Key Details

Date: 5th August 2022

Flight No: JQ250

Route: Wellington to Auckland

Aircraft: Airbus A320

Cabin: Ecnonomy

The Route

The flight between New Zealand’s capital and it’s largest city is the busiest flight route in New Zealand with upwards of 20 daily return services. Two airlines operate the route with Air New Zealand being the biggest player with up to 14 daily services whilst Jetstar operate approximately half the services. Both airlines use A320 on the route in an all economy configuration so unfortunately there is no regular opportunities to fly in business class on the route.

Neither airline offer free baggage allowance, meals or any other perks straight off the bat with both operating on a bundle structure for customers wishing to have more than just carryon luggage and involuntary seat selection. The route takes only about an hour but on a clear days offers some spectacular views of New Zealand’s north island coastlines and also the central highlands and the snowcapped Mount Raphuea.

Jetstar Flight Bundles

Whilst it is still very much purchase add on inclusions such as luggage allowance and exit row seats in a A La Carte fashion Jetstar very much pushes its bundle packages when going through the booking process for its flights on its website.

Starter

Basically the most basic package is the ’Starter’ bundle which is hardly a bundle and is just aliken to purchasing the flight with 7kg carry on allowance and a involuntary seat selection although you can still enjoy 400 QFF points so be sure to put in that membership number when booking!

Flex and Plus

Flex and Starter are the two mid range bundles and both cost $29 extra on this flight. The former offers a flexible fare features including up to same day flight changes (fare difference may apply) and cancelling for a credit. it is also includes a inflight meal deal or snack, 14 kg Carry on luggage, upfront or standard seat selection and 400 Qantas points. The starter is slightly different and instead swaps the larger carryon allowance of the Flex bundle with a 20kg checked baggage allowance (includes standard7kg carryon on still), 800 QFF points, In flight meal deal or snack, standard seat selection and flight change flexibility (but not option to cancel for a credit)

Max

The Max bundle is the most extensive of the bundles that JetStar offers and is what i purchased for this flight. On this flight it cost an additional $60 over the starter fare and essentially doubled the cost of the fare. The perks of this unable is that you to select any available seat which includes exit room and extra legroom seats of which i was able to select 1A. You get a fully flexible fare where you can change your flights and time (subject to any fare difference or cancel for credit. Also included is a generous 30kg baggage allowance, in flight meal deal or snack and a impressive 1200 QFF points.

How i benefited from purchasing the Max Bundle

Booking this flight came as a result of an unforeseen circumstances back in Perth which meant i had to delay my flight to New Zealand by several days and importunely meant i had to reroute my journey to Auckland through Wellington and Sydney as opposed to taking a direct flight. Given the disruption it was a no brainier that i brought the max fare. Luckily I did as a changed the flight twice after booking, the first to the following day which cost me an extra $60 in fare difference and again on the day of departure to a later flight time which cost no extra due to being the same price. In any case i didn’t have to pay any change fees or rebook a new flight costing me potentially hundreds of more dollars.

I also benefited in being able to select seats in Row 1 arguably the best place to be on the plane offering ample legroom and super easy boarding and disembarkation from the plane. I was also given a $10 voucher to use for anything on the menu which i probably would of brought something anyway. All up considering Extra leg room seats cost from $30 and luggage $30 and a $10 meal voucher been thrown in if you use all these inclusions you are already saving money plus are getting the bonus of great flight flexibility on top which personally saved me a lot of money out of pocket on this occasion.

Getting to Wellington Airport

Getting to Wellington Airport is super easy. For this morning’s flight we took the public Airport Express Bus service which has a convenient time table and was quite quick although those with early or late flights or with a lot of luggage may prefer to use the excellent nationwide SuperShuttle

Checking in at Wellington

I arrived at Wellington Airport around 2.5 hours ahead of scheduled departure and presented to check in via the kiosks which will print your boarding passes and bag tags. Unfortunately Jetstar at Wellington Airport still rely on the old fashioned check in counters which you will need to visit even if simply dropping your bags. I queued for around 15-20 minutes in line as there was a reasonable queue with Jetstar operating a flight to Auckland before mines and also a flight to the Gold Cost all being processed from the same queue. From all my experiences with Jetstar they will only generally open bag drop 2 hours prior to your scheduled departure. With me arriving at the counter several minutes before the official window opening the agent’s superior did let me bag go but there is no point trying your luck dropping off bags much over 2 hours as you’ll likely be left stranded at the airport with bags until the bag drop opens. this is a slight nuance of flying Jetstar as opposed to Qantas or Virgin as it limits your ability to get to the airport early especially if you have time to kill for a flight after checking out of your hotel.

