Introduction
Jetstar Airways, a subsidiary of Qantas Airways, is a major airline in Australia's low-cost airline sector. While primarily known for its domestic routes, Jetstar also operates flights to various international destinations like Honolulu, Seoul, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Osaka. In late March, I planned on traveling to Cairns in the far north of Australia, and trying out Jetstar's international product seemed interesting. This is my brutally honest review of Jetstar's International product from Tokyo's Narita airport to Cairns. Hope you enjoy…
At the airport
I simply used the Narita Express to get to the airport. It costed around ¥3000 ($19 usd) and took around an hour. I would be departing from Narita's Terminal 3 today.
The problem with Terminal 3 is that the terminal was literally built for low-cost carriers. So it's not as grand as the other airport terminals. Jetstar, Jetstar Japan, Jeju Air, Spring Airlines, Air Asia and a few other airlines operate out of Terminal 3.
As you can see from the photo above, Terminal 3 isn't the best terminal to be in. It looks like a warehouse in some parts and there's an athletic track which is quite wierd considering that this is a Airport Terminal. Ignoring that, I checked in with the kiosks and it was really smooth.
The landside of the terminal was bustling with people. There were a few shops, a convenience store and a food court. It was honestly much more than I expected.
I went through security and immigration fast and efficiently and I was airside in under 10 minutes. In my opinion, the airside definitely looked better than the landside. It had some duty-free shops but lacked restaurants and a lounge.
Boarding
Here's a look at today's plane.
Today's Aircraft
Aircraft - B787-8
Reg - VH-VKA
MSN - 36227
Line Number - 123
Age - 10.6 years
Because Jetstar is a low-cost carrier, there is no priority boarding for status members. So boarding started with business class, those with infants and disabled people. And then economy class.
Another look at the plane…
Walking towards the plane.
A look at the giant engines. Really nice being able to see these up close.
Here's a look at the seats. They were descently comfortable and much more than I expected. It came with an IFE screen, tray table, seat pocket and an adjustable headrest. The recline was not bad too. I got all 3 seats to myself too.
I was seated in the middle, so I couldn't take any photos of takeoff.
The flight
The cabin was dimmed for takeoff and after around an hour the service started.
Jetstar, again, is a low-cost carrier so there's a buy on board inflight service. The prices were ok and because I was still hungry I decided to get some food. I got myself a chicken wrap and it tasted really good.
For the next hour or so I watched a movie using the IFE (you have to pay to access). The content wasn't the best, but could've been way worse.
Around midnight, I was craving some snacks, so I purchased a pepsi, pringles chips and some water. The FA also gave me some chocolates which was really nice and thoughtful.
For the rest of the flight, I just slept and I slept through the second meal service.
Disembarking
I was quite tired and couldn't take any photos of the airport experience. Cairns Airport was a nice airport and it was easy navigating around. I would say I enjoyed this flight overall, almost no bad things about thr flight.
Thanks for sharing this FR! Now that VA serves this route from HND on their MAX-8s, should add some healthy competition on the Japan-Australia LCC market. With a row to yourself, really makes the JQ experience pleasant since the tight seat pitch issue can be easily avoided and the rest of the hard product is consistent with legacy carriers (decent screen and USB charging). What do they charge for the IFE use?
Thank you for the comment! Yes, there is quite some competition between VA and Jetstar, however VA flies to Tokyo's Haneda Airport which I prefer and is closer to the city of Tokyo. Having a whole row to myself was definitely nice and made the experience way better. In terms of the IFE, I'm pretty sure it costed $10 and the content was alright. There's also a flight map (thats free).
Nice to see a review on Jetstar's long-haul experience! The cabin itself is much nicer than most other long-haul low-cost carriers, even if you do have to pay for the IFE. When I was in Cairns earlier in March I was surprised to see multiple flights from Japan! It just shows how popular Cairns is as a destination.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comment! Long haul products on low-cost carriers can always be interesting, but Jetstar didn't disappoint to my suprise. The seat was actually good, you get all the things you would get on a full service airline including USB ports and power sockets which are free to use too. Since Virgin Australia flies to Tokyo as well with their B737 max 8's, there is some competition between the airlines. Really nice of you to visit my hometown Cairns, I hope you enjoyed it!