Jetstar from Australia has concluded the calendar year with a rather embarrassing flight to nowhere.
Departing from Melbourne as JQ35. The scheduled 787 flight was expected to take passengers to the popular destination of Bali.
A routine service for the Australian carrier, part of the Qantas group. However, the aircraft never made it to Bali without a lack of trouble.
The aircraft departed from Melbourne significantly late, which threw off schedules, to begin with. However, a delay doesn’t mean the aircraft should face difficulties.
As the Boeing 787 began to leave Australian shores, it turned around and headed back to Melbourne.
A flight to nowhere that saw passengers waste hours on an aircraft without getting to their destination. One for the record books.
Attached is a screenshot of the trip. Thanks to Flightradar24, the difficulties experienced and how far the aircraft travelled before it turned around are highlighted.
Questions have arisen about how this could be possible. Most technical issues that cause a plane to return to its origin airport would have to occur shortly after departure.
In this case, the plane flew back to Melbourne despite having just flown past Australian waters.
The aircraft never made it to Bali because Jetstar didn’t obtain the required approval or permission from Indonesian authorities.
The explanation is that the Australian airline swapped the aircraft from the routine A321 family to this Boeing 787. The 787 is a larger aircraft.
“Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, the swap to a larger aircraft had not been approved by the local regulator in Indonesia. As soon as we became aware, the flight returned to Melbourne, and we have rebooked passengers on a flight for later today.”
Jetstar Spokesperson
This was quite the flight and, no doubt, quite the experience for the passengers onboard. A journey that could’ve taken them to Los Angeles instead for the time they spent.
Instead, they were right back where they started: Melbourne, not Bali.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Daniel Fowkes is a Melbourne-based aviation analyst and journalist with over a decade of industry experience. As founder of Dj’s Aviation, he delivers trusted analysis on aircraft, airline strategy and global aviation trends for djsaviation.net
Leave a Reply
Related Articles
Stay Informed
Get the latest aviation news, analysis and route updates delivered to your inbox.
We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.
Enjoyed this story?
Make us your go-to for aviation news
Add us as a preferred source on Google and see our latest stories first in Top Stories.
Add Us On Your News Feed
Good piece here and what a joke of an airline now. Needless to say Qantas spin off!!
Went to Bali by Jetstar,hours late in the departure,then they have the cheek to charge you for crappy food. Never again Jetstar.
And this is why I will never fly Jetsar. Went to Syndney and they canceled my flight. Had to wait 12hrs AT THE AIRPORT just for my next flight…flew back to Melbourne from Sydney and they canceled mt flight again. What an absolute joke of an airlines.
Does not give me any confidence to fly with the carrier though I have flown from Perth to Cairns and to the other popular locations including Singapore but as the sky gets busier we passengers are more prone to accidents.
I recently flew to Sydney and back with Jetstar. 10 minutes late getting off the ground but landed on time. Trip home was the same. Wha is important is that the service by the checkin and flight crew was excellent on both flights. The problems are with the management and back office people, NOT the flight crews.
Jetstar is owned and operated by Qantas, as we all know Qantas has had so many problems since the covid restrictions where lifted, on 3 or 4 occasions Qantas has had to land at unscheduled airports, personally i think all the aircraft being parked up for 2 years has and will continue to experience problems with there planes..
Yes it was a different aircraft to what was scheduled but Indonesia could have been flexable and should be happy more ppl where travelling to that dump of a place, atleast Jetstar are safe compared to Indonesia National Carrier Garuda who’s safety record and poor maintenance has them banned from most European countrys, There fleet is old and unsafe, flew them once and wouldnt fly with them again even if offered 1st class for free. Remember seeing a Qantas 747 leased by Garuda, looked luke Qantas but painted over Qantas and looked like someone with a paint brush wrote Garuda.
What do you expect from a company who are far more concerned with virtue signalling, rainbow rights, and Greta worship than filling out a simple form. Fly at your own peril peeps.
Traveled on Jetstar on numerous occasions and never had a problem, guess we were just lucky.
You only get what you pay for
The Aviator Game combines adventure with high stakes.
Jump into the cockpit and spin through cloudy adventures for sky-high prizes.
With its vintage-inspired design, the game reflects the spirit of pioneering pilots.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/robin-kh-150138202_aviator-game-download-activity-7295792143506321408-81HD/
Watch as the plane takes off – cash out before it flies away to grab your rewards.
Featuring smooth gameplay and immersive background music, it’s a favorite for slot enthusiasts.
Whether you’re testing luck, Aviator delivers uninterrupted action with every round.