski resort or something).
If you’re flexible with your travel plans- often the cheapest fares are for odd dates or offered at fairly short notice- you might well find a bargain. Jetstar’s schedule means you could almost make a long weekend out of the trip- fly out on a Friday afternoon and you’d be in Japan for Friday dinner, you’d have all day Saturday and almost all of Sunday before you needed to be back at the airport, and you’d be back in Australia for breakfast on Monday morning.
This assumes you live in Cairns, of course; my connecting flight on Qantas was almost as much as the flight to Osaka ($283 return), despite the Townsville-Cairns leg being one-fifteenth of the distance of the Cairns-Osaka flight. But if you can get a good deal at a convenient time, Jetstar’s international services are a pretty good option. At least, they’re no worse than a regular domestic flight… just longer.
All prices are in Australian dollars and were correct at the time of publication. Fares were purchased from the airline’s website; the airline was not notified that I would be writing a review and did not provide consideration.
At the time of writing $1 AUD = $0.758 USD = 82.68 JPY.
