Star Class a Joke

[MEL_Traveller]

The trick with *Class, like QF premium economy, is to get a bulk-head seat. Plenty of room in front - put a bag down on the ground and your legs are horizontal.

Sitting like that for $2500 to HNL, or $1600 to BKK (and getting J class points) vs the QF J class fares of over $4000-5000 makes it bearable. (Plus out of MEL to BKK it is the only non-stop points earner towards QFFF.)

If I can't get the bulkhead it makes for a fairly uncomfortable flight with, as you say, people climbing over.

 

[anat0l]

The trick with *Class, like QF premium economy, is to get a bulk-head seat. Plenty of room in front - put a bag down on the ground and your legs are horizontal.

...

If I can't get the bulkhead it makes for a fairly uncomfortable flight with, as you say, people climbing over.

The problem is that the two sets of bulkhead seats on the sides of the aircraft are bassinet positions. (As a corollary, this is sometimes a problem of Star Class - or JQ for that matter - in that you're almost always going to get kids! Just pray like hell that they remain quiet little angels (no puns intended!)).

I think seat 2D doesn't have a seat in front of it (in row 1), giving superior leg room and no person to recline onto you. Of course, you'll still need to move for the passenger in 2E if they need to get out. As a result, 1E or 1F maybe good seats to try.

These seats are typically blocked out quickly, so I have no idea how one can snag them (having QFF status doesn't work).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The problem is that the two sets of bulkhead seats on the sides of the aircraft are bassinet positions. (As a corollary, this is sometimes a problem of Star Class - or JQ for that matter - in that you're almost always going to get kids! Just pray like hell that they remain quiet little angels (no puns intended!)).

Thankfully I have never had babies on any of my *class flights

I usually go for the 1E or F. 2D is a good back up but you can get your feet knocked by service carts if you're not careful. i always check before paying if good seats are available - if not then I'll take another flight.

 

[serfty]

For overnight flights I rate 2D>1E>1F>1B>1J>1A>1K>any other seat.

(No bassinet in front of 1E/F)

 

[Mrmaxwell]

I am assuming the QF flight from HNL back to SYD was a replacement for the JQ flight?

If so how did other PAX miss out on seats?

Were these PAX put up in HNL hotels overnight?

 

[markis10]

I am assuming the QF flight from HNL back to SYD was a replacement for the JQ flight?

If so how did other PAX miss out on seats?

Were these PAX put up in HNL hotels overnight?

On wednesdays there is a JQ flight and then a QF flight 4 hours later, given the OPs comments I suggest it was a Wednesday flight.

 

[Airbumps]

As the pilot came in to Honolulu landing was too fast told to go around again, frightened the daylights out of passengers as we took of from a low decline then rapidly to an incline, pilot came on 5 minutes later told us the story and said sorry.

How on earth can you blame the pilot doing his job, Ie performing a go around when requried, on Star Class being a poor product. You think only LCCs perform go arounds

What happens to all those poor poor people travelling in First Class on QF mainline when their aircraft performs a go around??? I guess you'd be asking for some sort of compensation?! :shock:

 

[harvyk]

Limewood, most of your complaint could happen with any airline. All airlines cancel flights at the last minute, most airlines don't have a second empty plane sitting around at end of line ports "just in case", and in the case of cancellations, they sometimes happen too close to departure time to make it worthwhile contacting each pax. (Calling a pax whilst they are on the way to the airport doesn't make a lot of sense, especially if there is a chance the flight could still take off)

Star Class is simply a way of prepaid food and entertainment, with a slightly nicer seat. Nothing more or less, and jetstar don't actually claim it's anything more. (I have yet to see the JQ \ Neil Perry inspired meals)

As the pilot came in to Honolulu landing was too fast told to go around again, frightened the daylights out of passengers as we took of from a low decline then rapidly to an incline, pilot came on 5 minutes later told us the story and said sorry.

As for this comment, well what would you rather, a pilot that decided to go the a landing anyway? Go-around are extrememly common across all airlines. Infact I would bet that most if not all the regulars on this forum have been in at least one if not multiple go-arounds (myself included, and it wasn't on JQ)

 

[anat0l]

As the pilot came in to Honolulu landing was too fast told to go around again, frightened the daylights out of passengers as we took of from a low decline then rapidly to an incline, pilot came on 5 minutes later told us the story and said sorry.

Ah yes, missed approaches.

The rapid re-ascent is normal for an event like this. Yes, it will scare the socks off a fair few pax, but it is a necessary part of the manoeuvre. In this case, I wonder why the pilot was told that he was proceeding too fast in the first place...

I've had two missed approaches before, although one was "deliberate" . The other non-deliberate one happened on a BNE-SYD flight. An aircraft had some sort of malfunction at SYD and was stuck on our runway. We had to execute a missed approach and be vectored in for another landing. Same rapid ascent deal and same "five minutes later [pilot] told us the story and said sorry."

