carlousmoochous

Hey this is the second part of my day trip to Coffs Harbour trip report - The flight itself from Melbourne to Coffs. Hope you enjoy the review - the pictures for this review are on my blog at http://www.carlousmoochous.com Enjoy! Route: Melbourne to Coffs Harbour Flight: VA1129 Carrier: Virgin Australia Class: Economy Terminal: Although I’ve been through this airport more times, and written more than one Virgin Australia Review, I’ve never done any real reviews of the Virgin Australia terminal or its lounge before. While waiting for my flight I reviewed the lounge which you can read the full review of here. If you don’t have lounge access, I wouldn’t want to spend too much time here as other than a few places to eat or drink theres not a huge amount to do here. I am impressed with the way Virgin has branded the concourse and how it has gate podiums which are staffed by ground crew which I think is a nice touch and provides a bit more service if you need it. The check in and baggage claim areas have been recently renovated and I think it’s made a huge difference (especially at check in) to the professional feel the airline has been trying (and in my view succeeding) to build over the last year or so. Virgin operates out of two concourses within Terminal 3, both with their own security points. So if you’re drafting from gates 1-10 use the security checkpoint that’s closest to the check in area (pretty much straight ahead after a slight deviation to the right) however if you’re in gates 11-22 hang a left once you’ve gone done the escalators from check in, walk past the lounge and along the walkway to the concourse that’s also used by Rex (Regional Express). If you do get here early (without lounge access) or you clear security only to find your flight delayed. Walk to the end of the concourse near gate 10 where you’ll find the closest view of the north south runway. There’s only a few seats and if the gate is in use it might be crowded but it I’d it’s not being used its a relatively quiet place you can do some plane spotting in peace. Departure: Gate 5. Although boarding was scheduled to commence at 11:00 the inbound aircraft from Launceston arrived at 11:05, meaning a slight delay to the boarding time. Fortunately priority boarding works really well with Virgin so once boarding commenced I was one of the first to board. However after barely getting one foot on the plane I was quickly turned back and de boarded after the crew reported an engineering problem that 5 engineers were working on rectifying. Apparently 5 engineers and passengers was too much for this little 737 this morning. After a few minutes awkwardly waiting between the boarding desk and the door boarding recommended and I was again the first non wheelchair guest to board. Without a full load boarding was complete relatively quickly and the doors were closed ready for push back. The mandatory exit row safety briefing was delivered by the crew with all the personality and excitement you’d expect from a rock before we pushed back and taxied to the southern end of the field for a short take off roll on runway 34. Our climb included a few small bumps as we passed few a few very thin layers of light cloud while climbing out of a relatively quiet Melbourne airport. Seat: 13F. As previously mentioned I scored an exit row during the booking process however as I refused to pay extra for a seat, it’s the less desirable exit row seat as row 13 does not recline. Despite the lack of recline the leg room is the same as the row behind and thus there is plenty of room for my standard sized legs. The tray table doesn’t actually extend far enough into the seat, a sign of good legroom (although slightly annoying if you’re trying to use your iPad / eat while flying). The seat itself is covered in the standard grey leather with alternating grey, red and purple head covers like most of the new Virgin Australia fleet. Other than the padding of the head cover there isn’t any headrest at all which I’ve never noticed before. Being a window seat on the exit row your right armrest is in two parts but it does the job. Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 (VH-VOK – Johanna Beach). Despite its fresh paint job on the outside this particular 737 has been in the Virgin fleet for a while and doesn’t sport the BSI interior however it’s been kept looking pretty fresh with the new seat coverings and the now standard Business class cabin separated from economy by a purple perspex divider. The overhead buns are smaller than that of the BSI buddies but with not a full load (and boarding first) that didn’t really seem noticeable. IFE: Surprisingly this 737 hasn’t had its seat back IFE taken out (yet) as Virgin moves to its wireless tablet based IFE option (a really bad move in my view but anyway). The crew handed out free headsets before take off (for some reason my apple ones didn’t work but the cheap Virgin ones did) and the system provided about a dozen or so Foxtel channels available for fre viewing gate to gate. Included are all the basic channels