I’m never quite sure what to expect if I pay extra for business class on a budget carrier. Is it like business class on a full service airline? Is it like economy with a couple of perks?
And more specifically, does Jetstar have business class? What is Jetstar business class like? Is Jetstar business class worth it?
In this Jetstar business class review, I answer all these questions as well as showing you exactly what Jetstar 787 business class is like, whether I think it is worth it and how it compares to other low cost carriers with business class between Australia and South East Asia. I also share a full video review so you can really see this business class product.
This is based specifically on my experience flying Jetstar business class to Singapore. I have also flown Jetstar business class to Bali and Jetstar business class to Phuket. All experiences were similar except my Jetstar Bali business class experience. This time, the flight arrived quite late, and they did not clean up the cabin or set up the entertainment units properly.
I originally wrote this article after flying this route in 2019. I have updated it in 2023 and then again in 2024. Basically, I fly in Jetstar business class at least annually, and I update this article every time I fly. It’s always much the same. All were flights that left around lunch time from Melbourne.
Jetstar Airways business class is a great option of getting to Malaysia. Although you can’t fly business class to Asia directly on this airline, you can fly to Singapore. From here you can connect to a Malaysian flight or you can do what we did and travel from Singapore directly to Malaysia overland using our taxi service.
Since we were visiting the southern part of peninsular Malaysia, this made a lot of sense and it is straightforward to fly into Singapore and get a taxi straight to Johor Bahru.
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Contents
Jetstar Business Class Review 2024
Let’s start by answering the first question, does Jetstar have business class?
The answer to this is YES!
While it doesn’t compare to Qantas international business class (find my review here), it is a solid product and comparable to most aspects of Qantas domestic business class.
Note that there is only Jetstar international business class available. It is not on all routes and Jetstar business class routes are the long haul routes serviced by their dreamliners. It does not currently exist on their domestic routes.
An Overview Of What You Get In Jetstar Dreamliner Business Class
On Jetstar business class flights, you obviously get a bigger seat, but you also get a range of other extras.
These include 30 kilograms of check in baggage and an extra 7 kilograms of carry on baggage (meaning you can take two bags of 7-10 kilograms each on board, keeping to 14kg).
You can select your seats for free, you get inflight entertainment, a comfort pack, a dedicated check in area (so they say – see below!), priority boarding, in-seat power, noise cancelling headphones and no change fee.
You also get meals and drinks including snacks if you get hungry between meals. This, in my opinion, is one of the biggest bonuses compared to other budget airline business classes.
In the rest of this Jetstar 787 business class review, I’m going to walk you through each step of our Jetstar 787 dreamliner business class experience before summing up if I think you should spend your hard earned cash on these flights!
Check-In And Boarding
Priority check-in is part of the Jetstar business class promise.
I can’t say I was impressed by this experience at Melbourne Airport in either of my experiences.
The first time, we were not able to check-in online, I assume thanks to being business class.
On arrival at Melbourne Airport, we found a whole lot of automated check in and luggage booths. Hidden behind were two counters saying “Business Class”, but they seem like they were service centres as well and we spent awhile waiting behind just the person being served at one while some problem was sorted out. Then we get to the front, and it shuts!
We went to the only other one just to get to the front and have staff put someone before us who hadn’t checked in luggage that was over the limit for carry on. It was frustrating to be seemingly put last over other passengers when we were meant to get priority. It would have been quicker had online check in worked and we could have then used bag drop.
In 2024, I was able to check-in online which made it all a lot smoother. You can then check your luggage in at the automated drop off. There was also one service desk open which said “business class”, but it still seems to be for everyone since there were no other service desks opened.
Something lacking in 2023 and 2024 was express passes to get through security quicker. These seem to no longer be available. However, they aren’t really necessary at Melbourne Airport anyway.
While there are no Jetstar business class lounge options as such, if you buy the business max bundle (more below), you can access Qantas Club. Or if you have gold+ frequent flier status with Qantas, you also can.
In our case, we already had Qantas Club passes so enjoyed this lounge before our flight.This was great and service was far better than I am used to at Qantas business lounges. The only downside was that they told us our flight was boarding about 30 minutes before it did! Which meant less time to enjoy.
If you have lounge access in Singapore, read our Qantas business lounge in Singapore review here.
I also wasn’t happy with the priority boarding. We were leaving from Gate 8 which is somewhat squished. There is only space for one line which was already long. I hung around the front waiting, but then they only called business class passengers from the side in some weird spot that I couldn’t access easily. I had to call out and ask to be let through.
Once I got to the desk, it was all smooth. This did mean the cabin was already quite full and so I struggled to get some good images for my review video which was annoying 🙂
The best part about boarding was definitely when the cabin staff came through with welcome drinks. Sparkling wine, water or orange juice was on offer. I do love a sparkling wine on boarding to feel extra special.
They also came through with menus for both meal services and took our orders as well as a drink order to be served after take-off.
