• expired

Return for Free (Fly Late Jan - Late Mar 2024): SYD-MEL $77, MEL-Hobart $111, Perth-ADL $219, BNE-Auckland $259 + More @ Jetstar

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Public access from 3/5, Club Jetstar early access on now.

"Australian budget airline Jetstar is celebrating its 19th birthday with free returns on select domestic and international flights.

“Whether you’re 19 or 91, the airline wants Aussies to ‘feel 19 again’ by booking on one of the 59 domestic and 28 international routes,” a Jetstar spokesperson said.

The sale includes domestic routes like Sydney to Melbourne with prices starting from $77, Melbourne to Hobart from $111 and Perth to Adelaide from $219.

International destinations have also been included in the sale.

Holidaymakers can travel from Brisbane to Auckland from $259, Perth to Bali (Denpasar) from $269 or Sydney to Phuket from $439.

A number of the routes include free return tickets.

Travel dates vary, but include tickets for early February to mid-March 2024.

Jetstar Group CEO, Stephanie Tully, said the airline’s free-return sales were proving incredibly popular.

“From day one, Jetstar’s been offering great low fares so Australians can fly more often. On our 19th birthday, we are as excited and as passionate as ever about making travel affordable for more people,” she said.

The sale includes 45,000 Return for Free fares and will last 48 hours, starting at 12.00am AEST Wednesday, May 3 and ending at 11.59pm AEST Thursday May 4, unless sold-out prior."

(Found on 7News)

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closed Comments

  • +53

    also included is free cancellations and delays..

    • +33

      If you get lucky, your flight gets cancelled straight away. But if you're unlucky, they'd delay your flight first for 6 hours and then cancel it afterwards.

      • +5

        Or like me, Cancel my 9am flight back from Adelaide to Sydney and tell me the next "available" flight is 10pm to melbourne than an overnight stay and flight at 7am in melbourne.

        • Or like me, cancel 3 hours before departure . With no replacement flights available for the next 3 days .

    • +7

      But can YOU cancel or delay? NO.

      One way flight. One sided rules.

  • +9

    Ohhhhh a cheaper way to play the orange roulette.

    If it goes your way you get to go, if it doesn’t just keep spinning until you do.

  • +2

    Nostar…caveat emptor…

    • To all that enter heeeeeere

  • +21

    For March 2023, on time performance: Jetstar at 61.9 per cent. Jetstar recorded the highest percentage of cancellations at 7.1 per cent during the month.
    https://www.bitre.gov.au/statistics/aviation/otp_month

    No thanks

    • +2

      Jetstar recorded the highest percentage of cancellations at 7.1 per cent during the month, followed by Virgin Australia Regional Airlines at 5.6 per cent, Qantas at 3.6 per cent, QantasLink at 3.2 per cent, Virgin Australia at 2.6 per cent, and Rex Airlines at 2.3 per cent.

      So it’s cheap, but comes with risks. It depends why you’re travelling and how flexible you can be.

      • It's like being on a waiting list for seats, but you have to wait at the airport

    • +2

      Departures On Time 59.6%
      Cancellations 7.1%

      You have a 40.4% chance to spend unnecessary time at the airport(s) and close to 1 in every 10 people will never take off in the first place (After a wait of course).

      • +3

        *1 in 14

        • *close to. 1 in 10 sounds better lol

          Of course you can always increase your odds by playing more than once

      • -2

        And a 1 in 250,000 chance of not surviving the landing.
        What's your point?

        • wot?

        • +1

          Napkin math, but it's a lot lower than that.

          There were approximately 4.5 billion people carried on RPT flights in 2019. Of those, 578 died. The numbers change a bit depending on how you tally them up but safe to say they are in that order of magnitude.

          That puts your chance of dying on a scheduled airline flight to be 578/4,500,000,000 or about 1 in 8,000,000. Take out deaths which occurred in slightly dodgy nations (by their aviation regulation and safety standards) and that lowers it a lot more. Then, of those, perhaps roughly a quarter occurred during landing. I think it would be safe to say your likelihood of dying on a flight directly in or out of Australia during landing is closer to 1 in 50,000,000, and I'd consider that very pessimistic.

          • @nigel deborah:

            Take out deaths which occurred in slightly dodgy nations and that lowers it a lot more

            Yeah this part is often overlooked in these stats. The global average might by 1:8000000, but take out the private planes and dodgy airlines from dodgy countries and it's almost 0.

            Quickly scanning this list and you have to go back to MH17 shot down by the Russians in 2014 to find a major one.

  • +35

    Last week I received an email from them notifying my flight was cancelled, I then realised I didn't book any flight with them. Next level trolling from Jetstar

    • +8

      They just pre empting you booking a flight.