like Fox8 and TV1 as well as a heap of sport channels (Boring) and quite a few kids channels (Yay). There’s also a moving map showing basic position, altitude and speed. I found it good to just have on in the background and its disappointing that Virgin are removing these in favour of tablets (boo). Meal: Meal service on Virgin is dependant on many factors backups where you are going, when you are flying, how long your flight is or what ticket you bought. I bought a cheap flight, that wasn’t very long, and not going anywhere special and thus the complimentary service consisted of water, tea or coffee. There is a buy on board menu available which I normally frown on however for the sake of the review (and a slight rumble in my stomach) I decided to try it out and get myself a light lunch. The options on the buy on board menu are limited, however I went for the Roast Chicken sandwich accompanied by a can of sprite which set me back $14. Slightly higher than what you’d pay on the ground but also not unreasonable. The quality was pretty good and the sandwich was filing enough to fill me for the 1:25min flight. Sure, I probably didn’t need it but for some reason I find it odd not to eat something on a flight (which is why whenever I travel I need to make sure I pack my gym gear). Arrival: With our slightly delayed departure we were advised that arrival would be about 10mins behind schedule after flying over Albury and Wagga Wagga before heading towards the northern NSW coast and arriving into Coffs Harbour. There are a few steep turns before finally lining up to runway 21, touching down and applying a fair bit of reverse thrust and brakes, stoping at the opposite end of the runway before backtracking most of the way back to the terminal. There’s no fancy aero bridges here, just good old fashioned stairs and a nice warm 20something degree day to greet me. Crew: The cabin manager was friendly as he explained what was going on during the boarding / de boarding process however the crew member who did the safety demo for the exit rows was colder than a Canberra winter morning and lacked any of the Virgin Australia ‘romance’ despite my friendliest greeting and excited smile from ear to ear. The rest of the crew were ok but nothing exciting or worth writing about. Overall I’d say the crew weren’t really reflective of the new corporate style Virgin Australia brand which was slightly disappointing. Overall: Flying somewhere new is always exciting and today’s flight was taken for the purpose of flying, blogging and getting some of my travel mojo back again. Thus in that front it was going to be a success regardless. I enjoyed the IFE (Virgin, take note) and the extra legroom was nice. With only a twice weekly direct service to Coffs Harbour from Melbourne I was a little confused as to the market for the service; leisure, corporate, visiting family and friends or just flight enthusiasts like me which I think could have been an issue with the crew – who are we serving here and why. Overall – good job, fun review and I look forward to my next random flight of the day.

Hey everyone - It's been a while since I had my travel trip report writing mojo on and I finally got it back last weekend during a day trip to Coffs Harbour. Here is the first part of the trip report with a review of Virgin Australia's lounge at Melbourne Airport. The photos are on my blog at Where to from Here? | Travel Blogging by CarlousMoochous I hope you enjoy! Location This Virgin Australia Review begins in Terminal 3, Melbourne Tullamarine Airport. The Virgin lounge in Melbourne is located outside security on the main concourse level between the arrivals and departures levels (next to the Sunglasses Hut and opposite Krispy Kreme). It’s pretty easy to find and get into, however being pre security you need to make sure you leave enough time to clear security before your departure time. Most gates will be a left hand turn when leaving the lounge but some, especially A330 flights will mean a right hand turn towards the traditionally Rex (Regional Express) concourse. Entry Access to Virgin’s lounge is open to Velocity Gold and Platinum frequent flyers as well as those of Virgin’s partner airlines holding similar status. Business class passengers also get complimentary access as do some government fares (a smart move by Virgin to snatch some of the government travel spend, especially out of Canberra). There is a self service machine you can use to check yourself into the lounge using your boarding pass or velocity card. Once it registers you it asks how many guests you are bringing in, before welcoming you to the lounge. This system skips the queue at the traditional desk however there doesn’t seem to be any barrier to stop you entering should you not be eligible. I’m sure Virgin has this worked out in the background somewhere so I’m not suggesting you try and bring the whole team in on your next trip, but it may allow the odd non eligible member through the doors. Space & Comfort During my visit the lounge was undergoing some construction so it would be a