Dad dropped me off at the airport just after 3:30pm. I checked in for the flight and then sat out in the outdoor observation area which is quite nice.
VUY arrives from Brisbane
NXG arrives from Brisbane. My plane home, third time on NXG!
VQL then arrived from Brisbane so the departures lounge was packed. Three flights leaving to Brisbane at the same time. Boarding for all three flights started at the exact same time! So that confused several people. Many people for the Jetstar flight accidently joined the Qantaslink line and vice versa! Anyway, soon enough I was on the way to VH-NXG!
April 3, 2014
Qantaslink
QF1769
MKY-BNE
VH-NXG B712
Seat 21A
Boarding!
My view! Row 22 or possibly 23 would probably be best now that the 717s have 25 rows rather than 23.
We taxied out before VA and JQ. VH-QOF was now here as well doing the milk-run up to Cairns. Would’ve made a good photo of them all lined up if it weren’t for the sun being right in my face. We backtracked the runway and departed off 14. I took a video which I will try to put on YouTube in the coming days. We climbed straight out of Mackay giving me an excellent view of the coast and the 20-30 ships waiting out to sea!
Light load on today’s flight. Probably around 60% full? I had the seat next to me free and rows around me looked rather empty. We received a snack box on the flight which contained a salami stick, cheese and biscuits, spiced corn nuts, a little piece of dark chocolate and small water. I also grabbed a can of coke. We cruised at 33000 feet.
Starting our descent at dusk. Looked like a nice sunset, unfortunately I was on the wrong side for it.
Brisbane City on base for RWY01
On finals for RWY01 with the city and the gabba visible.
We touched down on RWY01 on-time and taxied to the terminal. Disembarking was smooth since we had a light load.
VBZ seen here as I make my way out of the terminal
That’s the end of my short Mackay trip!
Thanks for reading!
Conclusion:
An enjoyable little trip! Love flying on the Fokker 100s and Boeing 717s! Awesome planes! It was nice to explore Mackay as well, quite a nice place. I will probably be flying up there every month or so to visit.
Next trip is my big two week holiday to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan in May/June! Can’t wait!
Cheers!
Brandon