Todd M Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Sorry for the lateness of the report, but here is my report from my trip to Perth via Darwin. Note: There is a spelling error, being the totally wrong word, It happened when I was using spell check, and I hit the wrong button, but I cannot find it :P Sydney to Brisbane Date: 4/1/2007 Flight No: QF502 Reg: VH-VYJ Type: 737-838 Name: Cann River Seat: 1A Seq. Number: 3 STD: 06:35 STA: 07:05 Gate: 16 Dep Rwy: 16L Arr Rwy: 19 This was my first ever time in Business Class, and it was great. Checked in via Web check in, and chose my seat as far to the front as possible, 1A. After a nice brekky in The Qantas Club, my flight was called and I was off to the gate to board the flight. The rest of Business was taken up by a Qantas crew traveling to meet their aircraft in Brisbane, which actually turned out to be my next flight up to Darwin. Before we left the gate, we were given pre flight drinks, consisting of Orange Juice or water; we were also given a steaming hot towel. Taxi was all the way out to the secondary runway, but we did not have to taxi all the way to the end like always (Normally if I am out there, we leave on 34R) as we left on the runway facing the city side. Through the clouds and a bit of turbulence, we arrived above the clouds and in the sun and ready for more breakfast. Today’s choice was poached eggs with bacon or just right and both had a choice of toast or a croissant. I chose the Just right on this flight, but the eggs looked scrumptious, and they were actually real eggs (My traveling partner had the eggs). The flight was very uneventful, they played the morning news, I listened to Billboard On:Q and that is about it. On arrival into Brisbane, I made the correct guess of my next aircraft out of a few 767’s at the terminal. It was a –ZX* to my horror, I am really not a fan of the –ZX* 767’s. Not as good as the QF –OG* aircraft. Brisbane to Darwin Date: 4/1/2007 Flight No: QF824 Reg: VH-ZXF Type: 767-336 Name: St Helens Seat: 3A Seq. Number: 6 STD: 08:25 STA: 11:50 Gate: 22 Dep Rwy: 01 Arr Rwy: I was awaiting the calling of my flight in the Qantas Club. Damn good that place is, I sat right next to the QantasLink (Sunstate) gates watching the amount of Dash8’s rolling in and out of the terminal. It was Dash8 heaven, with -300’s and -400’s, all but 1 or 2 gates were filled. VH-QOB ‘Yepoon’ pulled up just before I was due to leave for the gate. A quick stop off before I boarded to the news link to look at the aviation souvenirs and to my surprise saw an ‘Australia Airlines’ cap, with the Aboriginal Dot kangaroo. Only $12, but I couldn’t wait in the line at the news link to buy it as my flight was boarding. I was seated in 3A this time, the front seats were full. People were scattered all around business, mostly on the sides leaving most of the middle of the aircraft free. We had the usual pre flight drinks, and the safety briefing before we took off, headed north before doing a loop over the airport and headed north west. Hot towels were presented once again, and then the meal was the same as the one on the Sydney flight. Instead of the just right, I decided on the eggs. But this time, the eggs were weird looking and tasted powdery. These eggs did however come with nice bacon and a hollandaise sauce which was lovely. The movie today was Little Miss Sunshine, quite a good movie it was too. Drinks were served while the movie was on, with a choice of free alcohol or soft drinks served with nuts. Our purser was talking about how she was retiring in a few weeks after flying for 22 years, and she decided to call me Mr Smiley because I was smiling a lot, being in Business does that :P :P. All I can say is very good and friendly crew on this flight and if I ever get up the cash, business class will be mine again. Now what can I say about the view from the aircraft, fantastic is one word to put it. As we were flying over the Gulf, the clouds were down low and scattered, so they provided some great little dots on the cool bluey green water below. It just looked magical. On arrival into Darwin, the humidity was in the 90% range. Because we were at a gate where we had to walk along a walkway (Due to the international section being at this gate, we were not allowed there), I thought I would grab a photo. Little did I know my camera would fog up straight away due to the coldness of my bag and the humidity outside. So that was fun waiting for my camera to adjust to the humidity to get a photo! Window view -ZXF at Darwin airport Darwin to Perth via Alice Springs Date: 6/1/2007 Flight No: QF824 Reg: VH-NXF Type: 717-231 Seat: 5A Seq. Number: 1 STD: 7:05 STA: 12:05 Gate: 2 Dep Rwy: Arr Rwy: 21 Well got up very early at the Saville Suites, to get a Qantas Drive car to take me and my traveling partner to the airport. I had checked in the day before at an Internet Café down the road, and chose a seat up the front in a two seater section of the plane for the flight through to Perth. Put my bags in, and went up to enjoy