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Thoughts on Jetstar air?


welshrich
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Hi

 

We have a 2days between cruises from Sydney in March and are thinking about going to Melbourne as we've been to Sydney before. Can anyone tell me about Jetstar, is it a good airline comparable with Jetblue (US) or Easyjet (UK)?

 

Also, would we be able to see much in 2 days?

 

Thanks in advance.

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When Jetstar leaves on time and flights are not cancelled they are quite good. You will need to pay for your baggage and they have very strict rules with carry on luggage, no more than 7kg is allowed to carry on and that includes a ladies handbag. Qantas and Virgin include 23 kg suitcase in the price, many times you need to compare all 3 airlines as Qantas and Virgin are very comparable in price when you include all the extras with Jetstar and Tiger Airlines

 

 

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Can't speak for Jet Blue, but i find JetStar is better than Easy Jet.

As others mention, in JetStar's most basic fare you have to pay for checked in luggage. They give you the option of different weights, so you can buy accordingly.

No complimentary food or beverage service at all. Everything is chargeable. Never mind. It is a short flight of only around 80 to 90 minutes.

2 days us plenty for Melbourne city. If you want to explore the stunning Great Ocean Road (by a full day coach tour), it might be a bit rushed.

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P.s.: flights between Sydney and Melbourne are very very frequent. Often there is a huge price difference between departures that are only 30 minutes apart!

Also check carefully that you fly to Melbourne's main airport Tullamarine (MEL) and not Melbourne Avalon (AVV), which is around 55 km from Melbourne CBD.

BOTH airports creep up in many search engines if you look for flights to Melbourne

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Just make sure your return to Sydney allows for flight cancellations.

 

Eldest GD came to visit us last week. Her original Jetstar flight was due to land in Sydney at 11:40am. At 5am that morning she was advised that her flight was cancelled and the earliest flight she could get on was due to arrive (at the terminal) in Sydney ar 4:45pm. It actually landed at 4:52pm. Luckily she was visiting us, not boarding a cruise.

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Look up your options on mainstream carriers Qantas (QF) and Virgin (VJ ) too. QF offer very good deals SYD - MEL particularly at Off Peak times for Early bookings . Book on line direct via main Qantas website .

 

Tiger and Jetstar are budget carriers and there are lots of hidden extra charges, they charge extra for baggage , refreshments . High probability with both of cancellations . If your flight is not fully booked the budget carriers will cancel the flight at the drop of a hat and leave you stranded .

 

Caveat Emptor - you get what you pay for .

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Also check carefully that you fly to Melbourne's main airport Tullamarine (MEL) and not Melbourne Avalon (AVV), which is around 55 km from Melbourne CBD.
I second this advice: it is the most important piece of advice for anyone booking flights to Melbourne.

 

Beyond that, I would offer another piece of advice from a friend who used to work for Jetstar's parent company: "Friends don't let friends fly Jetstar".

 

When Qantas has a Sydney-Melbourne flight every 15 minutes at some times of the day, thus virtually guaranteeing to deliver you to Melbourne reasonably promptly even if something goes wrong with the one you're booked on, and with Virgin Australia doing its utmost to compete with Qantas on service and reliability levels (and pretty successfully so), I've never yet found a reason to book Jetstar.

Look up your options on mainstream carriers Qantas (QF) and Virgin (VJ) too. QF offer very good deals SYD - MEL particularly at Off Peak times for Early bookings. Book on line direct via main Qantas website.
FWIW, Virgin's code is actually (now) VA.

 

Booking online via the airlines' own websites gives overseas visitors access to the lowest fares, which are usually only sold in Australia/NZ/SW Pacific. If you try to book Australian domestic via online travel agents based outside this area, it's very common to find that the fares are much higher because those agents can't access those lowest fares.

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Better than Easyjet but JetBlue is far superior. As others have said, Jetstar is fine.. Relatively reliable but very strict on baggage, both hand and checked. Make sure you book the right airport as they fly into Melbourne Tullamarine and Avalon airport as well.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have flown with Jetstar a number of times, around Australia and they are ok, the distance from their gates at Melbourne Tullamarine to where you pick up your bags is quite a walk , (terminal 4 ) also they sacked most of their check in staff and they now have only electronic check in were you print your own boarding passes and scan them to check your bags in, and again its quite a walk to the boarding gates. Also have a close look at their website as they have very strict check in times and cut off times. I did not pick up if you have two full days in Melb or you only have two days in which will include travelling to and from Melbourne. Melbourne is a big place, pick on some places of interest to see and you can hire cars with gps at the airport, or bring your own gps. Good luck.

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