Your concerns are valid, however I am compelled to make mention that Qantas/Jetstar operations are kept pretty far apart. Qantas` relationship with Jetstar are sperated by cost base issues. I would consider it to be highly unlikely that you would be "put on" a Qantas flight if your Jetstar flight went unserviced for any reason.
Your best bet would be to initially book with Qantas (sorry to fly in the face of your planning) as their flight frequencies are greater and there shouldn't be too many issues with being reassigned to the next flight, so long as there are seats on the next flight that match your fare type (i.e. the cheaper the fare the less likely this is on the day of travel).
I would also recommend analysing the conditions of carriage associated with the fare type you also book yourself on; Red eDeal vs Super Saver vs Fully Flex etc...
I could also reccomend finding cheap travel insurance that would reimburse you with any associated cost with re-organising your travel plans due to unforeseen circumstances. Same day travel ticketing purchases can be quiet expensive and would easily be more than the cost of basic travel insurance. Once again find out what the travel isurance actually covers you for, a simple phone call should do the trick as it is easier than reading through the encyclopedia they call a PDS (product disclosure statement).
The codeshare agreement is mainly utilised by the Qantas Group at ticketing level. As we know there are destinations Qantas Mainline does not fly to anymore and thusly the codeshare agreement is in place to make this process more transparent. I would not put too much weight on this agreement that would otherwise help you on the day of travel.
Hope this is helpful....and good luck!
Last edited by Villy Curtin; 27th May 2010 at 01:21 PM.
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