afterDawn

Before we begin, you might like to peruse my previous trip reports;

1. A Korean Odyssey - MEL-ICT RT with QF and KE, and side trip to CJU with 7C.
2. Journey to the Pearl of the Orient - MEL-HKG RT with QF and CX.

This is a TR of a recent jaunt i took to Thailand, with a view toward contrasting Jetstar's Long Haul economy product with its much vaunted International 'StarClass'. Jetstar's marketing suggests an economy experience full of good times complemented by low fares and a more exclusive, refined StarClass service. This being my first experience of both these travel classes, i was excited to see if they lived up to my (admittedly low) expectations.

The trip was conceived and booked during a Jetstar Friday Fare Frenzy for AU$470 RT. I later upgraded the return leg to StarClass for AU$249 under a promotional offer.

afterDawn

Part I - Melbourne to Bangkok

Arriving at the international terminal i posed momentarily, as i always do, to gaze in awe at the FIDS. Granted, in Melbourne the pickings are slim with flights to SIN, KUL, BKK and LHR (with the odd CHC and AKL thrown in for good measure) but i enjoyed it nonetheless.

Jetstar's international checkin area is shared with V Australia, and is in an alien corner of the terminal which i could swear was empty space when i last saw it in May. It's very secluded from other checkin desks and would struggle to accommodate an entire plane load of pax come peak season.


Small-ish checkin area.

JQ 29 MEL-BKK
STD 1410 STA 1955
ATD 1520 STA 2030
Seat 44E

Checkin was swift. My QF FFP still has me listed as a child and this had to be removed from my PNR before i could be checked in as i was seated in an emergency exit row. This was soon fixed. I obtained my ritual pre-flight feed at McDonalds - Burger King unfortunately being closed for renovations.

Immigration and security cleared, i did a full lap of the gate area inspecting the meager aircraft spotting opportunities.


SQ A380 resting before returning to SIN later that night.


UA 744 shortly bound for SYD and LAX (with connections to ORD, JFK and DFW; the extremely long boarding announcement informed everyone)

With a while to go before boarding i sat and read a book. Unfortunately a loud trio of bogans behind me made this task difficult - i found it hard to concentrate as they vivdly recounted experiences of travel to such exotic destinations as Bali, Vanuatu and Phuket. This was to be a recurring theme throughout the Jetstar experience.

Boarding was on time, and the cabin interior looked fantastic as we found our seats. My seat was still covered in crumbs from the inbound flight.


Cabin shot.


Our bulkhead seating.


Ample legroom. Of course, this is not hard, given my 5 foot 8 inch frame.

It took a while for all pax to embark and stow their considerable hand luggage. I was struck by how boring the bulkhead in front of me was. At that moment the captain announced a 30 minute delay due to late arrival of the aircraft. Shortly thereafter he further extended the delay because of a lack of a towing truck for the aircraft. Audible groans could be heard throughout the cabin. A lady next to me was especially vocal - only afterwards did i realise she had to connect to AF BKK-CDG soon after this flight. Eep.

Take off was smooth and fast. Once we reached cruising altitude an FA began doling out Video On Demand (VOD) Units. I had prepurchased this service for $12 some weeks prior. The unit was extremely heavy and had a very limited selection. Further to this, the fact that is sat on the tray table meant it was very close to my face and difficult to watch. It gave me a headache after a while.


Sharp angle and close distance made this episode of Two and a Half men especially painful.

Meal service quickly followed. I had also prepurchased this - the cost of $30 seemed reasonable, and i had been meaning to try this out. The choices were chicken, fish or vegetarian pasta. I chose the pasta. I expected to be handed a proper airline meal (silly me) but instead i received an orange shoe box with a foil container of foot stuck into it.


What on earth is this?

The pasta was no better than one you could buy at a convenience store and heat in the provided microwave. Sides were a small serving of coleslaw, a small chocolate bar, and a cold bread roll. I ate the bread and chocolate.

I found myself bored out of my mind on this flight, the VOD contained few movies of interest, and the provided ear buds were awkwardly sized. I continually had to adjust the volume to a) account for the poor sound equality of the unit and b) drown out the loud conversations of several of my annoying cabin mates. Without wanting to sound elitist, it was obvious few of our travel companions had bothered to observe proper flying etiquette. But i digress.

Second meal service, was advertised as a 'snack service' and i immediately expected nothing from it. I was right - it was just a pie, ice cream and drink. When i last flew to BKK TG provided two full meals and snacks in the galley too. Lucky i ate beforehand.


Snack service.

The pie was extremely tasty, and i opted to drink tea with it. The way it was served struck me as quite odd.


Not what i'm used to :-)

We finally touched down in BKK having made up a little of the delay ex MEL. Immigration was swift and we were in the firm clutches of Kao San Road some 90 minutes after disembarkation.

The verdict; You get what you pay for, they say, and this experience exemplifies that perfectly. I was underwhelmed with my first LCC long haul experience, but in hindsight, my standards were far too high. Something seemed a little off the whole time, but if it allows me to travel more often i will most likely do it again.

afterDawn

Part II - Bangkok

I've travelled to Bangkok several times, and its always enjoyable. The combination of being relatively hassle free, english friendly and extremely good value for money is pretty hard to beat. To me, trip reports are about more than just the flights, so here is a brief rundown of what we got up to.

