Trip Reports - ADL - SYD (QF) SYD - HNL (JQ) J return

So after reading many a fantastic trip report on here, I thought I would have a crack at doing my very first own. You'll have to excuse the quality of some of the photos as they were taken with my phone camera.

So I was given the opportunity to travel to Honolulu with work from Adelaide, Australia. Worked wanted to save as much as possible so it was decreed that the SYD-HNL leg would be on Jetstar J as opposed to Qantas J. I would have preferred the old QF 767 with the Dreamtime seats to the A330 with the QF Domestic equivalent seats, but when work is paying you can’t really argue!

ADL – SYD
QF731 – OGT 767-300 (Int config)
Seat 1J

Arrived at the airport and checked in at the counter as I wanted to have my bags transferred across from my domestic QF flight to the JQ leg to Honolulu. Had selected 2B but when I got my boarding pass I was in 1J, asked why the change and what other seats were available and saw that the 767 had been changed from the domestic 2-2-2 to the international 1-2-2. All the single seats were taken so I stuck with 1J.

Decided to take advantage of Virgin’s ATA to their lounge for their Gold FFs and had a beer in there as the QF Club bar was yet to open.
Realised that the wine I was carrying wasn’t able to be carried on to the SYD-HNL leg so rushed off to QF Service desk and they kindly sent one of my bags back up to check in where I was able to repack the wine in it.

Time for boarding and off I trotted to find OGT at the gate. Pre-flight offered water or juice & newspaper which I took advantage of.

Drinks service began so I took the opportunity to have a Bourbon & Coke and grab a couple of leg room shots.

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Meals were next with the offer of Roast Chicken or a Salmon dish. Chose the chicken and it was pretty good, nice and moist.

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Decided to have some red with my meal, which was a Mount Hallet 2010 Shiraz and not too bad. Crew kept my glass full right up till descent!

Didn't want to eat too much as I had something special coming up in Sydney and another first for me, I finally had the opportunity to use the QF Sydney First Lounge thanks to a complimentary invitation from QF due to the strike action.
Transferred across from the QF Domestic terminal to the International terminal pretty quickly and was actually checked in about 15 minutes after the JQ check in opened.

I was lucky enough to find out that 2D was still open when choosing seats a few weeks before the trip. Hoped that it would remain the 38 seat J A330 instead of the 42 seat version as 2D has nothing in front of it and this leg I was in luck!

Breezed through customs with the express pass I was given at check in for a bit of last minute shopping, before high-tailing it to the first lounge.

QF First lounge

So I have read with envy many a trip report with a visit to the QF First Lounge in Sydney. Well today was to be my lucky day and the first time I get to experience it myself. Was welcomed warmly into the lounge and I made my way to the restaurant table part of the lounge to indulge in some food.

Lounge was pretty quiet with all of the late afternoon QF Europe flights already boarding so I pretty much had my choice of seats so I selected a table right up against the windows.

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As you can see the lounge was pretty empty

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Decided to try as much as possible (or as my stomach would allow) Started off with the Buffalo Mozzarella and a glass of Torre Stonecutters Shiraz

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Next was the Signature hamburger which was just delicious

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Always read good things about the Salt & Pepper Squid and wasn’t disappointed

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Finished up with a Banana Caramel Cheesecake which was sensational and a great way to finish off my dining experience.

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All up I was eating & drinking for close to two hours at my leisure. Introduced myself to a gentleman who was taking shots out of the window next to me, and invited him to sit and have a drink and chat. Turns out he was a QF Chairman’s Lounge member on his way to Wellington. Very nice fellow and right into flight simming!

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Finished off the experience with a few bourbon & cokes for I headed down to board my Jetstar flight.

SYD –HNL
JQ3 – EBJ A330-200
Seat 2D

So I boarded using the priority lane, and settled into my seat of 2D. Now Jetstar business isn't a full service carrier equivalent, but it was reasonably comfortable and much nicer to be flying it when I did the same legs in economy last year.

