Jetstar’s new trans-Tasman flight a budget-friendly trip to the tropics

Thursday, 3 April 2025

The Airbus A320 after Jetstar’s inaugural Christchurch to Cairns flight.

Jetstar Airways has launched its direct flight from Christchurch to Cairns, Australia, becoming the first airline in Aotearoa to offer the route.

Stuff’s Phoebe Utteridge was on board the inaugural flight and found it to be an easy trip. With a starting fare of $219 one way, it’s friendly on the wallet too.

The route

Jetstar is the first airline to offer a direct Christchurch to Cairns route.

Flight JQ136 from Christchurch International Airport direct to Cairns International Airport, Queensland, Australia.

The plane

We’re on board an Airbus A320, one of 43 used in service by Jetstar Airways.

The plane has the capacity to carry between 180 and 186 passengers, with the widest cabin of any single-aisle aircraft in the sky.

The writer was seated in 4B, but had an empty window seat to spread out over.

The seat

I was seated in 4B. The leather seats were comfortable and although there wasn’t much leg room, it wasn’t too much of an issue as the flight across the ditch felt like just like a hop, skip and a jump.

According to Jetstar, the seats on the A320 are 45.4cm wide with an average seat pitch of 73.7cm.

There was no monitor screen or charging ports, but again, being a relatively short flight that wasn’t an issue.

Time in the air

Scheduled to depart at 8.05am, we took off at 8.14am. Not bad.

The flight was expected to last 5 hours and 35 minutes and we arrived at 10.41am AEST, so a total flight time of 5 hours and 27 minutes.

Comfort factor

Being a morning flight, the cabin was, for the most part, wide awake and the lights were on.

The writer opted not to pay for in-flight entertainment.

The plane wasn’t full and I was lucky enough to have an empty seat next to me allowing a bit of room to spread out.

The entertainment

Although there was no monitor screen, in-flight entertainment was accessible on personal devices at a small cost.

It was AU$7 for access to the full range of TV shows, movies, podcasts and games, or AU$5 for the kids’ options.

A quick browse showed a decent variety, particularly among the kids’ movies and foreign films.

Only being in the air for 5.5 hours and with no children to appease I didn’t feel the need to splash out on the entertainment, opting to stick with my own pre-downloaded episodes of Peep Show.

The amenities

No bells and whistles. Didn’t need them.

The food

At about 8.45am, half an hour into the flight, we had a slice of banana bread and a coffee.

The coffee was tasty and welcomed after the 4.30am wakeup.

The banana bread was also a hit, although it would probably be better described as banana cake as it was quite sweet.

There was a large menu with meal and snack offerings, ranging from about $5 for some olives to about $15 for vegetable teriyaki noodles. Base fares do not include food.

The service

The airline staff were friendly and no-nonsense. The process from check-in to getting on the plane was smooth sailing. No complaints.

The frequency

Jetstar flies non-stop from Christchurch to Cairns (JQ136) three times per week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

The overnight Cairns to Christchurch flight (JQ135) also operates three times per week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

The essentials

Economy fares start from NZ$219 one way. See: jetstar.com

The writer was hosted by Jetstar Airways.