QF12 LAX-SYD, 23 DEC

I arrived at LAX at around 8pm for my 10:30pm flight to Sydney. I parked at the Parking Spot on Century Blvd and boarded the shuttle bus with several other people. One party was a couple with three screaming kids. Actually, only two of the kids were screaming. The third was just annoying. But I digress. The shuttle bus trip was longer than usual because of the “security checkpoint” set up on Century Blvd as you approach the airport. All traffic was funneled down to one lane so some fat police officer could wave everyone through without performing any actual ‘checking.’ Welcome to another useless “orange alert.”

There was a short line for check-in at Terminal 4. American Airlines employees perform the check-in for the QF flights that depart from T4. Check-in took only a minute, and the agent told me that the Business cabin was only about 1/3 full. The security checkpoint moved fairly quickly, and I headed to the Admiral’s Club.

As I walked past Gate 41 (my departure gate), I saw the Qantas 747 parked there. It was Wunala Dreaming! Wunala Dreaming is their aircraft that is painted with a special aboriginal artwork. The aircraft at our gate was actually the SECOND incarnation of Wunala Dreaming. The first one was re-painted back to the original QF paint scheme earlier in 2003. The new incarnation is the newest version of the 747-400ER which QF took delivery on earlier this year. I was excited to be flying on this aircraft.

This was my first trip to the new T4 Admiral’s Club. The club is much more spacious than the old one. In addition to more space, there are numerous flat paned TV’s throughout the club, a business center with internet terminals (8 in the back of the club, and another 4 near the bar), listening chairs with noise reduction headsets, and a children’s room. The view out the huge angled glass wall was fantastic. The QF 747 was in full view. I tried to take a digital photo of it through the glass, but it didn’t come out.

The Qantas agent had given me a couple of drink coupons when I entered the club. I had a glass of champagne and wandered around the club. I took advantage of the internet terminals to send some email. I walked back to the front to check out the snacks, and they were pretty dismal: pretzels, snack mix, cookies, cheese/crackers. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the United Red Carpet Club has better snacks.

I chatted briefly with the Qantas agent before heading down to the gate. She suggested that I change my seat to the downstairs biz cabin instead of the upper deck. There were more empty seats downstairs, and she could guarantee the seat open next to me. I changed to row 25….not only did I have the seat open next to me, but I was the only person in row 25.

Boarding started a bit late, but we still had the doors closed on-time. The crew were extremely attentive during boarding. The customer service director (Peter) was greeting passengers as they boarded. He was wearing a large round button on his lapel. It was Christmas themed and said “THE FAT MAN IS COMING!” Merry Christmas! As the flight attendant was delivering the pre-departure champagne, he indicated that it was Piper Heidsieck. Not bad for pre-departure. It certainly beats the “Bouvet” crap that United serves.

As we were taxiing out to the runway, I started to doze off. That only lasted a second as the brat in 23A started screaming. Apparently, she didn’t want to sit in her seat and was throwing a tantrum. The screaming went on for a good 10 minutes, and I was getting ready to have a tantrum of my own, but then she calmed down and stayed quiet for the rest of the flight.

Shortly after takeoff, the flight attendants were back around with drinks and dinner. The champagne was a Charles Heidsieck Mis En Cave 1997. Honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference between the Charles and the Piper. If it’s crisp and bubbly…it works for me. There were several other wine choices, but they weren’t printed on the menu. I had a glass of the Riesling with my dinner, and it was very good.

Dinner was served quickly as it was very late and people wanted to sleep. There were three choices: Roast Beef fillet, Herb Crusted Sea Bass, and Chicken/leek/pasta soup. I had the Sea Bass. The portion was a bit small, but considering the time of night, it was fine. I had the fresh fruit for dessert, but they also had an Apple Cake, or a cheese/fruit plate. Chocolates were also available after dinner.

I started watching “Underworld” shortly after takeoff. It’s a horror/thriller about a war between vampires and werewolves. It wasn’t that great of a movie, but there was a lot of blood, shooting, and violence….so basically it was entertaining. You could tell that the people who made it copied much of the style of ‘The Matrix.’ Same dark feel, long black coats, same two fisted shooting, blah, blah, blah. Once again, no originality in Hollywood.

I slept for several hours, and when I woke up, there was a bottle of Arrowhead water at my seat. I looked over toward the window and thought we were flying through clouds cause it looked all white. It took me a minute to realize that the flight attendants had lowered all the window shades.

I felt a bit hungry, so I opted for a snack. Back in the galley, the crew had a trolley stocked with candy bars, cheese, cookies, fruit, and water. You could help yourself to that, or you could ask them to make you a sandwich. I went for a roast beef and grilled zucchini sandwich on toasted ciabatta bread with seeded mustard. All freshly prepared! Can you believe it? It was awesome. I washed it down with a Victoria Bitter Beer.

The movies recycled every 2 ½ hours, and by this time, I was ready for another. Overall, I think that there were 18 video channels. I watched “Seabiscuit.” I didn’t think I would get into it, but it was actually very good. Later on, I tried to watch “Matchstick Men” but I realized that I can’t stand watching Nicholas Cage. I think he’s a lousy actor. I don’t know if I’ve ever liked a movie that he’s been in.
So here are a few observations about the plane and the service…. Since we were on the newest 747-400ER, the interior was 777-styled with the curved ceiling. It looked nice, but I think they lost some space in the overhead bins. Qantas is outfitting all of their 747’s with a biz class “bar unit” where you can fix yourself a drink during the flight. The bar unit was installed, but there were so few people, I think they just didn’t open it. Qantas has fairly large personal video units. I actually thought they were almost too big. They’re also touchscreens, which is nice. In addition to audio and video, they had numerous games that can be played and controlled with the phone-style remote that tucks into the armrest.

The service was fantastic. Peter (the customer service director) walked through the biz cabin and introduced himself to each passenger. The flight attendants also addressed each passenger by name. I love when they do that….even when they butcher the pronunciation of my last name. It’s the effort that counts. As a 1K flyer on United, I can definitely say that the QF service was much better than what I’ve experienced on UA. However….UA has better pitch and seats in biz class. But this advantage will be short lived as QF will be installing their biz class skybed on the LA route next year.

Breakfast was served about 3 hours out from Sydney. It started with fresh fruit and bakery items (I had toast), and then I had the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. It was delicious. Qantas also serves fantastic coffee…..they use a Bodum French press, and it makes robust, strong coffee.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, and we landed in Sydney right on-time. I was off the plane quickly and through immigration and customs within 20 minutes

The return journey is SYD-MEL-LAX (based on frequent flyer seat availability). I’ll report on that after I get home.

Cheers.