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More Sydney!
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A night in Sydney and it was time to return to Canberra. I had booked an the evening flight back to Canberra and it would be operated by a B738, another aircraft type for me in the Qantas fleet. This flight would also proved to be the most impressive of all sectors!
Took the really overpriced train (A$15 for a 10min ride!) to the domestic terminals from Central station. Qantas domestic, which operates from Terminal 3, is linked direct from the train station. Went up to the terminal and printed my boarding pass using self-check in counters.
Qantas's first aircraft, now resting within T3 departure hall.
Qantas Terminal 3.
Wait through security with no fuss and into the gates area. Quite a busy evening today!
Flight would be departing from Gate 8, but the plane had not arrived.
Lets do some spotting then. Qantas B763 preparing for a flight.
Yes, I am in Qantasland.
Spotted a gem! CX Cargo B748F!!!
JQ A320 holding for takeoff.
QFLink Q400 landing.
DJ B738 taxiing for departure.
QF B738 in "Optus" livery!
Another B763 towed to the gate.
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The plane operating my flight also being towed to the gate.
MY baby boeing, VH-VXG at the gate. Big brothers A380 and A330 parked behind on the remote stands.
04 December 2011
Qantas
QF 805
Sydney (SYD) - Canberra (CBR)
B737-800
VH-VXG
Economy Class
Boarding started as scheduled and again I was welcomed by name at the door. Headsets were also available at the gate for yours to take.
Business Class seats.
But I was stuck in economy.
Boarding in progress. The flight was almost full, with only a handful of empty seats left, including the seat beside me!
Seat pitch, as usual, is not great but reasonable on this short-haul aircraft.
Inflight magazine, safety card and complimentary headset.
IFE controls on the armrest.
At the gate, with the Optus plane beside.
Boarding was completed as scheduled. However we were slight delayed with the pushback due to evening congestion. There were 5 cabin crew members on this flight and all of them were great, especially one of the senior crew in economy! She was a very approachable and kind motherly figure and while we were waiting for pushback, she distributed activity packs to all the kids onboard and chatted with them, followed by distribution of headsets again to other passengers who required them. Really impressive pre-takeoff service! The pilot then came on and announced that the flight today would be a very short 25min as we would be departing south straight towards Canberra and arriving into CBR from the north.
Finally pushback and safety demo done and we had a very short taxi to Rwy16R. Had to hold for a while for takeoff though as we were No.4 in the queue.
Finally took off for the short hop to Canberra. Weather was not too good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dLnw0EGFfs
Skimming across the cloud top.
At cruise.
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Seatbelt signs were only switched off about 5 minutes after takeoff when we had cleared the cloud layers and service immediately started. No time to waste on this very short flight! With the rather full load, 4 crew were tasked to serve in economy today (2 distributing sandwiches and 2 serving drinks) with the CSM herself serving Business. Short features were shown on the drop-down LCD screens.
The excellent Qantas crew member! She was really full of warmth and smiles when performing the inflight service.
As it was an evening flight, a sandwich was served! Really unexpected for a flight of this length.
The sandwich was tasty and filling!
Just after I received my sandwich, the seatbelt signs came on and we started descending. However, the drinks cart was still making its way down the aisle. When the cart reached my row, I was utterly shocked!! In a good way though! It was total madness that the crew was offering a full bar selection of beer, soft drinks, juice, water or wines (wines at a cost of A$6)! There were even small packets of nibbles on offer, probably with wines/beers!! Total craziness!
I had a juice again.
Even though we were halfway through our descent, the crew still managed to serve the whole cabin effortlessly and cleared up everything prior to landing, all within 20 minutes from takeoff! We passengers were not rushed to finish our food and for those with bottled water or juices, we were advised to hold onto the bottles if we could not finish our drinks. Amazing Qantas crew! I have not been on any other airline which can pull off such a stunt!
Descending into Canberra.
Flaps down and making some S-turns.
Final approach into Canberra.