  • +6

    FYI

    https://www.bitre.gov.au/statistics/aviation/otp_month

    Jetstar recorded the highest percentage of cancellations at 7.1 per cent during the month, followed by Virgin Australia Regional Airlines at 5.6 per cent, Qantas at 3.6 per cent, QantasLink at 3.2 per cent, Virgin Australia at 2.6 per cent, and Rex Airlines at 2.3 per cent.

  • +4

    This is timely as my flight was just cancelled

  • Don't forget to get your baggage weighed before boarding even if you're already running late

  • +8

    I know you alot of you guys hate Jetstar but honestly, its a budget airline, the cancellation rate isn't even that high. As someone else said, its 7% vs Qantas at 4%.

    Get there on time, make sure your carry on bag isn't over the limit, smile and be polite to the air stewardess and move on. I have yet to have a bad experience with them. You get what you pay for. Its cheap for a reason.

    • +8

      It's one of the most cancelled airlines in the world.

    • +3

      7% vs Qantas at 4%.

      Both are unacceptably high, but my bigger issue is that that these delays cost me too much in hours and money.

      I have been canceled twice now, both times jetstar didn't have a flight the same day back. The only way I could get back to work the next day was to pay for a last minute flight via Virgin. The only other option would be to take another day of Leave, which i'm not doing.

      • +1

        Okay, so book with Virgin going forward?

        I mean the stats are there and we all know it. I'm not saying its acceptable but its not exactly a surprise anymore.

        I say this again, you get what you pay for.

        • +8

          I am very obviously not getting what I payed for, if I was getting what I payed for I would have been on a plane instead of having to rebook with another airline.

          Im fine sitting through a delay or moving to a next flight but a "next flight" not existing till the next day is unbelievably terrible.

            • +3

              @Bargainitis:

              Also, if you book a flight knowing thats the last flight out with that airline that day - common sense tells me you might need to consider a Plan B if that flight is cancelled.

              Ah Yes, the "last" flight out on a Sunday from Adelaide to Sydney with them was 9am. I should have planned for that.

              Its unacceptably bad and I have flown budget airlines for years, it's no longer budget with the prices they charge and the amount of cancellations you have to plan for.

              • -6

                @Jofzar: sigh

                Not sure what else I can say mate. I have never had any major issues with them. YMMV obviously.

                • +2

                  @Bargainitis: YMWV when you get no milage from them. I've had 4 flights cancellled in the last 3 years.

            • +15

              @Bargainitis: Cheap tickets come with a risk? Really? The last time I check the reason why budget airlines are cheap is because they do not provide onboard entertainment, meals and check in luggages.

              The way you are defending Jetstar and Qantas seems like you are suffering from stockholm syndrome lol

              • -2

                @going nowhere: there are more reasons behind why budget airlines are able to keep their ticket prices lower. Meals, check in, no lounge, etc are only part of the reason.

                The other drivers are their need to make profit so flights that are not booked with sufficient passengers may be cancelled or combined with a later flight, etc.

                The way you have simply made a broad brush statement seems to suggest you don't really know how business works.

                • +4

                  @Bargainitis:

                  flights that are not booked with sufficient passengers may be cancelled or combined with a later flight

                  This should not be a reason for ticket prices to be low

                  • @yoshipau: man, all this just confirms how naive the general population is.

                    you can downvote me all you like. some people just can't face the truth / reality.

                    do you know how expensive it is to have a plane take off and land?

                    • fuel surcharges
                    • airport taxes
                    • pilot / staffing which are often paid per flight hour
                    • maintenance costs

                    charging lower fares means higher watermark to break even. Have a read of this. full flights are generally required to make the fares make sense. Inevitably, if you have half fill flights, yeah sorry, most likely that ain't taking off.

                    https://simpleflying.com/how-low-cost-carriers-make-money/

                    • +4

                      @Bargainitis: @bargainitis Resorting to calling the people that disagree with you naive doesn't make your point any stronger. We're saying budget airlines and punctual services are not mutually exclusive. Just google it and you can see many other budget low cost airline have reasonable performances. There will be no progress or innovation if people just accepted the status quo and accept bad service.

                      • +2

                        @cmyk: here's another set of statistics - instead of talking hearsay why don't we stick to some real figures.

                        https://www.timeout.com/news/revealed-the-airline-thats-most…

                        1. Turkish Airlines, 6.66 percent

                        2. EasyJet, 5.46 percent

                        3. Wizz UK, 3.14 percent

                        I don't know how you categorise Turkish Airlines - maybe you can call me cherry picking if you like - but 6.66%. Thats a full service airline. Easyjet definitely budget - 5.5% cancellation rate.

                        Here's another set of stats - does that make you feel better or worse?

                        https://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload/266935/103380/untitled…

                        I'm not trying to defend Jetstar, cancellations are not fun - all i'm saying is Jetstar is known to have cancellations so if you want to de-risk, dont fly with them.

