Jetstar Sydney to Phuket

Date: December 2010

Destination: Sydney to Phuket, Thailand return

Aircraft: Airbus A330

Flying time: Sydney to Phuket 9hrs 15mins|Phuket to Sydney 9hrs 05mins

Our last minute decision for hubby and I to go to Thailand over the December/January holidays left us with not a lot of options.  Jetstar had the cheapest prices and even they weren’t cheap.  I would have loved to fly Thai Airways but at the time they were a lot more expensive.  This would be our first time overseas without the kids so although they were in good hands I was still feeling a little nervous.

We caught a Qantas flight to Sydney and at 3:15pm our Jetstar flight departed Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport.  Aware that Jetstar was a low cost carrier we copied some movies onto our laptop for watching on the flight.  We were lucky enough to get seats in the exit aisle which gave us plenty of leg room and was close to the water dispenser.  Although food wasn’t complimentary you could purchase hot noodles for not too much money along with other snacks and drinks.  That was enough to keep us going until we reached Phuket.  The seats were vinyl and the plane appeared relatively new.

the exit row allowed for plenty of leg room

There was a screen in front of us displaying the flight path and other information related to the flight.  Despite my reservations for flying this airline, my experience was quite positive.  The staff were friendly and we didn’t have any problems keeping ourselves entertained throughout the journey.

monitor displaying flight path, speed and distance/time to destination

view from our Jetstar window

coming in to Sydney on Jetstar

Pros: 

• Jetstar offers low cost options into Asia from Australia, especially if you book well in advance
• New planes
• Plenty of leg room where we were sitting in the Exit isle

Cons:

• Food and entertainment cost extra and the food options aren’t as good
• Jetstar is not part of an Alliance so you can only accrue points through their own Velocity rewards system

In Summary:

Although I wasn’t excited to be flying Jetstar I was pleasantly surprised by our experience.  I would recommend them when cost is a priority and for shorter length flights.