|
Home :: Contact Us :: More Trip Reports :: Comments
Planning Having flewn with Jetstar many times before on domestic flights within Australia, I decided to try something different and book a short-haul international service from Jetstar's northern hub Darwin to Singapore Changi Airport. Booking was easy and was made directly through the company's website http://www.jetstar.com.au Jetstar flies this route twice daily with an A321 and A320 however I decided to book flight JQ57/58 to and from Darwin as they are both operated by the A321.
Flight Information
Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz Day of Travel I arrived at the airport at approximately 14:15 for a 16:10 departure and was quickly at the front of the jetstar check-in counters as there was no queue. I gathered by the silence at check-in that the flight must not be full. Upon asking the check-in agent, she replied that there were no more than 110 passengers on an aircraft which can seat 214. I then asked if she could block off the seats next to me and the agent assured that this was no problem. I was assigned window seat 20F with seats 20D and E blocked off beside me. After completing check-in formalities, I made my way through security and into the International departure lounge where my flight would be boarding. Darwin airport's international terminal is in the same building as the domestic terminal so all the facilities are combined. Inside the international lounge there are 2 gates which are mainly used by Jetstar for their flights to Singapore, Bali and Vietnam. The only other airline using these gates was Air North with a few flights to East Timor. Boarding was announced at 15:45 and all 108 passengers were boarded by 16:00. Pushback was 3 minutes early and after starting the engines, we made our way to the active runway. Darwin airport is also a joint RAAF base and we taxiied past many hangars which house fighter jets on the way to the runway. Today runway 29 was in use and we made a rolling start as we were number 1 for take-off. Climbout was to the west and we started passing some thunderstorm build-ups on our way to FL320.
 A Virgin Blue B737-800 off to Melbourne soon.
 My window at cruise altitude
At Meal time, the cabin crew came around with two trolleys, one started at the front of the aircraft and the other at the back. When it was my turn, I selected the beef and asian noodles which also came with bread and a cadbury chocolate. The beef was quite nice and a little spicy. Drinks service was also offered at meal time and I opted for a coke which was then topped up later by the same cabin crew member.
We began out decent over Indonesia and made a visual approach over Batam and the harbour to runway 02L. It always seems to amaze me how many ships are parked in the harbour each time I fly into Singapore. Touchdown was at 16:58 and we were docking at gate C16 at Terminal 1 by 19:05. After disembarking and thanking the crew for an enjoyable experience I was collecting my checked luggage by 19:20.
 Batam, Indonesia during decent
Flight Information I arrived into Changi Airport by air from Jakarta at 14:15 and would be continuing to Darwin on JQ58 which didn't depart until 20:20. I had alot of time to kill so I decided to head to terminal 3 which is the newest of the terminals and in my opinion has the best restaurants and 'things to do' in order to pass the time between flights. They have multiple free internet kiosks around the terminal which are very handy also. After a nice meal, I took the skytrain back to T1 however my flight still wasn't showing on the main departure board. I found a nice spot, sat down and watched the world go by. My flight finally was showing on the FIDS screens so I made my way to the check-in row listed beside my flight. Surprisingly there were quite a few people waiting for the same flight to appear on the screens. I arrived at check-in and within a few minutes I was checked-in with window seat 23A. As this was a night flight I wanted to get a window seat so I could lean against the window and hopefully fall asleep. After collecting my boarding pass, I proceeded through customs and into the departure area where I found a bar upstairs where it was possible to watch movements on runway 02L/20R and have a few drinks as the sun went down. The time passed quickly and before I knew it, the gate was open and they were accepting passengers through the security checkpoint. Boarding was announced soon after with passengers sitting in the rear asked to board first however I don't think anybody listened. Once onboard, I was welcomed by the freindly Jetstar crew and given directions for my seat. Upon arrival at my seat, to my surprise there was somebody already sitting there whom had been given the aisle seat 23C. I quickly informed him that I had reserved this seat and he reluctantly moved to let me into the window. The middle seat between us thankfully remained empty throughout boarding. We pushed back a minute early and commenced taxi to runway 02C. Take-off was to the south-east and once airborne you could see all the lights from the ships in the harbour gleaming up at us as we ascended into the night sky. Once reaching our cruise altitude our meal was served first which was chiken and rice and your choice of beverage. After the meal, I reclined my seat and went to sleep. I woke up as the cabin lights were turned on again so the cabin crew could prepare the cabin for decent and landing. We commenced a straight-in approach from the West landing on runway 11 and within minutes we arrived at gate 3. It was a breeze through customs as we were the only flight arriving at this time and before long I was exiting the terminal and proceeding towards the taxi rank. Overall quite a pleasent experience with Jetstar and onboard their A321 and I would certainly fly them again in the future. Thanks for reading, Simon Coates
© 2011 Gate52.com
|