Landing into Rwy17.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSMLb-1Vvdk
Parked at the gate beside a B734.
Saying goodbye to "Port Douglas".
Final look at VH-VXG. It would be operating up to Brisbane next.
This flight has totally "wowed" me as I never expected Qantas to have such fantastic inflight service on a short 25min flight. Halfway through the flight, I was still panicking for the cabin crew whether the service could be completed. Kudos to the crew for their flawless "performance"! Qantas really excel in short hops as almost no flight in Asia of such length could match up to this sort of inflight service in economy! Totally impressed!Comment
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Another 4 days in Canberra and it was time to return home. The next sector would be another standard CBR-SYD sector with great inflight service, and so I shall let the pictures and videos do most of the talking.
Christmas is near!
Lots of B734s this morning! And a Q400 just arrived.
Another B734 arrived.
DJ ERJ-170(?) landing.
VH-TJR, operating my flight, arrived as QF787 from Sydney.
Gate 13. The inbound flight number is also shown below the outbound flight number.
Again, Qantas offers complimentary newspapers to its passengers!
08 December 2011
Qantas
QF 704
Canberra (CBR) - Sydney
B737-400
VH-TJR
Economy Class
Boarding announced slightly but was completed swiftly as the flight was not full. Headsets were offered by a crew at the entrance of the aerobridge prior to entering the aircraft and was welcomed aboard at the door by name again. Really appreciate the effort by Qantas crew to greet passengers by name when they check our boarding passes.
At the gate. Flight time announced to be 30min.
Boarding almost completed. Just waiting for one last pax.
Customary legroom shot again.
Pushing back with DJ preparing to depart.
Pushback and safety demo by crew.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYnO7hNy_Pw
Taxiing to runway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6UOvq86cXYLast edited by ycp81; 16 December 2011, 10:27 PM.Comment
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Takeoff from Rwy35 for the short and final hop to Sydney. Weather along the eastern board is not very good today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMqVCV5CC9E
Climbing above the clouds.
Climbing and announcement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=migcpfujCUw
Again, the crew wasted no time in starting the service. Inflight entertainment was also switched on.
For this mid-morning flight, we were served a cookie plus your choice of water or juice. The cookie is nice.
Very friendly crew in action again. Qantas domestic cabin crew are really great!
Cloud cover along most of the flight.
Very soon, we started our descent.
Sydney suburbs.
Approaching Sydney.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fdQe--sptM
Gloomy Sydney
Final approach.
View of the city again.
Landing on Rwy16R. The roll-out was very short!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b980EtUXVv8
Virgin Australia B773ER.
Back at Qantas Land aka Terminal 3.
Another short and enjoyable domestic flight on Qantas this was! The final sector, on the A380, will be coming up. However before that, a bad surprise awaits...Comment
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Again, I hopped onto the free transfer bus to transfer to the International Terminal. Enjoyed a tour of the hangars and tarmac again!
Even a B737 looks big at ground level.
B744 in "Wallabies" livery.
A380!
China Southern B772 preparing for takeoff.
Qantas B744.
Now the surprised. Upon arrival at Sydney did I discover my flight back to Singapore was delayed for almost 5hrs! The original 1730hrs departure was rescheduled to 2205hrs, reason given that the aircraft is in maintenance and QF did not have any spare A380s till one arrived back from SIN (QF32) at 2030hrs. However I was surprised I was not informed of the delay in CBR even though my boarding pass had already been printed with the new boarding time (which I did not notice) and my 6hrs transit had now became 11hrs! That is way too long even for an aviation enthusiast at Sydney Airport with an open air viewing gallery! To make things worse, I had only discovered of the delay when I could not find QF31 on the FIDS at the check-in hall and had to approach a QF ground staff for assistance. Only then was I informed and given a A$30 meal voucher.
So nothing much to do in the terminal except for spotting planes at the viewing gallery...
Qantas B744 and A380.
QF A330 landing with the city skyline in the background.
SQ A380 departing to SIN as SQ222.
