Does anybody fly Jetstar Business Max??

[mannej]

Scoots 'Business' is little more than Premium Economy, as is the same for Jetstars 'Business'. AirAsiaX is probably the closest to having a proper J product.

Seat wise yes, but D7 is economy in all other factors.

 

[medhead]

Fair enough - didn't want to sound too ranty - but for what the product is - I think that it can be good value or very bad value depending on the size of the Max bundle. Its all in the value of the product, and thats always related to its varying competitors and varying times/routes.

And I take dajop's point in his post - in some cases the Max bundle is okay, but in others its a bit out-there in terms of its pricing....

I completely agree. That's why I would use it if I can get the right price. Really for me there are 3 factors: price, comfort and earning ability. There is a trade off between these 3 factors.

I still think comparisons are only marginally relevant for the case when price is low and comfort is high and hence I don't care about my preferred earning. If the price is massive on a hypothetical competing j class but you get a fixed king size bed, sitting room and personal ensuite as well as on demand massages from virgins, I'm really not going to look at that and say JQ don't have a business class. But that's just me.


Sent from the Throne

 

[MichaelD]

Jetstar StarClass got me to WP1 with multiple trips to Japan, which we would always pick up during their excellent sales. From memory, we paid $400-$500 each way which was a no-brainer for leisure travel OOL/CNS-NRT/KIX.

However, since they took away SCs from Business fares, we haven't flown with them at all, and instead use Qantas JASAs + also buy Qantas J flights when they are (briefly) on sale.


Having said all of the above, if no other reasonable flight option presented itself, I would buy the Business Max fare for the SCs.

 

[elbarto]

StarClass????

If you watch Sunrise in the morning, then apparently they're sponsored by StarClass..

 

[Deleted member]

Jetstar StarClass got me to WP1 with multiple trips to Japan, which we would always pick up during their excellent sales. From memory, we paid $400-$500 each way which was a no-brainer for leisure travel OOL/CNS-NRT/KIX.

However, since they took away SCs from Business fares, we haven't flown with them at all, and instead use Qantas JASAs + also buy Qantas J flights when they are (briefly) on sale.


Having said all of the above, if no other reasonable flight option presented itself, I would buy the Business Max fare for the SCs.

I thought biz max gave you SC's anyway?

 

[eastwest101]

I thought biz max gave you SC's anyway?

That was the issue - no SC or points awarded in "Business Class" on JQ unless you buy the Plus or Max bundle, just because you are sitting up the front of JQ does not mean you automatically earn business class style SC and points - hence why I call it "Business Class" and not Business Class. It has been the pricing of those Max bundles that have been an issue for some.

 

[redmussie]

Sadly I agree Jet Star max to use the lounge get points and status credits. Did it because I had never flown Jetstar. Really in hindsight the value is not apparent. I was told that on Business class in Jetstar you cannot use the Qantas lounge unless its a max fare.

 

[mannej]

Sadly I agree Jet Star max to use the lounge get points and status credits. Did it because I had never flown Jetstar. Really in hindsight the value is not apparent. I was told that on Business class in Jetstar you cannot use the Qantas lounge unless its a max fare.

Check the Lounge Eligibility
Eligibility and Access to The Qantas Club lounges

 

[markis10]

Sadly I agree Jet Star max to use the lounge get points and status credits. Did it because I had never flown Jetstar. Really in hindsight the value is not apparent. I was told that on Business class in Jetstar you cannot use the Qantas lounge unless its a max fare.

Not true, unless the lounge is closed and no one can use it, which happens more and more now.

 

[Volando]

Another "hear hear" from me that the old Starclass represented pretty decent value. I flew it a couple of times MEL-BKK for the J SCs and lounge access. both times flights bought on sale for around $1200 return. At that price my expectations were realistic and actually slightly exceeded in terms of ok service and better than Y class wine offerings in-flight. (The meat pie on approach to BKK was more in line with my expectations!). J Max bundles though make J* a far less tempting proposition to BKK - especially as the SYD-MEL legs are in Y and the transfer process is a bit of a nuisance. a JASA (or JASA + cash) fare on QF metal from SYD represents far better value to me now.

 

[Deleted member]

Sadly I agree Jet Star max to use the lounge get points and status credits. Did it because I had never flown Jetstar. Really in hindsight the value is not apparent. I was told that on Business class in Jetstar you cannot use the Qantas lounge unless its a max fare.

Yep I seem to recall something like that

 

[oz_mark]

I was told that on Business class in Jetstar you cannot use the Qantas lounge unless its a max fare.

Business Class on Jetstar does not by itself get you into the Qantas lounge. However, if you have Gold or above status in QFF you can enter on that basis.

 

[BensAdventures]

I'm push this year to hit 2400sc's or more, and I've used Jetstar Bus Max on two return trips this year, one to BKK, and one to SIN. Both just OK. When you get the QF PE seats with in seat screens, life is a little better, but such a small amount of entertainment is disappointing. In the end though, I got what I wanted, lots of SC's, but I felt almost violated having to tick the 'Max' box and watch the price almost double!

 

[robbo10]

My personal opinion is there should be one "business class" product that - like the old star class - earns FF points and status credits.

I think paying several hundred dollars for the "max" where the only advantage for most of us is the status credits is a rip off.

I thought the old starclass product was generally very good value for the overall product - business max is not IMHO... and thus I have stopped flying jet star.

I also now tend to use JASA

 

[mannej]

I am not sure how good my memory is, but I seem to recall that there were some wise members on here.

They said to be careful of what you wish for.

This was in response to those wanting a PAYG type system on JQ.

Well it now seems that JQ have taken it literally...

 

[lmbasell]

I flew the old Star Class a few times (with full points etc) and I thought it was great. Would definitely fly again if they reintroduced the points on all fares but not attracted to the current offering.

 

[eastwest101]

True - but its the "bundling" of stuff that you may want with the stuff that you don't want that drives me crazy. And the sometimes silly bundle prices.

The only people for whom the Max bundle works for are SG or higher tier (whom get the QC lounge access if it actually is open), people for who cost is no object to collect SC and points and people whom have not got paid QC membership (why pay twice for QC access).

Aren't those people already going to choose QF mainline or another OW carrier anyway?

 

[Hvr]

And to follow on from eastwest101, I wonder how many people actually buy the Max bundle. I guess the demographic Jet* is targetting may not be the same one that flies a lot and may not see the value in the points.

I remember my first time in *Class on a mileage run to BKK to make WP for the first time. I was in the international business lounge and another gentleman entered and he quietly asked about the prices of the food in the lounge. He was amazed it was all included in the lounge experience.

He was travelling in *Class and it was his first time ever in a lounge. Maybe there is an opportunity to convert irregular flyers to become frequent flyers by withdrawing the Max pricing?

 

[elan]

I flew Business Max from Melb - Sin return in April, will most likely repeat the same leg later this year. I agree that this isn't a J service but I certainly did not expect J service and therefore was not disappointed. If anything i thought the service was OK. As has been previously mentioned it's a great way to garb SC, this will enable me to get to WP for the first time. As a Business Max customer, you do get to chose the seats behind the bulkhead resulting in more room. Also the flight arriving from Melbourne arrives nearly 4 hours earlier than QF resulting in having more choices for connecting flights. I flew on to Mumbai which gave me just enough time to have a glass of red in the QP before jumping on another plane. Another thing from my perspective is that the JQ Max flight is a bit over $800.00 cheaper than PE on QF. my 2 cents worth only.

 

[rockyroad]

When I fly to Asia, J* BMax is my preferred flight choice. Good service and excellent SC earn.