This trip came about as I was thinking, "it's about time we had another look around Cairns".
Last time we were in Cairns was in November 2006, wrong time of year weather wise as it's getting humid then. This time we are hoping the weather in June is a bit more comfortable.

The November 2006 flight report can be found here. The photo hosting site has since disappeared since this report was originally posted.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=959435&hilit=Cairns
https://flic.kr/s/aHsk8459xn

Return
https://flic.kr/s/aHsk59Bhpk

Booking this trip was an example of you can't totally ignore the traditional travel agent, even in this day of the internet and online bookings. Had we booked it all ourselves, it would be no cheaper and someone else did all the work in booking it. Plus it was a deal I saw in the newspaper (yes some people do still read them).

Au$ 865 for 7 nights, car hire and flights.

Again this trip is a mix of plane spotting and doing some touristy stuff.
Also I will be flying on a Dash8-100 to Horn Island on June 14 2017. That will be covered in a separate report.

Date: Thursday 8 June 2017
Route: Adelaide ADL-Cairns CNS
Flight no: Jetstar JQ962
Aircraft: Airbus A320-232 VH-JQX
Seat: 23A

History of VH-JQX
http://www.aussieairliners.org/a320/vh-jqx/vhjqx.html

No issues with check in. Secured a window seat.
Security posed no problems either.

Made our way to gate 25. One thing I have seen is that jetstar are very strict on carry on bag weight.

ADLTerminal by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-3 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-4 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-5 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

A few aircraft seen, including ours to Cairns.

Qantas737-838-VH-VZU by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

SingaporeA330-343-VH-SSI by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Virginaustralia737-8FE-VH-VUO by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Virginaustralia737-8FE-VH-VUO-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

LifeFlightCessna680-VH-VPL by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-3 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-4 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-5 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

AllianceFokker50-VH-FKZ by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Boarding was orderly using both front and rear doors.

ADLTerminal-8 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-6 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-7 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-6 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-8 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-7 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-8 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-9 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-10 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-11 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-12 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-13 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-15 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-14 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-15 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Powerful but smooth takeoff on runway 23.

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-16 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VGA by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

ChinasouthernA330-323-B-5970 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-17 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-18 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-19 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-20 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-21 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-22 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-23 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-24 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-25 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-26 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-27 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-28 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Snacks and drinks are available for purchase, but I rather not pay $4 for a bottle of water.

Cruise was quite smooth with a little very light turbulence here and there.

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-29 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-30 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-33 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-34 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-35 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-36 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-37 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Got a little choppy flying over the hills and the approach was a little wobbly in places. Landing was ok.

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-38 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-39 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-40 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-41 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-42 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-43 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-44 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-45 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-46 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-47 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-48 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-49 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-50 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-51 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-52 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-53 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-54 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-55 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-56 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-57 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-58 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-59 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-60 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-61 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-62 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

AirnorthERJ170-100LR-VH-ANV by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-63 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VZL by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-64 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Once at the gate, the usual in a hurry crowd were stood up waiting with their bags to get off, but doors weren't opened for a good 5-10 minutes.

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-65 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-66 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Let the crowd go and had a quick chat to the crew on the way out.

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-67 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQX-68 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Tobe continued.
Spotting around Cairns, Flight to Horn Island etc.

Cairns spotting 8 June 2017.
https://flic.kr/s/aHskYEspnD

Cairns spotting 9 June 2017.
https://flic.kr/s/aHskXvuH51

Australian Armour and Artillery Museum 10 June 2017.
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm38L7s9

Mareeba spotting 10 June 2017.
https://flic.kr/s/aHsm3bZD21

Innisfail spotting 11 June 2017.
https://flic.kr/s/aHskZc6Tqs

Cairns spotting 12 June 2017.
https://flic.kr/s/aHskXGRC6W

Horn Island flight 14 June 2017.
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1367333

To Be continued.

Flight home to Adelaide.

Date: Thursday 15 June 2017
Route: Cairns CNS-Adelaide ADL
Flight no: Jetstar JQ963
Aircraft: Airbus A320-232 VH-VQR
Seat: 7F

History over VH-VQR
http://www.aussieairliners.org/a320/vh-vqr/vhvqr.html

Got to the airport early and check in for the Adelaide flight wasn't open yet.

CairnsCNS-Terminal by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

CairnsCNS-Terminal-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

CairnsCNS-Terminal-3 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

However, when it did open, many had used the internet check in as most of the seats were taken.

At first we were assigned 4C and 4D, which meant no window.
Dad did get my seat changed to 7F, so we will be seated separately.

No queue at security, so got through quickly.

Bit of a wait at gate 21. Since our seats are at the front of the aircraft, boarding was through the forward door.

CairnsCNS-Terminal-4 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

CairnsCNS-Terminal-5 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

CairnsCNS-Terminal-6 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

A slight delay while last minute baggage is loaded.

Load appears to be 100%.

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-3 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-4 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-5 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Startrack737-376F-VH-XMB by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

VirginaustraliaERJ190-100AR-VH-ZPQ by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

CairnsCNS-Overview by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

CairnsCNS-Overview-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VGR by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Virginaustralia737-8FE-VH-VUF by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-6 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

CairnsCNS-Overview-3 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

AirnorthERJ170-100LRR-VH-ANO by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VFP by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

REXSSAB340B-VH-ZRY-REXSAAB340B-VH-ZLW by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-7 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-8 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-9 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Short wait for take off while a Jetstar 787 took off and Qantas 737 landed.

Jetstar787-8-VH-VKH by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Jetstar787-8-VH-VKH-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Jetstar787-8-VH-VKH-3 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VYK by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Our take off was smooth and a couple of bumps going through the cloud layer.

Jetstar dim the cabin lights for take off even during the day.

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-10 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-11 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-12 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-13 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-14 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-15 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-16 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-17 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-18 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-19 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-20 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-21 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-22 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-23 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-24 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-25 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-26 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-27 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-28 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-29 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

The usual sales pitch was made for overpriced snacks and drinks.

We encountered a cloud layer that stated to cause some light turbulence, but that didn't last long.

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-30 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-31 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-32 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-33 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-34 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-35 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-36 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-37 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-38 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-39 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-40 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-41 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Landing was on runway 05 and was quite smooth.

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-42 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-43 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-44 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-45 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-46 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-47 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-48 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-49 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-50 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-51 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-52 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-53 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-54 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-55 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-56 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-57 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-58 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-59 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VZM by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-60 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

AdelaideADL-Overview by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

A few people jumped the gun and were getting their bags out of the overhead bins before the seatbelt sign was turned off. They were told to sit down.

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-61 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

AdelaideADL-Overview-2 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Waited for the crowd to clear, had a chat to the crew and had my photo taken sat in the first officers seat.

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-62 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQR-63 by Ryan Hothersall, on Flickr

Had no issues with Jetstar, from what I have heard and read in the media, I was expecting a lot worse. From this experience I would fly them again, but I still prefer Qantas.

Hi Ryan.

Nice opportunity to do some spotting at both ADL and CNS. I'm pleased to hear that Jetstar surpassed your expectations and provided an all round positive experience. Good of the crew to take your photo up front on the return.