little unfair to be too harsh in my judgement of the space and style of the lounge today. That said, in it’s current (and even pre construction form) the lounge is relatively long but quite narrow with quite a few different forms of seating splashed around the place. There’s a slightly more open area that’s raised by the window but otherwise is a long and narrow lounge. Once past the food and beverage service area the internal wall is wrapped with several very stylish looking illuminated bars behind which are video monitors showing what I can only describe would be some form of art. Although these are impressive and provide a very Virgin branded image to the lounge, practicality has been completely forgotten with no space for legs under the bars making it an awkward and rather unpleasant experience if you try to sit here (I now realise why they are almost always unused when I’ve been here). The remainder of the lounge is filled (probably a little excessively – hopefully due to construction) with a combination of lower bench tables with power outlets and network points, long booth style seating and combinations of odd multilevel tables and chairs. There are a few larger arm chair type relaxing chairs by the window but these appear a popular option and thus were all full during my visit. My pick of seating if you want to eat something or do some work would be one of the lower benches with the power that run along the main walkway as the other tables are too low and uncomfortable to work or eat from. Food & Beverage Arriving in time for breakfast meant the usual airline lounge breakfast selection, some cereals, fruit, cold meat, cheeses etc, bread, muffins and the famous pancake machine that everyone seems to go crazy over when an airline rolls one out into their lounge. Barista coffee is available all day and they don’t do a bad hot chocolate either – I’m a ‘darl’ so even scored a few extra marshmallows. Madam Flavour tea’s are also available with the Mint Lavendar Tissane a favourite of mine. One differential between the Virgin and Qantas lounge is the sandwich press toaster which is generally around most of the day. Sometimes it’s great to be able to make a toasted cheese and vegemite sandwich when travelling instead of trying to be all gourmet all the time. It would be great if they had some sweet options too, as I feel the lounge is missing a nice cake or slice for this sweet tooth traveller. Staff Service There isn’t any table service however the service behind the barista is friendly and there are a few staff wandering around clearing tables. Unfortunately the food service area wasn’t well maintained today with it looking rather dirty / messy (how much of that is the responsibility of the clientele or the staff is a mixed guess). Airport Views There are decent views of both the Virgin concourses from the raised section of the lounge however, due to construction the other windows are all blocked off making it feel a little darker than usual. The windows aren’t that tinted (if at all) which makes taking photos that little bit easier although reflections from the internal lighting will often show. Gate 2 is directly outside the window so if you like watching an aircraft get turned around then a window seat is definitely for you. Amenities The bathrooms are clean and modern, something I’d expect to see in a nice hotel with decent hand wash and an overall clean and fresh feel to it. This might sound picky, but a travel review needs to be sometimes, but the actual cubicles are a little cramped; especially if you have a roller bag with you (which surprisingly many people in airports have). Showers are also available with towel packs available from reception if you need to freshen up before or after a flight. Business Facilities WiFi is available throughout the lounge however I wasn’t able to find a dedicated business section (e.g. Computers or printers etc). The WiFi password is displayed in the lounge but despite a few attempts I wasn’t able to connect to it on my iPad. Monitors throughout the lounge show SkyNews while others display up to date information on the financial markets. Overall I struggle to put my finger on it but for some reason the Virgin Lounge in Melbourne just doesn’t sit right with me. I like things with a bit of order and the layout of the chairs and tables is all a little too random for my liking. I like the use of colour and lights but I can’t help but thinking that style has been at the expense of practicality to some extent. It’s also a little loud with that background ‘shopping centre’ noise ever present and the sound of the barista bashing the coffee grinder and staking cups reigning throughout the entire lounge. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great lounge and definitely is somewhere you’d want to be while waiting for your flight however the overall atmosphere isn’t as relaxing or practical as it could be; hopefully new renovations (which I’ve heard rumours about will be massive) will help dispel whatever it is that makes this lounge not sit quite right with me.

