Jetstar Goes Daily To Seoul And Direct To Cook Islands

Qantas Group low-cost carrier Jetstar ended the 2023 Financial year on a high note, which is good news after its spate of disruptions and groundings during the last twelve months. On Thursday, it became the first Australian airline to fly directly to the Cook Islands in 33 years and the next day, it announced daily flights from Australia to South Korea.

A daily flight to South Korea

Jetstar launched flights from Sydney to the South Korean capital of Seoul in November 2022 and currently operates the service three times weekly. On Friday, it announced a fourth weekly flight will start on February 5th, 2024, which Jetstar said will increase capacity between Sydney and Seoul to around 90,000 seats annually.

Subject to government approval, the combined schedule will include flights from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to Seoul on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Jetstar’s JQ47 departs at 14:45 on Monday and 11:45 on the other days and arrives at Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN) at 23:15 and 20:15, respectively. The return JQ48 departs at 21:50 on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and at 00:50 on Tuesday to arrive in Sydney the next day at 10:05 or 13:05.

On Friday, Jetstar announced it is adding three new weekly return flights between Brisbane Airport (BNE) and Seoul starting on February 1st, 2024. This service, JQ53, will depart Brisbane at 14:45 and arrive in Seoul at 23:15 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The return JQ54 leaves Seoul on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 00:50 to arrive in Brisbane at 11:00. Jetstar currently operates the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner between Sydney and Seoul, which takes around ten hours to make the trip.

Chief customer officer Alan McIntyre said Australian customers have fallen in love with Seoul’s mix of skyscrapers, vibrant nightlife, pop culture, rich history and incredible food. He added:

“From February next year we’ll offer a total of seven return flights a week between Sydney, Brisbane and Seoul, across every day of the week, creating more than 240,000 seats in both directions. Having low-cost fares available every day means thousands more Australians and South Korean travellers will be able to take the holiday of a lifetime.”

1st Australian airline to fly direct to Cook Islands in over 30 years

Also last week, Jetstar became the first Australian airline to fly direct between Australia and the Cook Islands in more than 30 years. Jetstar already operates three return flights weekly between Auckland and Rarotonga (Cook Islands), but the direct flight from Sydney will save Australian travelers at least three hours.

The last Australian airline to operate a service between Australia and the Cook Islands was an Ansett Australia company. Its aircraft flew with Cook Islands International and Polynesian livery before ceasing operations in 1990. The arrival of Airbus A321LRs into the Jetstar fleet has made the route possible, with the narrowbody operating the route on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Flight JQ141 departs Sydney (SYD) at 21:30 and around 5:30 hours later arrives in Rarotonga (RAR) at 07:00. The return flight leaves Rarotonga at 09:00 and arrives in Sydney at 12:30 the following day, given that Rarotonga sits across the International Date Line from Australia and the westerly flight takes around two hours longer due to the prevailing winds. Jetstar’s McIntyre said:

“Now just a five-hour flight from Sydney, our new service will make the Cook Islands the next hot holiday spot for Australians seeking a tropical island escape to relax and unwind, especially during cooler months.”

The A321LR and A321XLR are aimed at medium-haul thin routes like this, so it will be interesting to see how customers take to the 7:30-hour return flight on a narrowbody aircraft. Jetstar’s A321LRs are configured in a one-class layout of 232 economy seats, so while the economics are great for the airline, the passenger experience may not measure up to what travelers are used to and expect on flights of this duration.

Would you be happy to do this flight? Let us know in the comments.