Jetstar question
 

I'll be travelling on an AussiePass for my honeymoon in September. The AussiePass limits you to Qantas flights (and Jetstar flights with a codeshare flight number). Unfortunately there is no way to get from Ayers to Hobart in one day without buying a standalone Jetstar flight. So I have 2 questions:

1) If my Qantas flight from Ayers->Sydney is late, forcing me to miss my Jetstar connection, what happens? Couldn't find anything about it on the website
2) Do you think the normal Jetstar luggage allowance would apply, or the international one (as discussed in a previous thread)?

Thanks for any advice!

Regarding question 2: I strongly suspect Jetstar will hold you to their standard domestic baggage allowance of 20 kg per person. We flew international business class on Qantas and made sure to compliment them profusely on their wonderful skybeds when we flew them domestically. I think it helped because we were a few kilos over the limit and they never mentioned it. Jetstar was very quick to charge us for the excess baggage.

On #2, Qantas says the international allowance will apply as long as it is part of an international itinerary. This is part of U.S. regulations and they emailed me their policy:

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your Email.

We attach a copy from our baggage policy which applies directly to the
question you have raised. You can print a copy of this Email to take on
your travels in case the question should arise :

BAGGAGE - GENERAL EN 19APR05 2301Z
BAGGAGE ALLOWANCES : COMBINED SYSTEMS
================================================== ============
LAST UPDATE: 24SEP02 LOADED: AISQFHB02MAR05

PIECE AND WEIGHT SYSTEMS
------------------------
-BAGGAGE ALLOWANCES-
IF A PASSENGER TRAVELS ON A SECTOR(S) DURING ANY PART OF HIS/
HER ITINERARY WHICH IS CLASSIFIED UNDER THE "PIECE" SYSTEM
BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE, US GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS REQUIRE THAT THE
"PIECE" SYSTEM SHALL BE APPLIED TO ALL PRECEDING AND/OR
SUBSEQUENT SECTORS TRAVELLED. QANTAS APPLIES THIS REGULATION
ON ALL QF SERVICES TO THE USA AND AREA 1.
FOR EXAMPLE: SYD QF LAX BA LHR QF SIN QF SYD

The piece system is the luggage system that applies to and from the United
States of America.

Kind Regards,
Qantas Network Operations

They assured me in writing that this absolutely applies to Jetstar as well.

Jetstar says (from their Q&As):

If you are travelling between a Qantas international flight and a Jetstar service then Jetstar will honour the international baggage allowance shown on your Qantas ticket (or ETicket receipt).

Excess baggage over and above your international baggage allowance limits will be charged according to Jetstar excess baggage charges at $7 per kilogram.

No single item may weigh over 32 kg.

I hope this helps.

I would try and stick to the 20kg weight limit so you don't have any problems. I thought it would be impossible to do for our month-long trip, but we did it. Jetstar has an (unwritten) additional 5-kg allowance per bag, meaning they won't charge you if your bag is under 25 kg.

TamlAm, I assumed you were talking about purchasing the flight under your Aussiepass for an additonal $100. However, you do say you are looking at a stand alone ticket on Jetstar and a quick look at their website shows that it may be marginally cheaper to do it as a stand alone. However, if you think you will exceed Jetstar's 20kg per person limit, it may be cheaper for you to purchase tickets as part of your Aussiepass. If you do, the 32kg limit will apply for the entire itinerary (I assume we are talking about a U.S. Aussiepass, not a Canadian one).

If you are uncomfortable, email Qantas yourself. Get them to send you an email like the one they sent me. If Jetstar gives you any trouble, then pay the additional alowance and go back to Qantas for reimburesement. However, if you look at the language from Jetstar's website, it is quite clear that they will honor the 32kg limit as well (per bag, not per person). Print out and carry this with you in case you get a ticketing agent who does not know.

Whatever you do, make your decision based on actual facts. Email Qantas, get on Jetstar's Q&As and ascertain the facts for yourself, as I did (it now turns out I will not even be flying Jetstar due to a change in my itinerary). Do not make decisions based on conjecture on this issue.

TamIAm, I don't know whether this will reassure you, but IMO 20 kg should not be a problem anyway. While we're not especially light packers, we've never had any problem staying within the 20 kg limit for checked babbage. I think our max was 36 kg between the two of us. That was for an extended visit to the US that required us to allow for a range of weather conditions. As it happens we took too much stuff and we've been refining our act since.

Don't forget that Australians aren't heavily into dress formality. This came up in another thread - none of the Australian contributors here could think of a restaurant anywhere in the country that would require a jacket and tie, nor does a night at the opera (and I'm not talking about the Marx Brothers movie).

"checked babbage" - sorry about that, I was writing before I had my second cup of coffee for the morning. Needless to say Charles Babbage (1791-1871) was an English mathematician, inventor of the Difference Engine and has been called the "father of computing". He also invented the cowcatcher, dynamometer, standard railway gauge, uniform postal rates, occulting lights for lighthouses, Greenwich time signals and the heliograph opthalmoscope. "He also had an interest in cyphers and lock-picking, but abhorred street musicians."

If you eat Chez Margo, jacket and tie are required. Pants or skirt are optional, though.....:P