Its been about a month since I've written up a review, so thought I better get to work and write one. Thus after a week sick in bed with the flu, here it is - hopefully germ free. The photos and video are on my blog which is available here: http://www.carlousmoochous.com [/url]Hope you enjoy this slightly different review than my normal ones. Route: Canberra to Sydney Flight: DJ635 Carrier: Virgin Australia Class: Business Terminal: Anyone who has flown into or out of Canberra during the winter months knows that its always a little bit of a gamble as to whether fog will delay your morning arrival or departure and today was no exception. From my window seat in the Virgin Australia lounge I watched the last of the aircraft that had overnighted disappear into the fog while taxiing to the southern end of the runway before hearing loud roars as they rolled along the fog covered southerly end of the runway and climbed out towards their destinations. As I wondered why I didn’t get here a little bit earlier and try and move onto one of those planes that just departed, all that was left were two lonely Virgin Australia planes, an E190 and 737 who were awaiting the arrival of their crews across an otherwise deserted apron. All hope of an on time departure wasn’t completely lost as I watched a few light aircraft land, although they had the advantage of not needing the whole runway and effectively flew over the foggy patch at the threshold and landed further down the runway. My optimism was quashed when a loud roar caught my attention as a Qantas 737 commenced a go around, unable to land due to the persistent patch of fog over the threshold, and unlike the Cessna, needed a wee bit more runway to land on and couldn’t simply fly over the fog. That 737 was the first of many to attempt to land, 2 E190’s a Dash 8 and another 737 all had a crack but all ended in go around’s. I’ve never found the small lounge in Canberra to be overly full however with half a dozen morning departures delayed the lounge quickly became quite full and the mood in the lounge, which has great views of the runway deteriorated as each successive plane attempted, yet failed to land. Credit goes to the sole lounge agent at the front desk who probably spoke to everyone in the lounge as the constant parade of passengers asked about their flight, connections and when operations were going to return to normal. I might write a separate article on what not to do when delayed however one point to share here that I found very amusing that one passenger was very vocal that this wouldn’t happen on Qantas. She was quite vocal on her plans to go and try and get on a Qantas flight immediately, until her colleague signalled across to the Qantas bays and pointed out that they had no planes on the ground, thus she wouldn’t be getting anywhere any faster with them. Her next best option appeared to be to pace around her chair until the fog cleared. I decided to check out where all these planes had actually gone so pulled out the iPad and after checking out the list of flight numbers from the Canberra Airport website, looked them up on the Flight Aware tracking tool to see where they had all gone. I found that they were all doing some nice circle work (well some where, my flight, which originated from Hobart was doing some handbrake turns) to the north of the airport while waiting for the pesky fog to clear. The FlightAware app is free and is pretty handy if you want to know more about where your flight is coming from, or after your flight, where you have gone. While we all waited in the terminal, a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster (correct me if I got the type wrong, military aircraft aren’t really my thing) entertained the lounge as it taxied past and took off through the fog. To my surprise I wasn’t the only one who jumped for a camera, as half the lounge suddenly became airplane enthusiasts quickly snapping photos and video with mobile phones or cameras. A short clip of the take off is on my blog, apologies for the poor quality, unfortunately the windows in the lounge are very reflective and not a plane spotters friend. A few minutes later the first go around aircraft, a QF 737 surprised the lounge and made a quiet landing from the north and was soon followed by a constant stream as each plane took its turn to land. As more Virgin flights landed, 3 Virgin flights to Sydney were all past their departure times, and ironically my flight (the earliest departure) was still listed on the board as “Delayed”, while the other flights were all “Go to Gate”. I took this a my queue to chat to the friendly lounge agent, who apologised and informed be that the boards weren’t being updated very well this morning, and that my flight was a priority so it would be best not to change. A