Trip Report Part 1 (SYD-BKK-HKT-SIN)

[Scott L.]

During this trip we flew 6 sectors on a trip to Phuket & Singapore.

Here is Part 1

17 January 2015
QF23 SYDNEY to BANGKOK
Qantas A330-303
VH-QPJ “Port Stephens”
Seats 50 & 51 A&B

I unfortunately did not take any cabin photos on the trip up to Bangkok.

My only prior international experiences aboard Qantas have been to Europe on A380 & B747 products. This is my first trip aboard international configured Qantas A330-300. It’s fair to say that my other half is convinced that Qantas is the only airline rain, hail or shine. Spending a fair bit of time on their domestic products across Australia, my expectations for the international product were high.

It’s an older roo painted plane and the interior is, in my opinion, old. In order for Qantas to seek the higher fares and remain competitive, I am glad to read that the interior cabins, IFE and the aircraft are receiving refurbishment and repaints. Possibly long overdue.

Embarkation was quick and the departure delayed by 25 minutes. With a rotation from Golf after a take off roll starting at A6, the trip is uneventful and smooth as silk. Despite the departures delay to schedule at 10.20am we land on 01L at Bangkok slightly ahead of schedule at 3.10pm.

The aircraft:
There is no power to the seats and no USB in these seats. The IFE screen is small but you get used to it. In Seat 50B, the screen was Black and White only. Several ‘resets’ did not assist. The crew were apologetic and scoffed at the suggestion that an upgrade to Business was fair compensation. On this aircraft the satellite phone and seat to seat calls were inoperative. I am not sure if this is connected to the IFE but player-to-player competition on the gaming was not possible on this aircraft.

It has a 31 inch seat pitch and a 17 inch width.

The IFE


Looking SouthWest abeam Richmond – you can see the Penrith Lakes Scheme in the background


The meal:
30 minutes into the flight the crew handed out Menu’s for this flight, which I thought, was a complete waste of time. By the time the crew had reached our seat (about 2 hours into the flight) my choice of Chicken Pie was no longer available. I reached into the seat pocket and pulled the menu back out and asked for the Beef. I was told Beef was not available either and completely confused, the flight attendant told me the Menu I had been provided was not available either as it was a Menu from the previous sector (QF82 from Singapore). Instead, I had Pork Sir Fry, which was delicious washed down with a few Red wines.

My wife and Son (6) both have Gluten Free meals. My wife takes this meal in sympathy however my son is a Coeliac. We were impressed this meal was offered although we quickly worked out it is the Kosher meal, the Vegan meal and the dairy free meal as well.

Gluten Free Evening Meal


Later in the flight and before our arrival into Bangkok, 2 beef sliders were provided. The Gluten Free option is a toasted chick pea and spinach sandwich and some cheese is offered which my wife told me was tasty.

We did not know what to expect with Gluten Free meals and on advice, we packed our own food for our son, which he was familiar with. Although the offer of a Gluten free meal is generous it is not child or age appropriate and this is simply an observation for Qantas if they wish to offer dietary meals.


17 January 2015
QF3486/PG277 BANGKOK to PHUKET
Bangkok Airways A320-232
HS-PPE “Maha Mongkol”
Seats 14 & 15 A&B

Upon arrival into Bangkok, if you have a boarding pass for your next flight you can proceed to the Domestic Transfer and await your next flight. Our bags were checked straight through to Phuket and after clearing immigration at Bangkok we preceded to the gate. Our scheduled departure was 5:30pm.

It did take approximately 1:25 minutes to walk from the International Gate the 1.3KM to the Domestic Transfer, clear immigration and then proceed to the Domestic Gate. There is however a moving walkway that makes the trip comfortable.

I have transited this airport before and I marvel at the design and how modern, cool and clean this airport is.

At the Gate


Thai A380 on the ramp in a beautiful sunset in Bangkok


Unfortunately the aircraft was late on arriving into Bangkok. We also had a gate change that then saw us catch a bus to a remote stand on the airfield to board the aircraft. We eventually departed Bangkok 1.5 hours behind schedule, pushback at 6.40PM and a long taxi to depart at 7:01PM.

