Japan travel: Jetstar relaunches popular Cairns to Tokyo route

It’s a destination Aussies have been itching to go to and now they can get there in just seven hours after a low-budget airline relaunched its popular route.

Route off-limits to Aussies now booming.

It has been a long-time coming but Japan has finally opened its boarders — and Aussies are keener than ever to head over.

As of October 11, the popular tourist destination reinstated visa-free travel to dozens of countries, including Australia, ending some of world’s strictest border controls amid the pandemic.

And due to high demand, airlines such as Jetstar and Qantas have wasted no time relaunching their direct flights to the country’s capital and largest city — Tokyo and of course Sapporo where you will find its famous ski fields.

Jetstar’s popular direct route from Cairns to Tokyo has relaunched and is booming.

“Pre-Covid, Japan was one of the most popular destinations in our international network and so, like our customers, we were very excited to see border restrictions ease on October 11,” Jetstar’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, Alan McIntyre told news.com.au.

The airline, which is the only low-cost carrier that operates direct flights between Australia and Japan, transported around 21.6 million people from Australia and New Zealand to Japan every year before Covid.

And in July, it relaunched its direct routes, but it was mainly for those flying out of Japan and into Australia, or for tour group travel to the country.

But since borders opened for independent travel, Jetstar’s Cairns to Narita (Tokyo) route has regained popularity as Aussies look to head over to the thriving tourist destination which is just seven hours direct.

It is also flying from the Gold Coast to Narita which like the Cairns route is offered three times a week.

It takes seven hours from Cairns to Narita, Tokyo.

“Jetstar’s low-cost flights have a strong influence on setting tourism trends. Prior to the pandemic, the number of Australian visitors to Japan doubled after we launched flights in 2007,” Mr McIntrye said.

There’s also two weekly flights to Japan between Cairns and Osaka with current fares from $389 if leaving from Cairns to Narita and respectively from Cairns to Osaka and from $429 if flying out from the Gold Coast to Narita.

If you’re wondering why there is no direct flight from Sydney to Tokyo, or even Brisbane, it’s because Qantas (which owns Jetstar) is now flying daily from Sydney to Haneda with the Brisbane route launching on December 1.

What’s it like flying business class on Jetstar

What many people may not know is that the low-budget airline has business class.

The seats are very spacious – and yes, they recline, but not flat.

What a lot of people may not realise is that Jetstar has business class. And while it might not be what you would expect on major carriers — it still does the trick especially when there is a relatively long flight ahead — in this case it was seven hours from Cairns to Narita, Tokyo.

For someone who has never flown business class (not even premium economy) I had no idea what to expect. But, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sceptical as to how the experience was going to be considering I was on a low-budget carrier.

Let’s just say I didn’t have the highest of expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by the service, menu and of course comfy seats.

For a budget-airline, I was pleasantly surprised by the menu.

As soon as you board the aircraft, you’re greeted with your choice of non-alcoholic or alcoholic beverage — of course I opted for the latter.

The flight attendant then took my order for the main — I had the choice of lamb shanks, shiitake glazed salmon, or ravioli with spinach, pumpkin and basil.

I love salmon so that was a no-brainer.

As soon as the service commenced it didn’t take long for my food to come out. I’ll be honest, it didn’t look appetising, but it smelt amazing and tasted so good.

I have never had tasty plane food so this was impressive. It came with warm sourdough bread and salted butter and for dessert we had an orange and almond cake.

One thing they could have had more of was the appetiser — which was mixed leaves, roasted pumpkin and creamy labneh. As you can see in the below image (top left) there wasn’t much of it.

While the salmon didn’t look entirely appetising, boy did it taste great.

The winner was this quesadilla ‘snack’ – super tasty and filling! And that little tabasco sauce, also a winner for someone who loves their chilli.

The alcohol is on tap too — which is always a win. But the biggest winner was the “snack” and I say in inverted commas “snack” because it was a very filling quesadilla.

I was pleasantly surprised by how flavorsome it was because as I said, for a low-budget carrier, I wasn’t expecting much — well not with the food anyway.

They also had a little note at the bottom of the menu that read: “Please don’t go hungry, we want to keep you well fed. If you could use an additional snack, the crew will be happy to tell you more about what’s available on your flight.”

Of course I took advantage of that and asked for some cheeky extra nibbles (and drinks).

I watched a few movies and had little nap on my spacious (reclined) seat and before I knew it, it was time for landing.

One thing I wasn’t the biggest fan of was the seat doesn’t lay flat, it goes down about half way. However, it was enough to get in a decent nap.

You also get a goodie bag filled with much-needed things like earbuds, a cleanse wipe, lip balm, cream, sleep mask, inflatable neck pillow, toothbrush and paste and a black tote bag.

However, the biggest problem for being a first-time business class flyer is … I don’t ever want to fly economy again.

But the good thing about jetstar’s business seat (Cairns to Narita) is it’s affordable in comparison to major airlines. It starts from $1,139 one way.

And if you’re flying in from another city, it’s a great way to explore Cairns and break up the journey.

“We’ve seen increasing demand for our business class services since we relaunched international flying at the end of 2021, with many people looking for an exciting way to spend the savings they built up during the pandemic,” Mr McIntyre told news.com.au.

“Jetstar’s Business Class is a great way for customers to enjoy a more comfortable travel experience at an affordable price, especially when compared to the cost of similar services with full-service carriers.”

And if you’re a Qantas frequent flyer member, you can earn Qantas Points1 and Status Credits1 on Jetstar’s Starter Plus, Starter Max or Business Max fares.

This writer travelled to Japan as a guest of Jetstar.