few minutes later, boarding was called and it was time to leave the lounge for the short walk to Gate 8. If you want a review of the lounge itself, rather than today’s fog delay background, feel free to read the lounge review [/url]here . Departure: With 3 flights to Sydney, all listed to depart from the same gate, there was a lot of people around Gate 8 and the boarding line had began to mix into the crowd. Fortunately the priority-boarding lane was empty and the crew smoothly stopped general boarding, scanned my pass and then continued boarding seamlessly (I’m not sure why Qantas seem to need 2 people and still struggle with the concept of Priority boarding). Gate 8 is a walk across the tarmac and up the stairs before freezing your bits off kind of gate, but once onboard I was warmly welcomed by what turned out to be one of the best crew’s I’ve come across to date. Unfortunately fate wouldn’t allow the fog to be the only cause of delay this morning as whatever systems are used to produce the paperwork for the cockpit prior to departure also went down this morning, resulting in the ground staff performing this manually. Sitting in row 1 (and the only person in Business Class) I was able to chat, joke with and be very well informed about the delays from the crew (and a ground crew agent who had sought refuge from the cold onboard). Although our aircraft was the priority a few other issues were cropping up on the tarmac – Virgin had run out of bays for all these late arriving aircraft to park in. All the bays were now full so a few aircraft had to taxi around the airport and wait on taxiways and across at the tower by the RAAF base. On arrival onboard I was given the standard juice or water (I went with juice) however as the onboard delay continued the cabin supervisor made me a hot chocolate which was a nice touch – and handy to keep warm by door one. Another crewmember dropped several hints to his supervisor suggesting he could also use a Hot Chocolate to warm up to, before he was jokingly put in his place and declined. Our paperwork was finally prepared and delivered to the cockpit after which the final door was promptly closed up and we pushed backed and navigated our way around a few parked fellow company aircraft and lined up onto Runway 17 for departure. During the turn to line up the end of the runway just disappeared into the still persistently stubborn fog at the southerly end. As we rotated off the runway we quickly encountered the inconvenient fog, before just as quickly punching through it to a lovely sunny morning above. The rest of the flight was smooth and uneventful, seemingly perfect flying conditions however my connecting flight in Sydney and my first chance to try out the A330 Business Class seating was looking increasingly unlikely. Seat: 1A. Although Virgin offers business class across most routes now, the seating on the E190 aircraft is yet to arrive and thus you are actually seating in the old premium economy seats. The seats are in a 2-2 configuration however only the window seats are sold as Business class, meaning the aisle seats are guaranteed to be empty. Despite the blocked out seat beside you, its not the business class as you would imagine it to be and falls well short of all other business class seats on the Australian market (although I’ve heard this kind of blocked out economy seating for short haul business is common in other parts of the globe). The seat itself is comfortable enough for an economy seat and for the short hop to Sydney it does the job. Its annoying not having somewhere to put your pre take off drink without pulling out the next seats tray table, but I guess that’s something worthy of the first world problem hash tag if there ever was. I knew these seats would be here so wasn’t expecting any different, but if you had just connected from a 737 or A330, and hadn’t read the Virgin website or online forums before you’re flight, it wouldn’t be too hard to think you had been downgraded back to economy. I won’t bag out the seat any further but am looking forward to when the new seats are installed, in a 1-2 configuration like the promo images on the media release. Aircraft: Embraer E190 (VH-ZPG). Despite the lack of real business class seats, I really like the E190’s. They have all the comforts of a 737, offer a nice smooth ride yet being a little smaller feel more intimate and cozy without being claustrophobic or crowded like a crowded Dash 8. The aircraft is divided into two cabins by a curtain (that is not used) with 2 rows of “business” and 23 rows of economy seating behind. The 2-2 configuration in economy also means that there is no middle seat (which really no-one likes). The windows also seem a little larger, or at least wider than a 737 so it feels like you get a better view