Navigating through New Zealand domestic terminals can be quite a different experience to that of Australia’s big city airports in that any flights on planes seating up 90 passengers do not require security screening. that means a considerable amount of domestic flights in New Zealand don’t require security and passengers can walk straight up to the gates. This means almost all the food and barrage outlets in domestic wing of Wellington Airport are landslide so make sure you visit them if necessary first before proceeding to security. Security was a fairly quick and efficient process at Wellington before you are whisked in into a small departures area for jet flights (aka the A320s operated by Air NZ and Jetstar to Auckland, Christchurch and the likes). Once past security there is very little to do aside from waiting and few vending machines so we do not recommend proceeding to security until just before the boarding gate opening.

With heavy fog at Auckland Airport still not dissipating my mid morning unfortunately this delayed the inbound aircraft’s arrival. After several extensions to the departure time, the flight got away 1 hour later than expected. This delay was largely outside of Jetstar’s control

Seating on Jetstar

All of Jetstar’s flights in New Zealand are operated by single aisle Airbus A320 Aircraft with either 180 or 186 seats in a 3-3 configuration and 30 or 29 inch seat pitch respectively. On this particular flight i was seated in Seat 1A which was on the second variant of the A320 layout. Seat 1A is a great seat to pick especially when purchasing the Max Bundle. Due to having a bulkhead in front it did offer less legroom than the more spacious 180 seat Jetstar A320 layout in the same seats however on the flip side the seats legroom wasn’t protruded by the door of the plane and having the bulkhead provided a better barrier to all the embarking passengers during boarding. Luckily i had the whole row free to myself for the entire flight.

Aside from being in the front row JetStar’s seats come in a leather upholstery and surprisingly comfortable for only the short domestic flights you would expect to take within New Zealand. Seat pitch in the general seating of the cabin is certainly on the smaller size but for a short domestic flight within New Zealand (or Australia) shouldn’t be a problem for most

Crew and In Flight Service

For this short 1 hour hop up to Auckland I couldn’t fault the crew for what it was that i had purchased with the ticket. Being in Seat 1A i was amongst the first on and off the aircraft and was particular impressed that I was welcomed on board by name something that I wouldn’t expect unless flying in Business. Aside the crew were quick to greet me by name and point out immediately after takeoff that i was eligible for a $10 in flight voucher with my max bundle which i was quick to exchange for a leisurely beer to enjoy for the quick flight up to Auckland. Aside from that the crew appeared efficient to serve those with entitled meals or vouchers first and then efficiently did another service for those wishing to buy from the on board menu.

Entertainment is non existent on a Jetstar A320 as you would expect so bring your own if you really need but on any domestic flight in New Zealand arguably the best entrainment is the views out the window! All in all despite being a budget carrier where there is no expectation of lavish service, the crew did a great job of quickly handing out all the pre paid or complementary meals and also giving everyone else on board a chance to buy from the menu. Well done to the Kiwi Jetstar crew here!

Arriving in Auckland

After little over half an hour in the air the descent started into Auckland offering great views of the lush green farmlands below although there was thick patches of fog here and there including in the airport precinct. We arrived in Auckland about an hour later but had made some time up in the flight. It took around 15-20 minutes for the luggage to finally arrive after disembarking and soon after I was on the express coach service to downtown Auckland which takes 40 minutes and costs $16NZD. If you are looking for a door to door service we’d recommend using the nationwide SupperShuttle service instead.

Summing Up

This morning’s flight with Jetstar from Wellington to Auckland for me did everything it said on the box getting me from A to B affordably with a minimum of fuss. All the inclusions of the Max Bundle i put to to good use and after having to make several adjustments to my original flight times and dates I actually ended up saving money. Of course depending on your own individual needs and wants and if you are pretty sure of your travel dates, the starter fare may be all you need and will of course be a much cheaper option. If you like some extra creature comforts such as upfront or exit row seats, a generous luggage allowance and a included meal voucher coupled by great booking flexibility and handy stash of QFF points thrown in then the Starter Max Bundle should be seriously considered!