Jetstar Business Class Seats
On arrival at our seats, we found our “comfort packs”, blanket, pillow, water bottle and noise cancelling headsets.
The Jetstar dreamliner business class seating plan is 3 rows of 2-3-2 configuration. Which probably sucks for people in the middle but worked great for us since I was travelling alone with my 7 year old son. We had two seats by the window which actually work better than the business class seats on most long haul airlines where seats are all separated and it’s hard to communicate with your kids.
The next time, I flew with two of my kids so the three seats in the middle worked well.
Jetstar dreamliner business class seats are reasonable. They are like domestic Qantas business seats if you have seen those. They are wider and with more leg room but the recline is quite limited and the foot rest does not raise high. Below you can see for yourself.
The only controls are to put seat back and feet forward.
The seats are a little difficult to recline. You have to push a button in hard and also put a hand on the seat to move it where you want. The same for the foot rest.
Unfortunately, the space in front is not huge. And while quite comfortable, it is annoying when people recline in front of you – which the people did in front of me the entire flight. The one complaint I have about service is that they weren’t asked to put them back for meal service.
The best seats are definitely the front row where there is a great amount of leg room.
To summarise, the seats are better than economy, but our Jetstar international business class review would not recommend that you pay to upgrade based on seats alone. For a day flight, it is fine, but I wouldn’t get a good night’s sleep on these.
On the upside, the seats have international power points and usb points. Unfortunately, my usb point did not work on my most recent flight, but thankfully, the one next to it did.
There is inflight entertainment in the seat backs. While the screen is not huge, it’s a decent enough size given how close you are to it. In 2024, I no longer had an inflight magazine.
The seat table is just an ok size, but I liked how it could be pushed forward and back to give more room to get out of the seat.
Amenities
The “comfort pack” is quite good.
I has a toothbrush, toothpaste, earplugs, eye mask, inflatable travel pillow, wipe, socks, pen, hand cream and lip balm which was more than I expected and all good quality.
I also liked that the blanket and pillow included and appreciate that the blanket had a message on it saying you are welcome to take it home. I did 🙂
My noise cancelling headphones didn’t work, but they were quickly replaced for me. I always love it when I get a bottle of water at my seat.
Jetstar Dreamliner Business Class Meals
As I said above, the Jetstar business class menu was handed out while we were still on the tarmac and orders were taken not long after.
You can see the menu below (updated in 2023 – and exactly the same in 2024) which was decent and, overall, I enjoyed the food a lot.
My 7 and 13 year olds were not so impressed with the offerings (which is a common problem in business class I find – the menus lack simple options). However, the great news is that you can also order food available in economy, so my kids had ham and cheese toasties for lunch much to their delight.
The serving size is not massive especially for the meal that feels like dinner. However, I found it enough especially as their snack menu is great. Food servings were an issue on my previous Jetstar business class to Thailand flight. The “breakfast” was a teeny tiny croissant and that was all.
I enjoyed my quesadilla and salmon fillet, yum! You can see my meal below. Everything for each meal was brought out at once.
It was a three course meal though for lunch as promised.
They served the drinks we ordered straight after take off, and the lunch was not too long after.
Dinner was about an hour and a half before landing. They checked what drink I wanted with it, and it all came out at once as pictured.
There weren’t any other formal drink services, but I asked for many during the flight without issue. It was always very quick.
They also have snacks available. You just need to ask for the menu. My kids absolutely lapped these up.
They are decent serving sizes and it’s quite amazing to have all of those included, as much as you like.
Overall, I was impressed with the food and drink. It’s absolutely fantastic for a budget airline.
Jetstar Business Class Service
The area where this Jetstar dreamliner business class review really shines and stands out as a business class offering up there with full service airlines, it’s with service.
The service was great. Attendants made quite an effort and knew how to be chatty, personal and welcoming while still being professional and not slowing things down. They remembered our name and gave my son extra attention.
In fact, I think the attendants on my recent Qantas business class flights between Melbourne and NYC could learn from them. I did not feel like I was on a budget airline at all service wise in business class.
I also did not notice any difference in how they treated guests. As someone who flies somewhat regularly in full-service business class, I have found that I never get the same treatment as some other guests who I assume are top rung frequent fliers. It’s something that really annoys me with the prices I pay for the flights and it was really great in Jetstar to feel special without feeling like a third rate business class passenger.
The fact that you can get snacks, meals and drinks is also a huge plus at this price point. Overall, I was very impressed both times I flew this route.
Jetstar Business Class Upgrade Cost And Options
It really depends when you fly, how far ahead you book and whether a sale is on how much you pay for a Jetstar upgrade to business. The good news is that you don’t need a sale to upgrade Jetstar flight to business.
I was surprised in 2019 when I booked our flights from Singapore to Melbourne without a sale going on that I still got a great Jetstar business class sale price of around AUD$500. This was during September school holidays and made it not much more than the $350 being charged at the time for economy tickets in Jetstar and similar to Qantas economy prices. Bargain!