although at Row 1 the window is slightly forward of the seating position so you need to lean forward a little to get a good view (I’m not sure if they are actually bigger, but it feels like they are). The overhead bins are smaller but given the low loads in Business (e.g., just me) I had no trouble with my average roller size bag. IFE: This section is pretty simple to write about, there isn’t any IFE on board. I’m not sure if tablets or digEplayers are carried on the E190’s as I’ve only flown them to Sydney, but if they are they have never been offered on any of my flights, and realistically, with flight times of sub 30mins (this flight was 24mins), there isn’t really any point in my view. Meal: A morning tea service was offered on my flight which today consisted of a quiche (which I think was ham, tomato, cheese and spinach) a small bowl of fruit salad and a second hot chocolate to wash it all down. Although the food was nice and I had no complaints on the quality or taste of the food offered today, I’m not yet sure that the Virgin Business catering really screams “Business Class” at you. My view its more of a premium economy offering with the offerings rather sparse with too much space on the tray (although this is probably good for the waistline). I know it adds weight, but perhaps put a cup and a glass on the tray too to fill it up a little and be a little more creative with the menu selections as currently I’m not sure adding a “Luke Managan” label to a quiche from the local bakery suddenly makes it taste any better or any closer to the price league of a business class ticket. I’m not saying to just make a carbon copy of the Neil Perry options that Qantas serve, but perhaps just try and go a little further so the meal matches the price expectation that you paid for (which on short flights, especially with the current seating on an E190, is really the only differential between Business and Economy). Arrival: Our approach into Sydney overflew the southerly end of the airports approach paths before making a few right turns and landing towards the north on the right parallel runway. This provided an opportunity to take a few photos of the airport, and a great view over to Sydney in the distance. Our landing was smooth before we taxied to our gate just as my A330 flight I was trying to connect to, pushed back from its gate. Unfortunately the house won my gamble for a connection, with a little help from Canberra’s foggy morning. Crew: I wish I had a better memory for names, as the crew on this flight were exceptional from gate to gate. I must sound like a broken record, but the crew make or break a flight and the crew on this flight, especially the Cabin supervisor who ran the business cabin made my flight extremely enjoyable. They acted professionally without being stuffy or pretentious and were comfortable in making and getting involved in several conversations with me, including entertaining my obsession with flying. If you hadn’t already realised, I’m a plane nerd, so explained my interest in trying out the A330 after this flight. When I saw it push back as we arrived in Sydney, meaning I missed the flight, I told the cabin supervisor, who replied jokingly with something along the lines of “I’d like to tell you that plane is off to Perth and yours is hiding around the corner but I know that we both know that’s not the case.” So despite being delayed out of Canberra due to the fog and paperwork issues, having a pretty average quality business class hard product (the seat) and having catering that wasn’t really up to what I’d call business standards, I still had one of the best and most comfortable flights I’ve had in quite a while. The only variable left that I can attribute this to is, the outstanding crew who worked together like a well oiled machine and handled the delay and other passengers dissatisfaction with being delayed really well. I’d love to fly with this team again, and hope their enthusiasm and smart professionalism rubs off on the rest of the Virgin Australia team. FYI – I passed on thanks to the @VirginAustralia social media team via twitter, and I hope this was passed onto the crew. Overall: So this review was slightly different to my previous posts with more detail on the pre-flight activities than the flight itself, and has opened up a few new articles that I’ll add to my ongoing list of things to write about (if only I had the time). As I said earlier, the hard product and catering weren’t really up to business standards but the crew were fantastic and were the key factor in making this flight comfortable and enjoyable. Well done – its this kind of service that will encourage me (and others) to fly with the airline more often which will hopefully allow them to invest in newer seating and upgraded catering.