                        Its a free market - if they notice that people aren't flying with them, they may try to improve their service. I dont f'ing know but continuously bashing them on a online forum is probably a waste of time…

                        • +1

                          @Bargainitis: @Bargainitis looks like you're extremely biased and is hell bent on feeding your own bias. Just use a real airline industry tracker and you'll see plenty of low cost airline performing really well. If you have low standards, then by all means cherry pick and compare with the lowest performer. It's like saying oh, crashing 1 plane is fine when there are other airlines crashing a few more…take care my friend

                          • @cmyk: I'm not exactly spitting out fake news here. I just linked you to two public articles with cancellation rate comparisons?

                            Who's feeding their own bias here?

                            If your argument is Jetstar and Qantas cancellation rates should be lower - no debate - I agree too. Frankly, I wish all airlines have 0 cancellation rates but thats not the reality.

                            see you next thread!

                        • @Bargainitis: All jetstar have to do is offer less flights per day if they are simply going to cancel them. There is plenty of data and metrics that is captured these days, they can identify the flights with least patronage and cancel them in advance instead of last minute and still be able to offer their cheap service and increase their reputation. That way people aren't booking flights that are going to be cancelled and forced into crap situations. I don't think it's that hard to do…..

                • @Bargainitis: hahaha of course there are many other drivers. Jetstar also blamed lightning strikes, bird strikes, debris from the runway hitting their planes etc. So as a customer, we should be ready to pay 4-5 times extra in case of any of the above events. and if that is the case, why bother flying with them?

                  • @going nowhere: Like I said, I haven't had any issues flying with them but I am fully prepared if their flights get cancelled, etc. Like I said, I know i'm going to get what I paid for — those $90 one way tickets…seriously…

          • +1

            @Jofzar:

            I am very obviously not getting what I payed for,

            Well you are. The lower cost includes a 7% chance of a delay, which you received.

            if I was getting what I payed for I would have been on a plane

            If you want 100% chance of getting on the plane, then buy your own plane and see the cost difference.

            BTW the word is spelt 'paid'.

      • -1

        It sounds to me the bigger issue is your workplace and inflexibility

        • You know its not as easy as heres some cash book a flight to x because we need you there.

          Theres often deals struck with the airline or airlines they fly a certain number of times and they offer discounts or promos.

    • +1

      Yeah, you only hear from the 7%.

      At least with Jetstar they usually fly several times a day.

      • Yeah but they won't offer you those flights as a replacement. You'll need to fly the next day with an extra stopover.

    • No one is saying qantas cancellation rate is good…but 75% higher chance of getting cancelled ontop of that..no thanks. We pay for service not cancellations.

      And saying lowering expectaions to a budget airline standard and get over it ignores the fact that its not budget anymore if you include additional costs from cancellations.

      Add atleast 7% cancellation rate x average cost of last minute flights to to your ticket price. This puts it out of the budget category for many.

    • +8

      Not true, there are many budget airlines around the world with 80% or even 90% + on time departure /arrival vs Jetstar's abysmal 60%.
      They're simply incompetent.

      • +1

        Precisely, and high reliability is what keeps low cost airlines' costs down.

      • I don't recall them being bad prior to covid 19. It's like they had to lower their standards to survive like all airlines and then have not reset their standards back to their previous level. I fly to NZ every year to visit my son. We had an awful time sitting in Auckland airport waiting 5 hours extra for our flight. No updates. I could not understand why they didn't advise passengers there were big delays. We could have gone for a meal or something. They just don't seem to give a fig about their customers. I keep hoping they will get their business back to normal. I think it is great that people post their recent experience. I would hate to be caught out again.

    • -1

      The difference is if your Jetstar flight gets canceled get ready to be jerked around for days at your own expense.

      Qantas will have you on another flight in hours or find you accomodation.

    • I was supporting them last year and even earlier this year when their cancellation numbers were significantly lower. I don't think people should expect great service or to be treated particularly well if the flight is cancelled, it's a budget airline like you say. But 7% is just way too high and definitely unacceptable.

  • Jetstar MD announced recently that they had to do better. Really! Why? 61.9% on time is a pass for them I'm sure. Sack all senior management at Qantas and Nostar.

    • +1

      Yea replace them with upcoming Auspost retirees…..

  • -2

    All these negative comments are great. More free seats for me to choose from.

    • +10

      If Jetstar doesn't have enough passengers, they will cancel the flight because there is insufficient profit. My early morning flights were cancelled for two days in a row. You got to have balanced negative comments if you want your flight secure.

    • +4

      Hope you enjoy the free seats at the airport or getting stuck on the tarmac when the flights are delayed.

      • There is a 93% chance I will be flying on all the free seats I plan on booking. I will take those odds any day. I don't mind delays if the seats are free.

