Jet Star Review: Economy Class. Phuket – Singapore – Bali

Phuket – Singapore with Jet Star

The airplane was an A320, which seemed quite old, referring to what the interior looks like. Flight details:

Flight No.	From/Terminal	To/Terminal	Dep. Time	Arr. Time
3K538	Phuket International Airport	Singapore Changi Airport – Terminal 1	9:55 PM	0:50 AM

Seat / cabin

The classic configuration for this type of aircraft is preserved in this flight, namely 3×3 seats. The chairs looked and felt old and very cramped. I say this because it was the most crowded flight I had (and it’s not the first time I fly with a low-cost company). I barely slipped on the chosen seat (I have only 1.85m, so I can not say that I am very tall), and once in the chair I did not have the opportunity or the space necessary to move very much. The chairs were old, very thick, and that made them pretty comfortable, especially if you were lucky to get in a good best position.

To choose places on the airplane, you will have to pay a fee of only a few dollars.

Flight Duration

It was a fairly short flight, lasting an hour and 55 minutes. Being such a short flight, you do not have much to do, you do not even sleep very much (although at that time it’s ideal to sleep) and you can hardly see a short movie if you have it on your laptop (maybe an episode of -a series).

Luggage policy Jet Star

Standard tickets, to say so (or the cheapest) included only a 7 kg hand baggage, without any checked baggage. We found this very late, because we expected the baggage policy to be more friendly.

With a large baggage (30l. Backpack) and a camera bag, it was a big problem for us because we have to somehow to fit everything in 7kg. (we have two luggage that together have 10kg.).

For this reason, we had to pay a fee to have a 10 kg luggage aboard. We did not think it was a nice thing from the company, but for us it was the only solution to get onboard the aircraft without worries.

More information about luggage policy can be found here: https://www.jetstar.com/au/en/flights/baggage

Check-in

Check-in was open 2 hours before take-off. And it went very fast, we just had to show the number of reservations, along with the passports, and the exit ticket from Indonesia. After 2-3 minutes of checks, we left the office happy that everything is fine.

For these flights there was no check-in online, having to do it at the airport. This may be a little tricky if you arrive late, so try to be on time, to have no worries about losing the flight.

Food

Jet Star is a low-cost company that is trying to make money from everything, it is expected that food will be counter-cost, and that’s the way it is. You can order it online beforehand, once you make the booking, or later. (they take care to remember you through different emails). You can buy it directly from the aircraft. So if you get hungry, you certainly will not die of hunger, if you have money. 😀

Bonus

On the occasion of this flight, we received a package from the company. It includes a blanket (made of recycled plastic), a neck cushion (you need to inflate), a toothbrush, toothpaste, earplugs, eye mask, and socks.

This package gives you everything you need to get to get refreshed at the destination. Unfortunately for us, we had another fight and our travels continued.

Singapore – Bali with Jet Star

The plane was also an A320, but it looks much newer in the interior. Flight details:

Flight No.	From/Terminal	To/Terminal	Dep. Time	Arr. Time
JQ117	Singapore Changi Airport – Terminal 1	Denpasar Ngurah Rai Airport	5:20 AM	8:00 AM

Seat / cabin

Unlike the flight between Phuket and Singapore, this plane had a newer interior. And that could felt in the comfort of the seats and the extra leg space. This time it was much easier to sleep.

Flight Duration

Being a flight at a weird hour with a duration of 2 hours and 40 minutes, you can not do anything else except to try to sleep. If you are more resistant you can look at a movie (if you have a laptop or tablet) or even work, you have enough time. We did like the rest of the people on the plane and slept. 😀

Verdict

Although we are accustomed to low-cost companies, Jet Star has exaggerated a bit, especially the luggage policy. The interior of the first aircraft makes me think twice if a would recommend this company. A white ball for the sleeping kit, which made the trip much more enjoyable, although you were crammed like sardines.

So our verdict is that: if you want to get from one place to another cheap and if you do not have very heavy/big luggage it can be the ideal company for you. For our needs it is not appropriate and we can not say that we will choose it in the future. But everything will be reduced to the calculations made when searching for the plane to take us to the next destination.