February. 2010. Qantas Deals are better than Jetstar (currently)

[dealnodeal]

I was very upset today, when I found out our purchased Jetstar Saver tickets to Singapore in February 2010 is not a good deal.

My fault mainly. Believe Jetstar is always offering good deals. Well....

I am upset with my decision, and the situation where Qantas deal is only $280 difference for 2 of us via Jetstar! i.e. $140 each, and where we could have got our flyer points too! Also, maye on a A380 flight to and back!

The Jetstar Saver deal cost us $1600, with 20kg and no flyer points. The not that comfortable part is to and back via transit in Darwin for 2 hours. On a A320 maybe.

Argg......

Tried caling Jetstar to see I could switch the tickets to Qantas. "Sorry, you would not be able to do that."... and the rest per Jetstar fare policies.

Anyway.

We will now make it a point to double check with Qantas before going Jetstar!

JUst thought I would share this experience.

Can't get this silly deal off my mind! :-|
Phill

 

[dajop]

I was very upset today, when I found out our purchased Jetstar Saver tickets to Singapore in February 2010 is not a good deal.

My fault mainly. Believe Jetstar is always offering good deals. Well....

Welcome to AFF! I hope you can learn some things here to avoid this type of situation in the future.

Jetstar's whole marketing campaign is designed to make you think and do exactly what you did, believing that they do offer good deals (by and large they do - but often not the best deals).

I assume you are talking from Melbourne to Singapore (or connecting at Darwin from another city?) - as I live in Singapore and my partner in Melbourne, I have had my fair share of experiences of booking tickets between the two cities (in both directions) and have yet to resort to Jetstar. They actually seldom offer the best deals, and for every booking one, two or all three of Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Emirates were cheaper than Jetstar (by the time you factor in luggage and meals), and there's the FF points on top of that. Although due to the financial crisis, this year has probably been the exception, and all of three full service carriers have engaged in heavy discounting.

Another trick of Jetstar on this particular route that is surprisingly common - sometimes you can buy a return fare from Melbourne to Darwin and a return fare from Darwin to Singapore on exactly the same flights and dates for less than Melbourne to Singapore in one booking (and I'm not talking $10, I've seen the difference as much as $200 on a return ticket.)

Anyway, we all live and learn, and at the very least hope you enjoy the flights:!:

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

at the very least you should always do a search on zuji / webjet / expedia

some site that will show multiple airlines for a particular destination.

if you're flexible with ya travel plans often you can pick up full service carriers at bargain prices.

I was very happy with emirates getting me to bkk for < 600 return where on JQ that would have been more expensive + via Melbourne from Sydney.

no 1 airline is the cheapest all the time.

 

[JohnK]

Not that long ago I did some research on cheap airfares SYD-BKK return with checked baggage and golf clubs. A lot of people would be surprised that the full service carriers were cheapest.

Jetstar has somehow brainwashed people to believe that they are always the cheapest. Yes they are the cheapest f you want fly with Jetstar on the first/last flight of the day on the 3rd Tuesday/Wednesday in June 2010....

 

[Alanslegal]

I was very upset today, when I found out our purchased Jetstar Saver tickets to Singapore in February 2010 is not a good deal.

My fault mainly. Believe Jetstar is always offering good deals. Well....

I am upset with my decision, and the situation where Qantas deal is only $280 difference for 2 of us via Jetstar! i.e. $140 each, and where we could have got our flyer points too! Also, maye on a A380 flight to and back!

The Jetstar Saver deal cost us $1600, with 20kg and no flyer points. The not that comfortable part is to and back via transit in Darwin for 2 hours. On a A320 maybe.

Argg......

G'day Phil, welcome to AFF.

I know its a bummer when you find out there is a better deal but hey, I guess you made a decision at the particular time that you felt comfortable with. On the flip side of things, what would have happened if the price went upwards instead? I guess the airlines can't say 'fork over that additional money now, can they?'

Anyway, I guess your handle (dealnodeal) reminds me of the actual TV show Deal or No Deal.... The bank has offered you $15K and its down to "Deal or No Deal?" The audience is begging you to take the deal and then you seal the deal ...... however in the end, the case you were holding had the magic $200K.

Well enjoy your trip regardless, sure it will be filled with lots of good memories.

 

[Fifa]

Yes, you live and learn - but at least it isn't a really expensive mistake and you are informed for next time!

I recently booked fares to Bangkok and it was cheaper with Thai than Jetstar (and you get fed and entertained with Thai). Another recent o/w fare AKL to SYD was cheaper with Qantas than Jestar (and again we get food, points etc included)

 

[Foreigner]

I thought QF offer of saver fares in PE sydney-singapore was rather special ($2,186) but I booked with BA with a much cheaper cost of $1,725!

 

[anat0l]

I thought QF offer of saver fares in PE sydney-singapore was rather special ($2,186) but I booked with BA with a much cheaper cost of $1,725!

There's the merits of BA WT+ vs. QF Y+ to be had in the consideration of that difference, although for about $300 that is quite significant.

Unless you are referring to QF and BA marketing PE for the same flight (i.e. one is selling PE seats on their metal; the other is selling PE seats for their codeshare).

 

[Alanslegal]

Another point is 'you' really need to shop around - spend some good time searching all your bases because you assume one price is good, but its possible that something is better.

Just following that BA WT+ example, I was looking at BKK-SYD-BKK and BA's website shows it as ~$1700 but I searched expedia.com.au for the same days, and you know what, they had it for ~$1350! Pretty good really.

Back to Y class BKK-SYD-BKK and expedia.com.au on the same days show it around ~$1100 ... then heading straight to BA or QF's site and its much cheaper being approximately ~$950!

So the moral is - shop around esp. if you're the one that is forking over your hard earned $$$

 

[JohnK]

Just following that BA WT+ example, I was looking at BKK-SYD-BKK and BA's website shows it as ~$1700 but I searched expedia.com.au for the same days, and you know what, they had it for ~$1350! Pretty good really.

Haven't seen those sort of prices since QF introduced premium economy ~12 montrhs ago. Shame I can't make use of the airfares as they would help requalify Platinum.

 

[supersizeme]

As annoying as this is - don't panic too much!! I have recently had my first two flights on Jetstar (work booked them) and here were the positives:

- I found seats more comfortable for sleeping than Qantas Y
- You can have your entertainment for just $10
- Passengers seemed to be better behaved than on most Qantas flights I've experienced (people expect less and seemed to just sit there quietly - boarded a QF flight just after and experienced 4 different abusive passengers/situations in the Y front cabin alone!!)
- The food menu is quite extensive and I preferred to pay for something I wanted than to be served something I didn't feel like

It's not all bad!! Spend that little extra to make it a great flight!!

 

[dealnodeal]

Thank you all for the feeedback and experience.

I am 'letting' it go now... that feeling of making that 'silly deal' with JetStar.

Honestly, do not mind the transits and time 'lost'. Ouch on not getting the fly points! My partner and I are planning a EU trip maybe in 2012, so getting more points is always good.

Also, if I get the business trip in Sep/Oct, it should cover most of the lost points! This time, I made sure the PA book me on the A380!

Cheers!