I think the Dash 8 is a great bird and should be used a lot more, especially out of Canberra where the demand isn't really there for too frequent 737 services. Some new destinations could be opened up or expanded (e.g Tassie, mid north NSW coast) with them and save having to connect :) The syd route is often faster on the dash 8 than the 737 as you don't spend as much time climbing. Also a few bumps and watching the clouds zoom by makes it more interesting :D Glad you guys liked the trip report.. will post a new one up soon. Cheers

Hey thanks everyone for the comments and friendly welcome to the site. Glad you enjoyed the trip report. Plenty more to come too - watch this space :) The dash 8's are great birds - one of my favourite. Although the Q400 is noticeably quieter than the 300, still they are all great to fly in - much closer to earth = much better view :) . Haven't been on the 100/200 series in a long time (and I'm not sure they are in service in Australia - correct me if I'm wrong). I'm keen to try the Skywest ATR birds now they are on the east coast to compare. I also did a trip report on the Horizon/Alaska Dash 8's on my blog too - slightly different service but still a great plane to fly on. I'll post it here soon.

Hi, just found this forum and thought I'd say hello by posting a trip report I did on my blog a while ago of the Dash 8 service between Canberra and Melbourne. There are a few pics that go with this but they are on my blog so if you want to see the few pics that go with they are here: http://www.carlousmoochous.com/2011/inflight-qf2133-canberra-to-melbourne/ Anyway, Hello AussieAviator and here goes - hope you enjoy. Route: Canberra to Melbourne Flight: QF2133 Carrier: Qantas Link (operated by Eastern). Class: Economy Seat: 3A. As there is only 1 class on the dash 8, all the seats are pretty much the same. Row 1 is the exception where seats F and E face backwards. The centre arm rest retracts fully which is great when the seat next to you is vacant (as it is in my case). Aircraft: Dash 8-300 (VH-SCE). I’m a personal fan of the dash 8 series aircraft, although I know many people don’t like seeing the propellers spin around. I however love the small 2 by 2 all economy cabin that feels offers plenty of legroom in every row. The prop noise is definitely noticeable, so if you have a hangover this bird wouldn’t be for you. Still there is adjustable air vents in each seat as well as your own reading lights and a mini tray table. There is a compact toilet at the front of the plane, so although this is a prop plane, its no four sestet trainer. Other than that the aircraft feels comfortable throughout. The airspeed on the dash 8-300 is a little slower than the 400 series and jets, so it will take a little longer to get to where you’re going however as they cruise at a lower level you get to cruise speed faster, thus saving some time on short hops. Departure: Spot on time for departure out of gate 14. We took off towards the north before circling around Canberra and then climbing up over the snow dusted hills towards Melbourne. One of the best features of the dash 8′s is the quick take off and faster turns which often (like in today’s case) provide great views. The view across Canberra CBD was awesome and provided for some great photo ops. InFlight Entertainment: There is no audio or visual inflight on the dash 8′s so the Australian Way and Spirit magazines are all there is to do. If you need something you can always bring an iPod with you. Ironically the background music while boarding was “taking off on a jet plane” which the cabin crew found very ironic and amusing. Meal: As it was morning tea time we were served a snack pack which consisted of a choc brownie, deluxe nibble mix, some mints and a water. Tea and Coffee was provided (however as I drink neither I got a fresh glass of OJ). As always with the dash 8′s the crew offer mints after the meal (mentos this time) which adds to the personal service. Crew: The best asset to the dash 8 is it’s crew. I have to say that the crew on this (and most other dash 8 flights I’ve taken) are by far friendlier and provide a much more personal service than mainline Qantas. The crew pass up and down the aisle several times and clean up when you are finished. I even got a top up of juice. If Qantas were able to replicate the QantasLink service and hospitality across all it’s flights it would be a much more popular choice. Arrival: The captain (who may have had a few too many coffees by the speed he spoke at) advised that we were above Eildon and making our decent for an early arrival into Melbourne before landing towards the south (I got a view over our house as we came in which was nice). Gate 30 is at the end of the newer concourse however its not much of a walk across to the international terminal for my connecting flight to Singapore. Overall: Overall a great, friendly and pretty smooth service down to Melbourne. This was the start of my trip to Malaysia for the weekend so will be moving from the smallest aircraft in the Qantas fleet to the largest so it will be interesting to compare the two reviews. Anyway, as I post this review I’m comfortably sipping away on my glass of bubbly in the business lounge, which is much more relaxing than the domestic lounge (and has a slightly better food and beverage offering).