Winter Holiday with Qantas

[Zac M]

August 16 2014
Today I was off to Brisbane via Sydney, the previous morning I had received a text message from Qantas telling me that my points upgrade had been successful so my flight to Sydney would be in business class.

I had a bus booked from the resort at 1010, after having breakfast I headed to the front of the resort to wait for my bus, the bus however didn't turn up till 1035. Arriving at the airport at approximately 1050, I used the priority check-in counter where I was issued with my boarding passes and my bag was checked in. I then made my way through security and to the Qantas Club.

Today's routing

Once in the club I grabbed a light snack and a coffee and sat by the window. The lounges at CNS are the only place where you are able to get an airside view, one of the many reasons I hate the design of this terminal.






Qantas Flight 925 16 August 2014
STD 1250 STA 1545
Aircraft: Boeing 767-338ER VH-OGM 'Bundaberg'
Seat: 1K

VH-OGM would be flying me to Sydney today, this would be my fourth time aboard her, my second time sitting in the same seat. Aircraft arrived on time however boarding was delayed by about 10 minutes due to some passengers requiring assistance.

Boarded using the priority boarding lane and made it onboard pretty fast, once onboard I was greeted by the CSM and was shortly after offered a pre-flight drink, today a choice of lemon juice or water, I had the lemon juice which was refreshing and very different to the usual orange juice! As most will know the Boeing 767 fleet features a newly refurbished interior with black leather seats in business providing great comfort on the domestic sectors.


OGM taxiing in after arriving from Sydney


Plenty of legroom in 1K


Parked next to VXH which was off to Brisbane

Boarding was quite a slow process today due to a lot of families with small children been onboard, the door was closed at about 1225 however there was an extra delay due to the pilots having to re-plan the departure because of a runway change, we would now be departing from runway 33.

Once pushed back we taxied out to runway 33 and made a quick and steep departure, with a few right hand turns to set course, today routing out over the coast before crossing overhead Townsville and heading inland.

Heading back past the tip of the Cairns bay

Once the seat belt sign was off the cabin crew made their way through the cabin with a drinks service. Today I had a lemonade which was served with a packet of nuts.


About an hour into the flight the cabin crew made their way through the cabin once again offering lunch. Today a choice of lasagne accompanied by seasonal veggies or a salad. This was accompanied by a fruit salad and space for a bread roll. Today I chose the lasagne which was great...the seasonal veggies weren't to my taste (greens :P) but apart from that the meal was great.


Shortly after the main meal trays were cleaned up we were offered an Affogato Icecream, not to my taste but yeah...coffee and tea followed closely behind the ice-cream.



Once the meal was packed away I continued watching the Q-Streaming, the captain came over the PA giving us some arrival details, stating that we would be using the east-west runway today with good views of the city once free of the cloud, this would mean a runway 07 arrival today.
[img]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5557/14757936047_668766308f_z.jpg[img]
Top of descent

Descent was pretty smooth despite the weather as we made the approach to runway 07, the landing unlike descent was rather rough. A quick taxi followed and before long we were disembarking at gate 5.




After arriving I made my way up to the Qantas club for the wait until my flight onto Brisbane boarded.

[Zac M]

Won't go into the Qantas Club again as I've already covered the Sydney QF Club once.

Qantas Flight 540 16 August 2014
STD 1705 STA 1835
Aircraft: Boeing 737-838 VH-VZE 'Bunbury'
Seat: 4F

Boarding for the flight was called a tad late however with the light load on this flight today (about 50 pax) the door was closed early and we had to sit on the bay for a few extra minutes due to ATFM (Air Traffic Flow Management) in Brisbane. Plenty of legroom in row 4 however despite the light load there was two other guys sitting in seats D and E.


VZE on the bay prior to boarding

VH-OGM is towed to the jet base after my arrival from Cairns

Legroom

Once underway we made our way out to 16L where we made an immediate takeoff with the standard steep left bank before setting course to the north for Brisbane. At this point in time the weather had deteriorated some what and we were into the cloud pretty fast, the seatbelt sign was left on for about 15mins after takeoff at which point we broke free of the cloud. Once the seatbelt sign the CSM indicated to us that we could spread out a bit so my tow seat mates moved back to row 5 (personally I would have suggested one moved to 4C and the other sat in D but hey).

Free of the cloud

Before long the cabin crew were making their way through the cabin with an afternoon refreshment, today lavosh with spiced pumpkin dip and a small cookie, I was also offered some soy snacks as well as a soft drink and a bottle of water.


Before long descent commenced, the seatbelt sign was turned on briefly due to turbulence as we completed a single holding pattern over the Gold Coast, the seatbelt sign was then very briefly turned off to allow the cabin crew to prepare the cabin.

Top of descent, last picture as it was too dark after this.

Approach today was over the Brisbane city for runway 01 in the pouring rain, landing was quite smooth and we were quickly parked at the bay where we had a short wait to disembark due to an issue with the aerobridge. Once in the terminal I made my way to baggage claim to collect my bags and made my way out to the public pick up area where I was picked up by my aunt who I would be staying with for the next four nights.

[Todd Steele]

Great report Zac!

[Zac M]

Plane Spotting Brisbane 17 August 2014
Today the plan was to head into the Brisbane City and explore a bit, however once I sighted that today's Etihad A330 was to be A6-EYE (Blue Moon Rising Livery) that was out the window and I soon found myself meeting up with local spotter Brandon on the train to the airport.

[Zac M]

Plane Spotting Brisbane 18 August 2014
Today the plan was to go plane spotting, everything went to plan and once again I was soon meeting up with Brandon and heading over to the airport, today by bus. Highlights today included Air New Zealand ZK-OKO and Boeing 757 VQ-BTF.