- Spent a day at Kanchanaburi, walking on the bridge over the river Kwai.
- Saw the gut-wrenching war museum, also at Kanchanaburi.
- Splashed around at the Sai Yok Waterfall - paradise on earth.
- Spent a day walking on and around the giant stupa at Nakhom Pathom.
- Rode bicycles all around the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, climbed countless stupas and temples.
- Attended an infamous ping pong show.
- Got a few suits tailored at bargain basement prices.

We also had plans to visit a british prisoner, Gary Jones, who is serving life at Bangkok's notorious Bang Kwang prison. He has always maintained his innocence and his plight is advertised through handwritten notes left on guesthouse noticeboards by fellow travellers. However mother nature stymied this plan - a torrential downpour made it impossible to travel to the prison by boat.

Five days passed quickly (and cheaply) and soon we were in a packed airport shuttle bus. As the beautiful Suvarnabhumi airport came into view against the night sky i reflected on how at home i felt in Thailand, and that after this experience, i will definitely be back sooner, rather than later.

mattm199

Looking forward to the rest of the TR with interest - it must be quite a different experience for the new or infrequent traveller going overseas, rather that us jaded "Frequent Flyers"
And is it just your photo composition, or does the JQ check-in line really lead right by McDonalds?

afterDawn

Part III - Bangkok to Melbourne

Suvarnabhumi Airport is one of the world's finest pieces of architecture in my humble opinion, and it was certainly lit up in all its glory as we strode into the terminal and out of our last balmy night in Bangkok.

We made the trek to checkin row W, the furthest from the entrance, where Jetstar occupied 7 counters - 5 for economy and 2 for starclass.

JQ 30 BKK-MEL
STD 2115 STA 1030+1
ATD 2245 ATA 1135+1
Seat 4A

To describe Jetstar's StarClass as premium travel would require obligatory appending of quotation marks to either end of the word 'premium.' Seeing as the one way BKK-MEL flight cost just over $500 seems to fly in the face of the very idea. So it was with some hesitation that i label this my first 'premium' travel experience.

It started very positively. There was no line at the dedicated checkin counter and the friendly agent was prompt, but nothing more. My request to add my QF FFP details (back) into the booking was recieved, but not completed. I thought something was the matter when we were handed regular Jetstar boarding cards, but no, it just seems StarClass pax get the same boarding pass stock as economy. Premium indeed.


StarClass checkin.

We had planned to make full use of the Qantas Lounge but had somehow miscalculated the departure time. Instead of the intended 2 hours, we now had around 45 minutes. A mad scramble ensued but after 56km of walking we eventually found the Lounge. Today it was full of Jetstar passengers.

[IMG]img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3602/4063196002_4662d2b8ff.jpg[/IMG]
We made it!

There was a meager selection of food on offer, including poor Pad Thai, but the bars were well stocked. Sufficiently lubricated, I made brief use of the internet to update my Facebook status with the fact that i was in the Qantas Lounge in Bangkok. The gate was a short walk away and we arrived just in time for the boarding announcement for StarClass passengers. Most of the crowd at the gate stood and began to shuffle forward, only to be told sternly by the gate agent that they were only permitted to board if they were in StarClass. We breezed past them and boarded via our own aerobridge.

Cabin crew warmly welcomed us onboard and offered assistance with stowing my suit packet. They were all smiles and it was pleasing to see.


My StarClass seat.

The seat was one of the biggest i've sat in and contained brilliant legroom :-)


Leg room.

A large box would have obstructed a taller man's leg room, and i mused as to what it was - Jetstar does not have IFE boxes because all units are handheld. Well, tray held.

Economy pax then filed past and gave me death stares - if only they knew that i had probably paid less for my seat than they had for theirs. I was inwardly smug. The doors soon closed and we received information from the flight deck that due to the raging thunderstorm outside that we wouldn't be going anywhere. The captain put the delay at around 30 minutes.

At this point i realised that my seat was broken, as the leg rest would not respond to its button. The flight attendant offered to check the records to see if something was the matter, and then returned to advise that yes, it was in fact broken. I looked at her dumbly for telling me something that i told her in the first place. She got the hint and offered to get me more water. In any case it was of no consequence. i was quite comfortable without the leg rest.

The delay was further extended for 20 minutes, and then 20 more. We finally pushed back around 1 hour 10 minutes behind schedule. After a long taxi and some time in queue we were airborne on a steep, fast climb.

The crew launched into the meal service immediately, firstly doing a quick drinks run. I got a vodka lemonade whilst my travel companion received the smallest glass of wine i have ever seen. The main meal options were pork with rice or pad thai. Given that my diet in Thailand was almost exclusively pad thai, i opted for the pork.

Although presented much more palatably, and containing a warm bread roll, the meal was essentially the same as what i received in economy. The hot dish was of slightly better quality.


My meal.

My companion chose the tofu pad thai and she similarly found it passable, but nothing more.


Her meal.