We make a couple of left hand turns after departing from 01R for the quick ride down to Phuket. A couple of deviations and descends due to weather however flight was uneventful. Landing at 9:03PM on runway 09.

The aircraft:
The aircraft is just over 2 years old to Bangkok Airways, having spent the majority of its life with TAM. It is a single Y class with 174 seats and tonight; it’s a full flight with the majority of the travellers from Russia.

It has a 31 inch seat pitch and 19.8 inch width however the aircraft does not feel cramped with the slimline seats and the extra width.

Inside the Cabin


Leg Room


The meal:
For the 1 hour flight down to Phuket a meal is complimentary on Bangkok Airways. These girls were quick. They flung these meals out in minutes. For normal meals it was 4 slices of chicken loaf, Noodles, Corn, Peas in Mayonnaise and a mysterious cake. Water, orange juice, tea and coffee were served.

Due to the flight delay we went to Subway and McDonalds in the food court at Bangkok so I was not hungry for this meal and did not eat it. The cake was nice however and the Orange Juice sweet.

Standard Meal


The Gluten Free meal was shredded lettuce, tomato, 4 slices of ham, water, orange juice and tea or coffee.


21 January 2015
3K536 PHUKET to SINGAPORE
Jetstar Asia A320-232
9V-JSL
Seats 8 A, B, C & D

Phuket Terminal
Arriving at Phuket for Jetstar you make way to terminal 2, which is on the ground floor for check in. Upon arrival into the terminal the bags are x-rayed and you walk through a metal detector. Your bags are then searched by hand and surprisingly; the security agent joking asks my kids if we “have bomb” in bag. Now, my kids have been well conditioned not to say anything remotely like this so it came as a real shock to all of us.

At Check In, mysteriously the sign says, “If you wish to check in your Firearms, please advise the check-in staff”. So it seems there is a choice?

Check-In is quick and you then proceed to immigration, which has another security check.

The Phuket Airport is relatively small and really busy. It has over 11 million passenger movements per year and 75,000 aircraft movements - with most movements arriving from Singapore however increasingly, Moscow and other European airports are rapidly increasing. You can tell Russia is having some influence here as most signs are in English, Thai and Russian.

I was shocked to read the Sydney Airport Website having about 13 million passengers go through the International Terminal, which is miles bigger than Phuket.

The airport has Free Wi-Fi and some food outlets. Our Asian neighbours literally run for their planes when they are called.

Inside Phuket Terminal


Waiting at Gate 63 – dedicated for vehicle transport to the aircraft


Orient Thai OEA678 HS-BKA starting engines. Phuket to Bangkok Don Mueang
[/url]

We are bussed from Gate 63 within the terminal to the aircraft at a remote stand (about 50 metres away) and board via stairs.

The aircraft
This aircraft is just 3.6 years old but the seats we were in were well worn in. Nevertheless, with a 29 inch seat pitch at 17 inch width, you don’t really notice with the slimline seats. The aircraft must only be cleaned once per day as on this flight, the aircraft had already done 6 sectors before it reached us.

This aircraft also possess the Valuair logo on both sides of the rear fuselage.

Our Aircraft


Inside the Cabin


Leg Room


It’s a relatively quick hop to Singapore, just 1:15 minutes today, a couple of left turns from Phuket setting course abeam Kuala Lumpur, then a few left hand turns for an arrival into Singapore on 02L.

As we exchanged frequent flyer points for this trip there is no meal service provided however you can purchase a meal or snack. Kids and wife has a soft drink and I order a coffee, which was average.

The Emergency Exit rows were empty. Its an extra SGD$32 if you want those seats and if they are available, they will sell them to you at any stage in the flight.

The seats fly empty. I sat here for about 15 seconds to start filling in the immigration cards and they were onto me like a pitbull to go back to my seat.