 

[MEL_Traveller]

How on earth can you blame the pilot doing his job, Ie performing a go around when requried, on Star Class being a poor product. You think only LCCs perform go arounds

I'm guessing the OP thinks that LCCs might attract less experienced pilots who mishandled the approach in the first place.

I'm not saying i agree with that concept - particularly with someone like JQ, but the stories of USA regional airlines employing brand new pilots with relatively few hours experience for salaries as low as 20-30k are a bit scary!

 

[straitman]

I'm guessing the OP thinks that LCCs might attract less experienced pilots who mishandled the approach in the first place.

Not correct at JQ levels. It does happen in the back blocks but to be realistic people need to get experience somewhere.

I'm not saying i agree with that concept - particularly with someone like JQ, but the stories of USA regional airlines employing brand new pilots with relatively few hours experience for salaries as low as 20-30k are a bit scary!

As above. Remember the brand new pilot is flying with an experienced pilot.

 

[mannej]

Again, JQ or not missed approaches happen to any airlines. I think you may have taken the term too fast literally, but it could really mean a few things, i.e a previous plane was too slow to vacate the runway, a wind change etc...

These maneuvers are part of every pilots training, so there really isn't much to worry about. A missed approach should not be the reason you call an airline poor.

 

[drewbles]

Have been on several QF flights that have had go-arounds issued. Some were due to another a/c on the ground failing to clear the active runway (ground a/c fault), others were weather related (storms on landing in SYD) and another was because a pax ignored the seatbelt sign and decided they wanted to use the lav during *very* short finals.

Should we say QF were to blame for allowing a pax to be carried that had a weak bladder?

Go-arounds are an everyday thing and happen for a variety of reasons. JQ may be low cost, but their pilots are all trained the same way as QF. If you've never been involved in a go-around (been on a plane that's had one, or not seen one) you don't fly very much

 

[harvyk]

Go-arounds are an everyday thing

It's "so everyday" that it's the "out of the ordinary" situation which pilots receive the most training for.

(source "Plane Talking" on Q-Radio)

 

[Batesy]

Here's my tip on flying JQ international. Fly in Y. Book the extra legroom seats, 44AB 44JK have more legroom than any starclass seat. Pack your own food, have a big feed at the airport or QC prior to leaving. Rent the portable entertainment units, use two Jetstar mags to give you more space on the table for the entertainment units. Buy drinks on board, even re-fill the one water bottle that they give you from the tap at the bulkhead.
Take your own NC headphones, I-pod , inflatable cushion and little blanket

I did this on Christmas day to Bali and have done this return to coughet. All woked well and on the coughet trip I got the flights return for $420 plus the units and seats was around $540 return.

In regards to the go-around, its not a relevent comment, you are not a pilot nor were you on the flight deck. Also my pilots have all been QF pilots on JQ int, not JQ pilots.

My 2 cents complete. Batesy.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Mrs JV & I flew *Class to Ho Chi Minh & back a couple of years ago; paid $601 each, in each direction; total $2,402. I got 7,440 QFF points each way (with cabin and status bonuses; Mrs JV got 2,126 less). Plus 120 SC's each way for each of us. Service was fine, food good and wine? I drank my fair share and then some! Plus lounge access. Bloody good deal IMHO.

Sat in 1A & 1B: plenty of room. Left on time and arrived on time. Can't complain, especially when I looked at the price of a true business class seat with QF or Vietnam Airlines around the same time.

Of course it is extremely annoying when a flight is cancelled and it puts you in the wrong frame of mind about everything else that happens. Most important thing is you arrived safely.

As I can never afford to pay for a business class seat myself, *Class is always an option and it depends on the deals available at the time.

JV

 

[dajop]

If I'm paying, I would happily do SYD-HNL again in Starclass (noting the price differential for QF J - which is just insane). Who actually pays $10k+ to go to HNL anyway?

Someone who then continues on the US, does a few short domestic sectors in F then flies back home via HKG...... insane price for a dreamtime seat on 763.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Can't complain, especially when I looked at the price of a true business class seat with QF or Vietnam Airlines around the same time.

Yes it sounds like an ok price.

However *Class is not business class even though it earns at J rates.

*Class is basically premium economy and really should be compared to that and not the cost of true J.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Yes it sounds like an ok price.

However *Class is not business class even though it earns at J rates.

*Class is basically premium economy and really should be compared to that and not the cost of true J.

True; but not sure there was premium economy available on that route at that time.

 

[markis10]

Yes it sounds like an ok price.

However *Class is not business class even though it earns at J rates.

*Class is basically premium economy and really should be compared to that and not the cost of true J.

Maybe you should be saying *class is not comparable to business class offered by others, Jetstar clearly state they consider it business class:

Jetstar Airways - StarClass, International Business Class Travel

Interestingly they did not use that line when it first was offered.