Missed my Jetstar flight by 1 minute after a Qantas connection… never again
First time trying Jetstar for the Brisbane → Townsville leg instead of sticking with Qantas, and wow… lesson learned.
Flew Sydney → Brisbane on Qantas, which ended up delayed by about an hour. No big deal, figured I had enough buffer. Even used a lounge pass (earned through points) at the Qantas lounge while waiting.
What I didn’t factor in?
Jetstar gates at Brisbane are miles away from the Qantas lounge.
Left what I thought was plenty of time, got to the gate… and they had already shut the door. Missed it by literally 1 minute. No flexibility, no help, just “gate closed.”
I get it, rules are rules—but the contrast was pretty stark:
Qantas delay on the inbound
Qantas lounge access nowhere near the departure gate
Jetstar zero tolerance on the outbound
End result: stranded over 60 seconds.
I know this is partly on me (tight-ish connection + lounge complacency), but it’s a pretty rough combo when you mix the two airlines.
Safe to say I’ll be sticking to Qantas for this route going forward.
Curious if others have been caught out by the Brisbane lounge → Jetstar gate trek?