SQ vs Aussie Airlines!
Lots of departures now! BA B772 departing to SIN too. TG A346 off to BKK.
Jetstar A320 in "Billabong" livery.
Another SIN departure. QF6 to SIN/FRA. We were not offered to be transferred onto this or the earlier BA flight.
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I think you mean, 'Quiksilver'Originally posted by ycp81 View PostJetstar A320 in "Billabong" livery.
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The final sector of this trip, flying on QF's A380. As I had flown on SQ's A380 a number of times, I would be doing some comparisons on the 2 airline's whalejets. Our delayed flight was now one of the last few flights to depart the airport before the curfew starts.
After immigration at SYD airport. It has gone through a thorough renovation.
08 December 2011
Qantas
QF 31
Sydney (SYD) - Singapore (SIN)
A380-800
VH-OQB
Economy Class
Upon reaching the gate, an announcement was made that we would be expecting another 30min delay due to some technical issues and it would be resolved soon. Groans.... Luckily boarding started soon and we were allowed to board. Finally!! I could see that all passengers were restless and weary by now. Felt sorry for those going up to London. The flight was operated by OQB, Qantas's oldest A380 still flying (OQA is still stuck in SIN after the major engine incident).
Again greeted by name upon boarding and directed to the correct aisle. I was seated in the aft section of the plane. The aft section on QF's A380 has less seats than SQ's due to the installation of the self-service bar at the rear and 4 toilets (SQ has no bar and only 2 toilets at the aft section). Overhead bins are all the A330/340-styled ones rather than the B777-styled bins (which SQ uses on its first few A380s) which are much more difficult to close. Individual air-vents are also available above every seat unlike SQ.
Boarding in progress. The flight was not too full and I had an empty seat beside again.
Towards the rear.
At the gate.
On each seat was placed a blanket, a huge pillow and headset. Lets take a look at the seat itself. Interestingly, the seat belt is an unconventional car-seatbelt type where you push the button to release the buckle.
Seat pitch is not that fantastic (better than QF 744s though) but honestly speaking, the seats are slightly more comfortable than on SQ's A380 as I could stretch out my legs under the seat in front, something which I could not do on SQ's seats even though SQ has an inch pitch more. The seats are also equipped with foot nets in place of foot rests, quite a novel invention I must say and it does not restricts leg-room. However it was missing on my seat. Adjustable head-rests are very sturdy and do work unlike SQ's ones which falls flat whenever you rest your head on it. The PTV screen also has touch-screen capabilities.
Entertainment handset are "hidden" under the armrest, which I much prefer than on the seatback. USB ports are also at the front of the armrest.However there is no personal mirror and lack of small compartments to store personal things.
The stuff in the seat-pocket.
Menus were given out while we were on ground. No amenity kit was distributed though, probably as this flight was not original an "overnight" flight.
Offerings for the flight.
The inflight entertainment started while we were still on ground. Again, we were encouraged to use it all the way till landing at Changi. Personally I find Qantas's entertainment much more user-friendly than SQ's. Movies available may be slightly less but the TV series offered are much more!
As there were no particular movie that I would like to watch, I stuck the Glee Season 2 foe the flight. Qantas has 14 episodes from the season on offer!
Last edited by ycp81; 18 December 2011, 03:44 PM.Comment
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The captain came on and apologised for the major delay, explaining that the A380 operating our flight was scheduled for routine maintenance and there was a shortage of A380s as delivery of the latest aircraft was delayed. The past few days have also seen QF31 being substituted by B744s on certain days. Flight time to SIN would be 7hr 30min. We were pushed back at about 2230hrs and safety video/demo was performed.
Qantas A380 safety video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCHQlWY0Bag
QF has the cool tail-camera view function where you can see the exterior of the plane through your PTVs!
Beginning our taxi to Rwy16R. Lights were "dimmed" at the side but it was still very bright in the cabin.
Finally took off from SYD at about 2240hrs, a 5hrs delay!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qE1yEQ5VG0
Flight map shortly after takeoff.