Once the trays had been cleared the crew handed out VODs. It was much more pleasant to view mine in StarClass than economy - the screen was a more appropriate distance from my face and the provided (proper) headphones were of excellent quality. Also, the cabin was quieter.


Much better VOD setup.


These headphone were fantastic.

The crew served desert consisting of chocolate cake and tea or coffee. Rather full of alcohol, i declined the drink but gladly accepted the cake.


There was even room for the VOD and cake on the tray!

The cake was of a really high standard and it was only after i'd eaten it and licked the plate that it occurred to me that the VOD's programming was the same as the flight to Bangkok. The limited range of content meant that i had exhausted the interesting programs about four hours into that flight.

I watched the first few moments of 'Two and a Half Men' again and was out like a light. I slept for around 6 hours and awoke as the aircraft entered South Australia. It was the most refreshing sleep i'd ever had on a plane and i was feeling quite alert. From movements and sounds from the aft galley it seemed breakfast was about to be served.

The choices were either a plate of fresh fruit with yogurt or a bacon and egg roll. The roll looked particularly proud of itself, wrapped in gleaming foil. Naturally, i asked if i could have both. Although she was perplexed, the FA was happy to oblige.


My camera had given up the fight for life at this stage, so apologies for the photo.

The fruit was not sweet and the roll was greasy and stale, but i was hungry and glad to get them. The meal was accompanied with typical airline coffee. Seriously; have all airlines banded together in order to only serve terrible coffee? It's uncanny.

Towards the end of the meal service the crew began to lose their polish. Until this point they had been polite, courteous and professional. When serving breakfast and then collecting trays they became flustered and patronising, and their faces appeared to turn to stone. The change was rather abrupt. It was especially apparrent when the CSM came through requesting to collect VODs. I asked if i could keep mine seeing as we were more than 1.5hrs from descent. Although she said yes, her tone and manner implied that i was being difficult and making her life hard. She even sneered at me. True story.

But whatever, maybe she was sleep deprived. I didn't think much of it, it just needed to be mentioned.

I filled out my arrival card in the ensuing time and smilingly handed back my VOD at the top of the descent. Ms. Attitude chose not to return the favour. Touchdown was smooth and we were at the gate within minutes.

At immigration, GateFail saw me have to walk back to a manned desk; the SmartGate apparently didnt think my passport photo looked enough like me. Priority baggage, it seems, would be asking too much, and our bags arrived somewhere in the middle.

It took about an hour to get out of the terminal, which is fairly standard when coming home.


The verdict- Whilst definitely a quality product, and despite all the trimmings such as lounge access and priority check-in, the StarClass experience finds itself hamstrung between economy and premium economy. The lack of simple touches like menus and seat back entertainment (both of which are standard in economy on full service carriers) really detract from the overall quality of the service.

Given that full StarClass fares sell for over AU$1100 one way, i would expect many travelers to be found wanting. It seems Jetstar's StarClass comes with a high price tag, relative to Jetstar's economy product, but really doesn't do enough to justify it.

Endnote-I hope you had as much fun reading this trip report as i did writing it. Questions and feedback are always appreciated.

Keep exploring,

afterDawn

afterDawn

It would be fitting, wouldn't it, mattm199? Alas i think it is but a trick of the photo. Thanks for the feedback :-)

Arnur

Very interesting TR, afterDawn, and much appreciated. I disagree with your last statement, though. Unfortunately, seat back entertainment and printed menues are not something to be taken for granted on many "full-service carriers" here in Europe I personally, would rate the priority check-in and lounge access pretty highly, but I guess that boils down to individual preferences.

camsean

Thanks for posting. Gee that 'foot in a shoe box" must have given you a shock .

Ask yourself as well, how much extra was your TG fare with two full meal services? I have to say though, the only reason I would fly a LCC long haul was if the price difference was sufficiently large, which i guess it was in your case.

makin'miles

Thanks for the report.

sobore

Nice report, StarClass seems to have an identity crisis as it falls short of a true premium product.

afterDawn

This is absolutely correct - the price difference here was astronomical. Standard economy fares go for around ~AU$800 RT. Given a choice between paying this and ~AU$850-900 with TG, id always go the latter ;-)

And of course, all the while i was acutely aware of the fact that JQ is an LCC, hence my low expectations.

Thanks for reading :-)

camsean

Sounds like we are in perfect agreement.

Thanks for writing!

larrywilmot747

Interesting TR thanks for posting, I didnt think it looked very premium at all.

Cheers Larry.

ORDnHKG

Nice report ! ^

All I can say is they are a very non ecofriendly airline. They have to use so much disposable plastic basically for everything, and it cost them as well. If they are so cheap, why not use paper tray instead, at least it looks less cheesy.

Even though you said in star class they should have in seat PTV and menus. I think they already need a lot of improvement in the current product. Legroom is very tight and the meal is downright cheap and horrible.

LOLABUNNY

I have never been on JETSTAR internationally but why would you If to Bangkok You can get a much better experience and Mileage if a member of any of the Star Alliance Frequent Flyer Programmes with Thai.I am a Royal Orchid Plus Member by the way in case anyone is wondering