        • Have to get there first to get the free seat and then be able to come back.

        • +3

          From my recent experience, the delays end up costing me a lot more money with hotel cancellation, travel rebooking etc…
          It's false economy, definitely not the OzB way😄

          • +1

            @cmyk: Travel insurance as plan B?

            • @b0b0: If you've gotta buy travel insurance to give a plan b for your choice of low cost airline, well maybe that's a sign to just book another airline and pay more.

              • @cookie2:

                If you've gotta buy travel insurance to give a plan b

                All insurance is for plan B. No-one ever has insurance as plan A.

              • @cookie2: I always make sure I book using my credit card so I activate travel insurance

                Another alternative is CBA cards where you don't need to pay using that card, instead all you need to do is to activate the cover via internet banking

                Never pay for travel insurance

  • Do Club Jetstar members get early access?

    • +1

      You get early access to the airport seating waiting if your flight will be cancelled or not.

    • +2

      Email to be issued to Club Jetstar members 12 hours beforehand (should be between 12-2pm).

  • +2

    Free seats in airport terminal as flight is delayed or cancelled.

  • +1

    Will it also cancel on me for the 19th time?

    • -1

      Why would you book then?

      • +2

        Montorola is a glutton for punishment.

      • Don’t go to work and blame the airline?

  • -1

    Not sure why anyone chooses to fly Jetstar or Qantas for domestic flights. Both are so terrible compared to Virgin.

    • +1

      Some of us don't have a choice when it comes to flying for work. They have particular affiliations for example and only stick with one airline.

      My company only flies Qantas - majority of times its Qantas but odd occasion its Jetstar due to scheduling, etc.

      • -1

        Make sure you and your peers file incident reports so that next review the true cost is reflected and they are ditched.

    • +3

      Because not everyone has a poor experience, and Jetstar are often cheaper. Virgin is really nothing to write home about either.

  • -7

    So many people expecting five star service for budget prices. Such expectations will only lead to disappointment.

    • +5

      Five star service? Actually flying on a booked flight is now expecting five star service? Lolwut?!

  • +4

    "7 news: Jetstar is having a sale!"

    They must be taking the piss now by calling their advertorial stories "news", surely?

    • Slow news day.

      • But it's not even news! It's simply an ad.

        • +1

          Thats the point of slow news day. Nothing to report. They fill in with this crap.

          • +2

            @xoom: News used to be 30 mins and was "News" . Now they have to fill 60 minutes with crap.

            • +1

              @frostydog: Im not disagreeing with you. Its been like that for a while.

    • +3

      Oh this is nothing. Once there was a 7 News article on what Gladys had for lunch that day. The collective weep of journalism could be heard throughout all the land.

      • +1

        That would have been riveting television. Pinacle of the australian free to air network show.

        That deserves a mic drop from the tv execs.

  • +1

    Jetstar lost our 7-year-old (pram) flying Auckland-Sydney last year.

    Pram was not in great condition, maybe worth $100, but $700 when new.

    Sent them the receipt with our lost baggage claim. They reimbursed the full amount!

    • Is Jetstar really that bad it needs to be commended for doing the bare minimum?

      They lost your baby's pram, asked for a receipt from 7 years ago, made you fill out a claim form and then reimbursed you for how much it would've cost you to buy that pram 7 years ago.

      It doesn't matter what something is worth, what matters is how much it would leave you out of pocket to repurchase (out of sale time ofc because no Ozbargainer will pay RRP xD)

      • +2

        I think you're reading too much into my comment. Just sharing, that's all.

        I honestly didn't expect the process to be so smooth and treated so well along the way. If I had claimed through travel insurance I would have had to pay an excess and depreciation would be taken into account. Probably would have received less than half that amount back.

        • Yeah I know it's good and all, I don't mean to rain on your parade or anything. I've never used their claims process to comment there.

          But tbf, the travel insurance provider didn't lose your belongings.

  • +1

    People please! Why pay for something that you hear from many first hand witnesses that more than likely it will ruin your holidays and waste your money! Virgin is a better option.

    • +2

      I'd rather a cheaper fare. Each to their own, I will stick with Jetstar.

      • I second this. Different people has different appetite. There is no need to convince each other.

      • Can only help those who are willing to listen right!

  • +4

    Even though my flights got cancelled and rescheduled many times in the past, I still choose to fly with Jetstar.
    They always gave me reasonable alternatives.
    Without their cheap airfares, I wouldn’t be able to travel as much.
    Happy birthday Jetstar!

    • +1

      I was a Virgin fanboy until they went down the low cost route five or six years ago and then Jetstar was the best option - cheaper with better planes on the international routes (dreamliner).

  • Any sales from Sydney to Japan?

  • +2

    My track record with Jetstar:

    50 % cancelled, 50 % delayed

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