From Travel Section of SMH today.
http://blogs.smh.com.au/travel/archi...tar_blues.html
For those who can't access it.
"No star night flight:
My first experience of travelling internationally with Jetstar left me in the dark. The airline got me home safely, so that's arguably worthy of a one star rating. But based on my flight from Phuket to Sydney I offer the following advice to prospective passengers: forget all about in-flight meals and pray for a seat in which you can see the light!
Initial thoughts on boarding were extremely positive. Our plane was a spotlessly clean Airbus 330-200, hardly suggestive of a budget airline. The young cabin crew got all 300 passengers stowed away with efficiency and we departed Phuket bang on time at 10.20pm. So far, very good indeed.
Then things began to unravel. I can forgive our seats having hardly any recline. That's expected when flying budget economy. I can forgive the entertainment system acting up. It can happen on any airline. What I found unacceptable was being kept in the dark, unable to read.
Beware of seats 49H and 49J. The reading lights for both seats are located directly above the row in front, so once those passengers reclined all light was effectively extinguished for us behind! Is this a peculiarity in Airbus design or the result of Jetstar's cramped seating configuration? The same applies to seats 49A and 49B whereas the middle seats in row 49 are correctly aligned. It's possible that other rows suffer similar incongruity.The flight attendant could only give an embarrassed giggle at the anomaly.
Unable to read, I hoped to sleep but unfortunately we'd pre-ordered the meal service. Despite our late evening departure this took ages to arrive, delayed by the cabin crew spending the first 90 minutes of the flight distributing portable DVD players and collecting hire charges. During this long hiatus I drifted asleep, only to be abruptly woken to receive my food pack.
How is it possible to ruin a dish as simple as noodles with vegetables? Jetstar served a glutinous mess of tepid, flat rice noodles with the odd slice of carrot for colour. The fish with rice dish was no better. The accompanying chocolate bars were old and stale. For this we'd each paid $26.
Phuket-Sydney is an eight-hour flight. Those shameful dinner packs were delivered nearly two hours after departure. Three hours later, around 3,30am, I was again woken from fitful sleep. Breakfast so soon? We still had four hours to touchdown. "Well, it's breakfast time now in Sydney," was the explanation. It was still too dark to read.
Rob Woodburn" author