In 2023, things had got pricier and I paid nearly double this. That’s when it’s tougher to work out if it is worth it. The good news is that bargain flight prices on this route are still available. In early January 2024, me and my kids nabbed business class for $550 each. Massive bargain at a super peak time!
You can also purchase a Jetstar business max when making a Jetstar business class booking which gives you lounge access, frequent flight points, status credits and cancellation options.
This tends to be a lot extra (like over $200 per person) and since I had lounge access anyway, I did not purchase it. However, if you are a point hacker after more status credits, it’s worth investigating if this is worth it to you. Note that you can only buy this when booking and can’t later.
If you don’t book business class, Jetstar sometimes send an upgrade email about two weeks before when you can upgrade for a good price. However, if you are finding long haul business class tickets on Jetstar business for around the $500 mark like us, I would jump on it.
You can search here for the latest business class prices.
Jetstar Business Class Video Review
Below is my full video review from travelling in Jetstar Business Class in 2023.
Final Words – Is Jetstar Business Class Worth It?
It really depends how much you pay for it.
For the $500ish we have paid most of the time, 100% yes. This is a great product, and it was worth the small amount extra for the seat, meals, drinks, luggage etc.
I would not pay over $1000 extra though. When looking for Honolulu flights, for example, I could never find Jetstar business class to Hawaii for less than about $1300 each way. This is not worth it, in my opinion.
If you are someone who usually buys all the extras like seat assignment, baggage, entertainment, etc, then it will be easier to make the price worthwhile.
On my most recent flight, I was a bit frustrated by how dark the cabin was. I felt like I had to walk through economy to get some light! All the windows were dimmed and it was quite dark in our cabin. Given it was a day flight, I felt like it mucked up my body clock having it so dark.
Where I really found Jetstar Asia business class worthwhile is the service. I love being able to eat and drink what I want without pulling out the wallet. I really appreciated just how great the service is. The staff were great and really made it all seem like good value.
I wouldn’t pay the extra money for the seat – while superior to economy, it wasn’t that great. Add in meals and personalised service and BANG Jetstar business class is a great product.
And given what I paid, the annoyances on check-in were fine.
One more complaint I have to add though is if you need special assistance. I flew Jetstar business class back from Phuket after breaking my leg and my insurance putting me on the flight in business class.
Unfortunately, their special assistance stopped at the elevator before baggage claim in Melbourne. At this point, I was meant to hobble myself out of the lift, get my luggage and get out of customs and all the way to a taxi.
By the time I made customs, I literally had a mini breakdown as I felt I couldn’t hop a step further and was in pain. They didn’t know what to do with me and said the airline should have helped. I eventually got out.
The worst part was that when I contacted Jetstar about it later, they said that that is all their special assistance offers. They do not help people exit the secure area and expect you to have someone to help. Despite the fact that no one is allowed in the baggage and customs areas unless they are on a flight with you.
I did have my husband, but I also had three kids (one who was 2) and baggage so they couldn’t help.
If you need special assistance, 100% DO NOT FLY JETSTAR. To be honest, I was so dismayed after this that it made it difficult for me to fly them again for awhile or to recommend them. I really hope this practice has changed.
Jetstar Business Class Vs AirAsia Premium Flatbed/Premium Up Vs ScootPlus?
I can’t help but compare this product to AirAsia Premium Flatbed, the AirAsia version of business class I flew recently, and ScootPlus, the Scoot version of business class.
They are all at a similar price point, but quite different in reality.
While AirAsia Premium Flatbed will give you some extra services like priority check in, it’s really about the seat and the seat only. There are no dedicated attendants and, if anything, service is slower than in economy. But they do give you a really great seat.
Whereas Jetstar business class really shines in the service stakes.
ScootPlus is below both. The seat is basically the same as the Jestar business one, but there are nowhere near as many inclusions and the service is nowhere near as good. Plus, they don’t support you appropriately if they cancel or reschedule your flight.
So if you are choosing between them, like I have, I recommend AirAsia for an overnight flight where sleep is most important, Jetstar for daytime when you will appreciate the better service. And Scoot only if the others are too expensive and you get an absolutely fabulous price.
You can read my full AirAsia Premium Flatbed review here or Scoot here.
Overall, I was very happy with my flight in Jetstar business class and highly recommend this to you when the prices are good. I have now flown them many times, and I can see myself continuing to fly them in future!
Click here to read my review of flying AirAsia’s version of business class. Or see how Jetstar compares to full service airlines with our Qantas business class review here, Singapore Airlines business class review here and Malaysia Airlines business class review here. You can find more planning information here.
Planning a trip to Malaysia? Have any questions? Join our Malaysia Travel Planning Facebook group here now! It’s the perfect place to ask any questions and to be inspired!