Another view of the seats.
After seat belt signs were off, service started, with the procedural distribution of drinking water bottles, followed by arrival immigration forms. A few crew were also at the rear stocking up the self-service bar.
I made a visit to the lavatory as well as the bar. The lavatory only has the basic amenities, but the tap is automatically-activated.
Now here is the cool part, the self-service bar! QF has 2 of these in economy class on the A380s, a big one at the rear and a smaller bar at the mid-section of the cabin. The bar was stocked with sweet and savory cookies, soft drinks, ice and cups and a drinking water dispenser. How I wish SQ would have something like this too!
Compartments of cookies. Longer flights would have more substantial snacks I guess.
Selection of chilled soft drinks!
Chocolate chip cookie and savory biscotti from the bar.
Back to my seat and relax with Glee!
Meal service soon started. This set of crew was again friendly and professional.
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"Dinner". The meal was much better than the outbound. I had an Appletiser to go along. An interesting drink onboard!
Sun blushed Tomato and Parmesan Salad with Balsamic Dressing. A very simple and healthy salad.
I chose the Chinese-styled pork with rice. It was not bad but the vegetables were tasteless.
My seatmate's roast chicken.
Cheese and crackers.
Great tiramisu dessert! I could have more of this!
Overall, the meal was a vast improvement over the one that was catered out of SIN. After meals were served, crew came around offering coffee or tea.
During tray collection, again Cadbury hot chocolate or peppermint tea was served.
I simply love Qantas's hot chocolate service!
After everything was cleared away, the cabin was dimmed to allow pax to rest. Mood-lighting in action.
About half an hour after lights were dimmed, a crew appeared and offered ice-cream to those who were still awake. Of course I gladly had mine to enjoy with Glee!
It was only a small bar, but pretty enjoyable.
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I also managed to nap to 2 hours. The seat was comfortable enough to sleep in. During the flight, there were also instances of turbulence but the pilot never switched on the seat belt signs, which on SQ, would have warranted the signs to be on and crew making loud announcements to wake up the whole plane.
About 1.5hrs prior to landing, a snack was served. It was a hot pizza with a chocolate bar.
This was the only let-down of the whole flight. The pizza sandwich tasted nasty! I had two bites and left it.
Walked around to stretch my legs a bit. The magazine compartment at the rear.
http://www.sqtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12044
Stairways to "heaven", aka premium economy and business class.
Door.
Cabin view.
Before long, we were starting our descent into Changi. We were allowed to use the IFE till touchdown. 3 minutes to landing and on final approach to Rwy02C.
Landing 5hrs late at 0320am!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg5eAVjPeEk
Parked at gate C23.
Disembarking. My mess-up seat for the flight.
The green seats in the mid-section.
And the red seats at the forward cabin.
Last look at OQB. Parked beside a sister A320.
Other than the 5hrs delay (which Qantas could have better handled/compensated and I have sent a feedback letter regarding), I truly enjoyed the A380 ride. As a comparison to SQ's A380, I prefer Qantas's A380 more, mainly for its seat comfort and the awesome self-serve bar. Of course SQ would have better cabin service and meals, but QF is not too far behind. I would not hesitate to fly on a QF A380 again but probably not on the B744. QF also excels on its domestic shop hops which are pretty impressive when you consider the service on Asian carriers on similar length flights.
Thanks for bearing with me through the loooong report. I sincerely welcome any comments on this report.
Next up, I would be back to budget again in Jan on a trip to Macau/Hong Kong on Jetstar!Last edited by ycp81; 18 December 2011, 04:41 PM.Comment
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Fantastic report and photos; many thanks. I have not flown QF internationally for a long time despite living in MEL so great to get an idea to compare with SQ, MH, DJ, EK etc. Mind you, I think you lucked out on the domestic services - the crew are not always so pleasant.
Season's greetingsComment
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I was surprised (in a good way) too with the service on the domestic hops!Originally posted by MEL-World View PostComment
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