[Zac M]

Brisbane Airport 20 August 2014
Arriving at the airport earlier than I really needed for my flight I made my way to check-in, at the desk I was informed (although I was already aware) that my flight had been delayed by approximately 90 minutes due to the aircraft running late out of Dallas, after a quick check that my connection was still ok I was handed my boarding passes and an express pass for immigration I was given directions to my lounge and sent on my way. Today I would be making my way home via Sydney on QF8 which I had upgraded to J using points on.

With the express pass I was through the immigration area in minutes and soon I was in the lounge, finding that I was the first one in the lounge that morning, my aircraft would be arriving from Dallas at 0620, just 10 minutes before scheduled departure from Sydney.





I found that the lounge here was lacking when compared to the other lounges I have visited on this trip, it's also rather small, I'd hate to be in here when it's busy!!


Boarding passes, now everyone knows my frequent flyer number :P I had originally selected seat 1A, however a through traveller from DFW had been seated there so I was now in 11A on the upper deck.

About 20mins before boarding was due to commence I decided I would leave the lounge and go for a walk about the terminal.

My ride to Sydney this morning, VH-OEG, my second time on her.

Before long the flight was called for boarding, but I wasn't getting on till I got a photo (however bad it may have been) of the aircraft about to park next to us which had just arrived back from Singapore.

Airbus A330-300 VH-QPA parking on the bay some 12 hours late after ferrying in from Singapore with a fresh coat of paint, first time I had seen an A333 in the new livery, although this is the second one.

Qantas Flight 8 20 August 2014
STD 0630 STA 0810
Aircraft: Boeing 747-438ER VH-OEG 'Parkes'
Seat: 11A

Once I had that picture I made my way straight to the gate using the priority boarding lane and heading straight down to the aircraft where I was welcomed onboard and directed upstairs where I was also welcomed onboard by another two flight attendants, pretty sure I was the last one for the top deck, with only 4 people upstairs today.

As soon as I was seated I was offered a pre-flight drink, today a choice of orange juice or water. Shortly after we were pushing back 90minutes late, making the long taxi down to runway 19 before blasting off, a very quick takeoff roll and a steady climb out.

OJ

Plenty of legroom as would be expected with a lie flat bed!

Once on the way the seatbelt sign was turned off and the flight attendants made their way through the cabin offering breakfast, today a choice of hot or cold, went for the hot brekky and wasn't disappointed, it was pretty tasty!

A nice big IFE screen in the sky bed.

Breakfast is served.

The flight today was pretty fast and before long we had begun out descent into Sydney heading for a 16R arrival. During the descent the cabin supervisor made his way through delivering arrivals cards and inbound express passes.


Top of descent




On the ground we taxied to the gate and quickly disembarked. Made my way down to passport control which was a very quick process for me and then down to baggage claim. Once down at baggage claim I discovered my bag had not made the carousel...lucky I was heading home, but when I approached baggage services I was told the bag had been found and would be on the carousel, bonus! I then made my way to the domestic transfer where I once again parted with my bag.

[Zac M]

Sydney Airport August 20 2014
Once at the transfer lounge there was no mucking about, as soon as I was through security I was ushered straight onto a bus, the doors were closed behind me and we were on the way, now that's a seamless transfer :P

Over at the domestic terminal I found that my flight was on time and made my way to the lounge for the hour wait, again won't cover the lounge as I did it earlier in the report.

Qantaslink Flight 1419 August 20 2014
STD 1125 STA 1220
Aircraft: DHC-8-402Q VH-QOA 'Gladstone'
Seat: 1A

Made my way out of the lounge before the flight was called and headed to gate 8 where my flight would be boarded using the 'gantry', a device which is used to board Dash 8s from an aerobridge. Was pleased to find that today the flight would be operated by the class leader QOA....if I had a dollar for the amount of times I've been scheduled to fly on this thing and it's changed I be rich.

Boarding today was incredibly fast and before long the door was closed with 54 people on board, push back commenced approximately 5 minutes ahead of schedule, making the quick taxi out to holding point bravo 1 runway 16R and taking off with no delay. During the takeoff I spoke to the flight attendant, working with Q400s pretty much means I know all the Qantaslink crew including the crew operating today so that occupied my time nicely Again sitting in front of the flight attendant has it's downside so no photos were taken in the takeoff or landing phases of this flight.

QOA at the gate

The seatbelt sign was turned off pretty quickly as I made this all too familiar journey on the dash 8, flight attendants were soon up with the service today consisting of a custard scroll (which was clearly made some time ago, yuck) and a full hot/cold drinks offering.

Climbing up to FL180


Service on todays flight

Before long the captain came over the PA requesting that the cabin crew prepare for landing, today it was a very quick descent landing on runway 17.

Top of descent

Overhead Lake George....last picture for the report.

Once on the ground we exited off on taxiway mike and headed for gate 11 which we parked at very close to 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Made my way to baggage claim where my bag was off nice and quickly and before long I was off on my way home

Conclusion
I can't say that I haven't enjoyed myself on this trip, thats for sure. I think the next time I head to Cairns I would like to try doing something on the outer barrier reef as I have now done Green Island twice, I would certainly do the sky rail again...that never gets old!

As far as flights...as can be seen by my ff status on the boarding passes I'm a pretty loyal Qantas customer, personally I think their domestic service exceeds anyones else's by a long way and this certainly went to prove as much.

I think thats all guys, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the report, if you're lucky or unlucky if you see it that way I may just write another report and some point down the track :P