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Was offered water, juice or something bubbly so I chose the bubbles.....

Seat layout was 2-3-2 except for the first row which was 2-2-2. Chatted with a lovely couple who were heading over to Hawaii for a holiday. They told me they had the cheapest JQ Y tickets and JQ called them up a few weeks out and offered them J for $300 each which they jumped at!

For dinner I chose some Kung Poa Chicken which was nice enough, but I was pretty full from the lounge

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Desert was Lemon and Lime Cheesecake which I had with a glass of Baileys. Entertainment was an Ipad which was a bit awkward as you always had to have your table out, but certainly much better then then old digi-players they used to have

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Seat really isn't designed for sleeping in, so I was lucky to get about 2 hours all up I'd reckon.

For breakfast I had Creamy scrambled eggs & hash browns with juice

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Landing was uneventful and other then having to wait for ages for the bags getting out of the airport was painless!

Overall the JQ Business experience wasn't too bad, and I think if I was going to treat the wife to a trip to Hawaii I'd consider paying for it myself as at $1500 each way its value isn't too bad in my opinion....

HNL – SYD
JQ4 – EBA A330-200
Seat 6J (originally 3B)

Checked in and took advantage of using the QF Club in Honolulu. Its a very small lounge considering that QF only use it 3 times a week for themselves, but it was comfortable enough and better than just waiting at the gate. When I was boarding I was called to the service desk and asked if I was prepared to swap from an aisle to window seat which I wasn’t keen on, so I was allowed my original seat.

Settled on board only to have my seatmate arrive with a toddler under two who was going to sit on their lap the whole ten or so hours, just great, this is going to be a long flight! Turns out her partner and other child (twins) are sitting on the other side of the aircraft. JQ wouldn’t seat them together in the 2 seats as there was only drop down masks for 3. CSM asks me if I would be prepared to swap to an aisle seat on the other side of the aircraft, you betcha! I’m off like a rabbit and into my new spot.

Some nice ladies travelling as a group of 3 in the middle decide to help out by swapping into the 2 and 1 seat and it means that the family can all sit together, a win for everyone so I thought! Well turns out row 6 is the worst row, plenty of noise from down back, and seat recline that is half the other J seats......grrrrr thankfully I’m not going to sleep on the day flight so I make the most of the Ipad and watch a few movies...

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with chicken chipolata sausages & potatoes, just what a hangover needed!

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And lunch was served about three hours later and I had the chicken stir fry in a sweet chilli sauce

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Desert/snack was served about 60 minutes out of Sydney and I had the cheese platter and some port.

Arrival was straightforward into a very wet Sydney! It was pouring with rain, and had been all day.

Had to wait ages again for luggage, before finally clearing customs and checking into the QF transfer desk and catching the bus across to the QF Domestic terminal.

I had a 4 hour wait for my next leg to Adelaide, so I headed into the QF J Domestic Lounge and had a shower and a good old feed (chicken stir-fry in black bean sauce & some pizza) and a number of beers & bourbons to while away the time! Meanwhile the weather was getting worse in Sydney and due to lightening and the storms they decide to close the airport. So an 2040 departure turns into a 2150 departure...

SYD-ADL
QF785 TJS 737-400
Seat 2D

Pretty nice flight to finish off a long day of travelling. I didn’t get any shots as I forgot to take them until I had already made a dent in the refreshments. But I had mushroom soup with bread and salad (which was bloody nice). Actually reckon the old -400 seat was better than the JQ J seat, mind you I’d had a few drinks by that stage of the day! Any ways landed with 10 minutes before the Adelaide curfew kicks in and was straight off and bags already out when I got to the carousel!

There ends my first trip report! I have a few flights with Virgin Australia Business in the next month so I’ll have a crack at writing another one then!

Thanks for the report. Glad you got to try out the QF first class lounge. Jetstar looks nicer than I expected.

Thanks for an interesting trip report.