the Qantas Club one last time before I no longer have someone traveling with me to actually get me in there (He was going back to Sydney at Alice) so I made the most of it in the business centre and used their computers and had myself some nice English muffins for breakfast (The food type, not the female type). The view from the club was no good, it was too cold inside and too humid outside creating too much condensation on the window to even look out. But hey, free food and internet I wasn’t complaining. Flight was called, where I went and boarded and made the hot and long walk to the aircraft on the ground, where I got my first glance at the aircrafts rego, VH-NXF. I have not been on a 717 since JetStar, and I am really not the biggest fan of the plane due to its cramped seating on QantasLink/JetStar for the tall man. Takeoff was fun; the climbing angle of the 717 is a little weird for me, as it climbs steep for longer than normal. Fun, but just weird. The seatbelt sign was off a little later than normal, but once switched off service commenced and I was able to listen to my iPod due to the lack of entertainment onboard. This mornings brekky was a cold just right cereal, with tea or coffee. Behind me I actually had a young boy with his family, trying to get his dad to work his iPod across the row. Yeah, Unless you are techno advanced, stay with the old 8 track :P. He kept on knocking into my seat, but it is hard to complain as a kid I would have done it myself in excitement and boredom. Kids will be kids and boys will be boys :P. Decent into Alice was great, I was watching the trainline from the air for any signs of movement. We came in over the ranges (Beautiful by the way) and there was a train moving down towards Adelaide which looked cool when we were flying next to it and cut across infront of it. Landing was a two bump fun park ride, and a backtrack along the runway to the terminal, which blended in well due to the fantastic landscaping. A small terminal, but very very pretty. I loved the red soil and native plants lining the walkway, covering the service road next to it and hiding the terminal as I said above, and just makes it one of the best airports you can find. There was in the courtyard some cool little signs about feeding birds and their attractions, taken on my mobile phone: The flight was called to reboard, and after a beep from my boarding pass (Incorrect boarding airport) where the F/A typed it into the comp manually; I was back in my seat and found that I was alone and could spread out. Takeoff was great, with a turn to the south west where we were told we would travel over Pine Gap and Ayers Rock. I wanted to catch a glimpse of Pine Gap (For those who don’t know, Pine Gap is a Joint Australian and US defence establishment, otherwise known as Joint defence facility Pine Gap, used for spy sats and early warning of missile launches), but it was on the other side as I did not see it at all. We also passed over Ayers Rock, and I can say I was amazed at its size. I have never seen Ayers Rock before so it was pretty cool. I whipped out my camera straight away and started snapping photos of it. Lunch was served with soft drinks/alcohol, tea/coffee and a Foccacia with roast beef and lettuce (With cucumber, which I took off and also the rocket lettuce went straight off it, bitter disgusting stuff that rocket) and a dessert of a mini Cadbury milk choccie. It was rather nice, and went back to drinking a lot of coke and listening through my iPod and its few songs before coming into our descent for Perth. Lovely, smooth and nothing wrong with approach, finals and landing. When disembarking, next to us was –EBV (Or –EBW, either one) and what a massive mo fo that is! When in the terminal, the toilet with 1 stall (Yeah nice going Perth Airport) was backed up, so waited and by the time I got out, the bags were not even coming out. So waited while the little beagle did her rounds sniffing for fruit, and finally got my bag (While the little dog nabbed some woman with tomatoes, go doggy!) and walked out to the check in area to await my mum, dad and brothers arrival from Sydney. Seeing that check in line go all the way to rent-a-cars and out the door was amazing. Damn quick checks, I swear they make the line and process slower and worse off (Considering it is no longer a choice, you must use them). A wing view, with Ayers Rock below Perth to Sydney Date: 16/1/2007 Flight No: QF Reg: VH-EBT Type: 747-338 Name: Wagga Wagga Seat: 62A Seq. Number: 73 STD: 11:25 STA: 17:25 Gate: 3 Dep Rwy: Arr Rwy: 07 This was my first ever flight onboard a 747, and boy was I pleased to be able to make this trip on a Classic. I started off the night before checking in online, seeing when I arrived in Perth the Quick check Queue was huge, I was not going to wait with my family for half an hour, then another 20 minutes just to place my bags on a conveyor. So, because I did not have a printer, I collected the boarding passes at the check in desk when I was checking in my bags. After checking