My family of 5 (2 teens and a 10 year-old) will be flying from Cairns to Melbourne in August using the Qantas Aussiepass. As part of the pass, we can use either a Jetstar flight or a Qantas flight. The Jetstar flight is timed significanly better for us (a few hours earlier, much better for visiting relatives in Melbourne that evening), but I have read bad things about the airline (open seating creating a problem for families wishing to sit together, horrible leg room, etc.).

Does anyone have experience with Jetstar? On a trip of this length (3 hours and 20 minutes), is Jetstar so poor that we should wait for Qantas, even though the timing of the Qantas flight is less convenient?

I flew Jetstar from Melbourne to Cairns in January, primarily due to flight times (although the flight was also significantly cheaper than Qantas).

Our experience on the flight was positive. There were just 2 of us traveling, and we got a bulkhead seat, so legroom was not an issue.

You might be able to get into the early boarding group with a youngster, which should enable easy seating together.

They rent digiplayers for $10, which might keep the kids entertained. And they do sell food.

Our flight was about 90 minutes late, but I can't say whether that's a typical occurance with Jetstar.

I would fly them again...

Just check that your Jetstar flight is landing at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport (MEL) - not Avalon (AVV) which is closer to Geelong than Melbourne. I've had a look at their website and it appears that they do land at Tullamarine - but if you decide to go with them make sure!

We flew from Sydney to Tasmania on Jetstar and had no problems at all. We made sure we got there early for seat allocation and I am pretty sure they got families on board first. Its a no frills airline and you pay for alcohol which you don't on QANTAS but from my point of view perfectly acceptable. Just do NOT be late as they are quite inflexible in that regard.

Mary K, the flight is into Tullamarine.

Europewithkids, just as long as you are sure of that. I was talking to my friend yesterday about the same thing. he had just returned from Melbourne that day and he thought his flight on Jetstar was taking him to Tullamarine but they landed in Avalon. He said by the time they caught a bus from there and a train from where the bus took him to the suburb he wanted to go to it took 5 hours! He said he would never go to Melbourne again on Jetstar although he had no problem with the flight itself. Sorry to worry you but just be ABSOLUTELY sure you will NOT land at Avalon. Good luck!

With three kids you will get an early boarding pass so you will be able to sit together. There is slightly more room than Virgin...but they do pack em in !

Hi, judging by your byline and that you have an Aussie Pass, I'm guessing that you are initially coming across from Europe to then travel around Australia? Anyway, just to let you know our experience:- we travelled from the UK with BA on a similar deal but went Business class. We then tried to get on a Jetstar flight from Sydney to Coolangatta. We were going to be charged $550. for excess baggage. This was eventually argued down (by me having a massive hissy fit). But as we were then flying out from Brisbane we had no choice but to take all our luggage with us which was significantly heavier than the luggage allowance which is pitiful on Jetstar. In addition, not even our carry on would fit into their piddling little checker things at the check in desk - (bags mind you that we have used all over the world). Whilst our problems were compounded by going business on the first leg, it will still happen to you if you go economy. Unless hell freezes over I will not travel with them again during an international leg it is simply too costly. If you go with Qantas, your international luggage allowance should be taken into account. Check first, but I believe this is the case, as it certainly was when we flew to Melbourne on a different leg of our journey with Qantas. Good luck, I hope this helps you to make a decision. Have a great time.

jjah, thanks so much for raising the baggage allowance issue. I had thought of it and have been in contact with Qantas about it. We are coming from the United States and Qantas sent me something saying that U.S. law requires that the international baggage allowance apply to all foreign domestic flights when part of an international itinerary. They assured me in writing that this applies to Jetstar on my itinerary. They even told me that I should bring the email with me on my trip in case there is any confusion. Jetstar rules, which can be found on the Q&As on their website, indicate the same, although in language that is not as crystal clear. Bottomline -- I have this all in writing and if I have an issue with Jetstar, I am going to hold Qantas liable for any costs I incur (the booking is with Qantas and my flight number is a Qantas codeshare, not Jetstar).

Dear Europewithkids, well you are HEAPS smarter than we were! well done. I should have thought of this, but didn't. In that case I would go Jetstar.

Have you ever been to Europe or the UK and used EasyJet? if you have, they are virtually identical and that should give you a better idea. I have lived in the States and at the moment there is no equivocal airline that I know of.

The only hassle is the open seating issue and where you land. However, if you have sorted out where you land, Marko was correct, with children you should go to the front of the line and that problem will be solved.

May I suggest that you buy some Melatonin tablets before you go? they are not available in Australia as they are in the States and they are a godsend for jetlag. Also, some tips for flying that far with kids:- (I have a 9 year that has spent her life in a plane) buy them every electronic device that you can afford to keep them occupied (ipods etc) A small personal DVD player -is worth its weight in gold - buy one that is multi regional and you can then buy different DVD's in Australia for the return leg.
Cheers. JJAH.

Thanks for all the advice. Yes, I checked out where the flight lands in Melbourne (it is indeed Tullamarine, not Avalon). We have been to Europe, but not used Easyjet. I am not sure if my 10 year-old will qualify us for earlier boarding, but we will sit separately if we have to. The flight time for the Jetstar flight just works much better for us than the Qantas flight. We have many electronic devices -- the problem is how to charge them in the air. Qantas has personal entertainment systems on their flights, so at least they will have that. I understand Qantas does not have the best leg room in Economy but the price is right and they do the flights nonstop from Los Angeles. I will look into melatonin.

Regarding baggage restrictions...

My understanding was that your onward domestic flight would typically honor your international baggage allowances/weight.

However, if you pick up a standalone Jetstar leg, and it is not connected to an international flight, I think you'll be subject to the standard allowanes, which can be restrictive on Jetstar.

Now that this topic is tlaking about carry-on baggage allowances, I thought it might be worth noting that Australian carry-on restrictions are amongst the toughest around. You're not supposed to have more than 41 linear inches (it's 45 or more on US & most European Airlines) and it shouldn't weigh more than 15lbs. On my last few domestic flights my hand-luggage has been weighed and I find that I have to use a different carry-on from the one I use when travelling to/in Europe so that it will fit into the overhead bins.