Do we like them?

Do we like Jetstar?

Low-cost airline flying within Australia and New Zealand and on international routes, based in Melbourne. It is the budget brand of Qantas.

Our score: 4 out of 10. Cheap flights, but courts and regulators in Australia and NZ keep finding it misled customers about their rights. We'd hold back until the record is cleaner.

Jetstar is Qantas's budget arm. It started life as a low-cost response to Virgin Blue. The Qantas leadership page lists Stephanie Tully as Jetstar Group CEO since November 2022, and she reports into Qantas Group boss Vanessa Hudson.

The consumer-law record is the big black mark. In 2018 the ACCC took Jetstar to court, and the Federal Court ordered a $1.95m penalty over false or misleading claims on refunds. The ACCC found that Jetstar's terms said consumer guarantees didn't apply to its flights, which they do. Jetstar admitted liability.

It's not a one-off. The Federal Court earlier ordered a $545,000 penalty over 'drip pricing', where extra fees weren't properly shown up front. In New Zealand, the Commerce Commission announced a $2.25m fine in 2025 over misleading customers about compensation for delays and cancellations.

On the environment, climate groups lodged a greenwashing complaint with the ACCC against Qantas in 2024. It covers the 'fly carbon-neutral' option, which Jetstar also offers, and the net zero claims. Qantas said high-integrity offsets are key until cleaner fuels and technology are available.

Why 4/10? Cheap fares are useful, and Jetstar did fix its policies after the ACCC case. But a run of fines across two countries over how it treats customers' rights is hard to look past if you're deciding whether to back them with your money.