in I bought a pie, and sat down with the folks and bro until I went away again to a Newslink and found a Qantas 85th cap for $13. Word of warning to anyone traveling Perth way, in all the toilets at the terminal I was in, the most stalls they have is two. Just thought I would throw that one in there! After I bought my cap, I sat watching the NJS 717’s and BAe146’s along with Network aircraft taxiing around the terminals. The flight next to us as VH-EBV, and she was traveling to Melbourne. When ours came in, a rego I was not expecting pulled up. That was VH-EBT. EBT is the oldest QF 743 in the fleet for those who do not know. She is named Wagga Wagga, and for an old girl she still has some good get up and go. I awaited boarding, and when this time came only special pre board passengers were called. But when these people were called, half the flight ran up to the gate for each hoping to get on the plane first, me and my folks just talking about how eager people are to get on, even though everyone will get a seat assigned to them and everyone will get on the plane eventually. They had to wait, and half of them were at least the first section of economy. When we were called (The second lot of rows of economy), they just stood in the way and did not move at all, even though the lines were disorganized and people had to push past the non called passengers to get to the two ladies at the gate. Now, who said Jetstar was disorganized and a rush? When I was on, I found my seat (I wanted a window, but it meant our family had to be split up, so I placed my mother and father two rows behind in a centre aisle seat and my brother and me on a window/centre seat two rows in front. I was happy to have a window, and I must ask this question, are the windows larger on the 747 then aircraft like the 737 and 767? Cause they sure seemed that way. The line of people boarding just kept going and going and going, until the last trickle of people boarded and everything was in order for the aircraft to be pushed back, taxi and take off. My brother actually is scared of flying, and when the aircraft hits turbulence or taxis, you can see the wings flop up and down (In the 747 that is), something which is barely noticeable in smaller aircraft. He asked if that was normal, and the only answer I could think off was that the wings are like that to flex. Especially wings that big, if they were not droopy but extremely rigid and solid, they could snap. Whether it is right or not, it did not calm him down at all, as unfortunately no matter what you say he will still be crap scared of flying. According to the captain, the flight would be smooth, but as soon as we rose up into the air and for about 2-3 minutes over some hills the aircraft was bouncing around quite abet. Big wind that day! We also passed over some stormy weather just west of Canberra and also had a fun landing which I will tell you more about in Sydney. I was impressed with the PTV system installed, more or less because I have never had anything like this before. I sat down and waited for ‘Borat’ to start, so while waiting for the crap to clear on the channel I watched Thank god you’re here and also tried to work out chess, where they don’t really tell you how to play it and to top it off, I wanted a private game but the system kept on wanting me to go public. Borat had finally started, and I could not contain my laughter. It is very stupid and quirky, you must like the Ali G style to get into it. Lunch was served, with a choice of Pasta or chicken and any choice of Drink. Before we were given our food, one flight attendant told me and my brother to put up our seats fully (Before he was happy), and quite rudely, he even had a problem with my brother asking for a diet coke! He was the only F/A which I did not care for the whole flight, the others were nice as anything. I chose the chicken, which came with Mash and beans. The chicken did not look too appealing, but hey, it tasted nice and the sauce was just right to be able to dip my bread roll into it instead of having butter on it. The meal came with a mars bar, water, a nice wine glass, and a bread roll. I had a coke to compliment my meal. For dessert, we were given a Peters Trumpet icecream. A nice way to finish off a meal. In comparison to business class, well believe me there is no comparison what so ever. I prefer the meals in there a lot more than economy (Damn, I have turned into one of those can’t go back to economy class people :P). After Borat had finished, trays were cleared and all that jazz I watched Kath and Kim until the programming had finished its cycle where I then sat down and watched the flight path and listened to Billboard in the background before everyone was called back to their seats due to a storm up ahead. After this cleared everyone once again resumed walking around the cabin, before the call to descent was made. We came in from the south west passing near to the Blue Mountains, and in over Campbelltown, and then in over Rockdale and Kogarah to runway 