Last week I wrote about how I was looking forward to a decent overnight Jetstar flight from Sydney to Honolulu. Well …

My flight was the equivalent of spending 8 hours and 59 minutes in a newborn nursery. On the plus side this was 30 minute faster than scheduled as we had some good tail winds pushing us north east across the Pacific. I had a possessed entertainment system in my seat. With any touch of any button the flight attendant call buttons as well as strobe light on-off-on-off uncontrolled dimming of my overhead light were simultaneously engaged. Clearly there was some sort of electrical short within my seat, so unfortunately, no in flight movies for me.

For those of you not familiar with Qantas’s low cost subsidiary Jetstar, think Southwest Airlines prices with courteous multilingual international flight staff. Aboard my flight alone, the flight staff spoke English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Malaysian.

At time of purchasing, passengers are given the options of onboard amenities at additional cost. I went for a basic ticket and purchased my meal and drinks onboard (credit card only, Australian Dollar as the currency). Some people like the flexibility of purchasing services they will use, however, I must admit, I still prefer the full service airlines with all the frills included.

Jetstar flights earn Qantas frequent flyer miles which are redeemable with Oneworld carriers. However, Jetstar is NOT a part of the Oneworld alliance and therefore I cannot have flight miles deposited into my American Airlines account. I’ve always only ever had an American Airlines AAdvantage account to which I’ve earned miles through partner flights. The near future is keeping me in Australia and therefore I’ve been finding myself flying with Jetstar more and more frequently, so I bit the bullet and have opened up a Qantas frequent flyer account. I’ve mentioned before I’m not a big fan of the Qantas redemption but I simply can’t let purchased tickets on Jetstar go without any sort of mileage accrual.

I don’t like to have two accounts of airlines amongst the same alliance. Call me simple, but I like straightforward. I’m skeptical of the Qantas program but will use it and report back with my hits and misses as they arise.

As for now, I’ve just returned from a wonderful seafood dinner surrounded by my friends and family and I’m listening to the waves crash upon the volcanic rocky shore on the stunning island of Kauai. Although the 8hr and 59 minute journey that got me here was less than ideal, it is just a distant memory to the moments I’m having with the people that really matter, my friends and family. Thanks Jetstar for getting me here safely.

This is Shannon, The Rookie
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