07. Landing was…. Different. We came in almost touching down, when the aircraft made a sudden lurch to the right before being righted and landed with a hard bump. I waited until almost every person had left before walking up to the nearest F/A and asking if it would be possible to take a look at the cockpit. She said if I went to the front and up the stairs a staff member should still be there. So I told the F/A’s near the stairs of what I was doing (one was just rung up from the other F/A to inform them) and they said one staff member is still there and to go up, so when I got there I spoke to the guy upstairs and he showed me around, and even offered to get a photo of me up in the cockpit. I took one photo (Forgot Manual focus was on) and was about to hand the camera over to him before I realized ‘oh crap, the battery has run out’. I forgot to charge it the night before. SO Annoyed as I was, I still enjoyed my visit up there, and thanked all the Flight Attendants before disembarking and meeting up with my family at the carousel. All in all, all flights turned out great, especially the Business and 747 flights. A big thanks to all the crew onboard these flights, you all did a wonderful job! VH-EBT at the gate Wing View The meal onboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAA Matt Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Good read Todd....thanks for posting. I see you enjoyed your trip in Business class, if only we had enough money to fly J all the time ey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Glenn Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Very good and a great read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chainsaw Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Excellent mate, except for the battery. Dont you have a spare? :roll: I do love the ol Classics, especially EBW. Those Rolls look and sound good too (not as good as The Sound of Round young Matthew!!). Nice report :) :ch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAA Matt Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 VH-EBT is a great aircraft. Anyone else flown on it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAA Matt Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Oh i must of skipped a bit when i read it....i didnt realise it was your first flight onboard a 747, and what a good aircraft for your first flight on the jumbo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David747 Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Awesome trip report Todd! Glad to see you had so much fun! :D The Boeing 747 300s are an awesome aircraft aren't they? I love em to bits. I flew on VH-EBT from Brissie to Sydney last December and it was just a fabulous flight. I also got to see the flight deck of this classic and my gosh it was just magnificent. I'm really sorry to hear that your camera battery died but seeing the office must've been something so exciting and memorable. Nice photos by the way. :D David... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Chop Chop Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Great Report Todd. You aways outdo yurself every Trip Report Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd M Posted January 22, 2007 Author Share Posted January 22, 2007 Thankyou all for the kind comments. I did get one photo of the 'office' but unfortunently it as abit blurry, but I have downsized it to make it viewable :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Chop Chop Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 It's a shame that Qantas want tp put these classics out of Bussiness. They have a way better cockpit than the newer glass screens computer Cockpits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd M Posted April 21, 2007 Author Share Posted April 21, 2007 Excellent mate' date=' [b']except for the battery. Dont you have a spare?[/b] :roll: Haha. reading through old posts chainy I see this came up again on the trip earlier this month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chainsaw Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Excellent mate' date=' [b']except for the battery. Dont you have a spare?[/b] :roll: Haha. reading through old posts chainy I see this came up again on the trip earlier this month Todd I think I see a pattern forming - Great trip reports + sus battery. qf.wma qf.wma qf.wma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd M Posted April 22, 2007 Author Share Posted April 22, 2007 lol, I am with you on that. I need a spare, big time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chainsaw Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Todd, "spare" Thats Ten Pin bowling, wrong forum LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Chop Chop Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 Todd, Have a look at this- http://www.cameraworld.com.au/Canon_NB_ ... nnb2lh.htm Seems cheap enough for a ""SPARE"" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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