My friends were staying in Brisbane, so we said our goodbyes at the check in area and then I made my way through security to visit the Qantas Club lounge. Anyone arriving on a QantasLink service exits to the check in area, so you have to go through security before re-entering the main terminal.
Check in desks at Brisbane Domestic terminal
I made my way through security, which was very quick and I was in the lounge by 5.05pm, only 25 minutes after landing, so not bad at all.
The lounge was much quieter than last time and I had my choice of places to sit. I decided to take a spot in the corner, in the thin section of section that is directly in front of you when entering the lounge.
I put my bag down and decided to take advantage of the lack of people by taking some snaps, something that was more difficult before.
Looking into the lounge from my corner seat
The bar – serving drinks this time
Food station with a selection of hot and cold items
Main seating area
On the return to my seat I picked up a glass of sparking, Seppelt Fleur de Lys and some water to go with it, before settling down in my corner to browse the internet and watch a bit of TV on my iPad.
Getting comfortable
This didn’t last long, as I was hungry so I decided check out what was on offer food wise. There was tomato soup, hot ciabattas with different fillings as well as a chicken casserole with rice that looked quite tasty. On the cold side there was the usual antipasto items such as cheese, biscuits, olives etc. I helped myself to some marinated feta, cheddar and some biscuits before heading back. On the way I stopped off at the coffee machine to see what was on offer as the lounges normally have a selection of sweet treats available. I spotted ‘Jaffas’ which I’d not heard of before until
Moomba explained them to me when he was over my way before Christmas.
So here’s a photo just for you
Moomba:
Jaffas (on the left), and other sweets
The next hour or so was spent relaxing, before I noticed that my flight to Sydney had started boarding. I gathered up my things and headed a short way down to gate 22 to join the queue for boarding.
Brisbane to Sydney on Qantas
Flight: QF533
Carrier: Qantas
Aircraft: Boeing 767 - VH-OGT
Scheduled Departure time: 18.25
Duration: 1h 35m
Scheduled Arrival time: 21.00
Class: Economy
Seat: 36A
seat plan)
There was already a rather long queue unfortunately, and it took about 5-10 minutes to actually get on board the aircraft.
Heading down to gate 22
The 767 operating the flight today
Waiting to board
My boarding pass was scanned and I made my way down the air bridge. The CSM was waiting at the door and greeted me by name before directing me down the left aisle to my seat. On turning right I was very surprised to see blue seats and a 1-2-2 layout in business class, very odd indeed! Doing a little research I discovered that this aircraft is actually leased to Qantas, which might explain the odd seating and layout.
As I made my way down the aisle I was surprised to see that there were actually two economy cabins and that I was seated in the rear most one. Perhaps I hadn’t clicked the seat map forward when I was checking in online and hadn’t noticed this earlier. To be honest, though, it was probably better since there was more likelihood of an empty seat next to me the further back I went.
I sat down and emptied out the contents of my pockets and took out my camera and iPad before storing my bag in the overhead locker. I noticed that there was an abnormally large number of babies near to me, including plenty sitting on their parent’s laps. Perhaps this wasn’t going to be a quiet flight after all. Luckily however, the seat next to me remained free.
Weird seats in business class
Legroom shot
Looking forward
There was an experienced crew on board the flight and they seemed very friendly, greeting passengers and helping them sort out their bags etc.
The Captain started his announcement at 6.20pm saying that we were expecting to push back on time, that the flight time was 1 hour and 5 minutes and that there wasn’t expected to be any bad weather or turbulence for the flight.
We pushed back right on schedule at 6.25pm and made our way towards the runway, whilst the crew performed the safety demonstration. Take off was quick at 6.35pm and we were soon chasing the sunset as we climbed to our cruising altitude. Queensland does not observe daylight savings time, which meant that it was getting dark at around 6.45pm, and this is during summer. Pretty depressing actually and I have a colleague who moved away from Brisbane and down to Sydney simply because of that.
The seat belt sign was off quickly and the crew came around to hand out the specially ordered meals. 10 minutes later and the crew came around to offer dinner to everyone else. On offer was a ‘Portuguese style hot pot with beef and chorizo’. I think that there was a second choice, but I can’t remember what it was. Wine and beer was also offered but I declined, and went for lemonade instead. As the trays were handed out the woman across the aisle started complaining that there was nothing that was suitable for her to eat. Of course, she had not ordered a special meal. I always struggle with people that do this. Why chance it and then complain to the crew? The crew tried their best, but she ended up going hungry, which was of course, entirely her own fault.
The food itself wasn’t particularly good. I have had much better hot meals on Qantas domestic flights before so this was a let down. Still, it would fill a space.
The meal tray
The trays were collected after about 20 minutes and the Captain announced 10 minutes later that we would be starting our decent soon and should be at the terminal at 8.55pm, 5 minutes ahead of schedule. He explained that we’d be taking a slightly different route than normal, approaching over Coogee and Bondi.
We had a smooth descent and landed on the ‘cross runway’ at about 8.50pm. This meant that as we exited the runway, we were very close to the international terminal. I was lucky enough to see an aircraft that I’d only seen pictures of before, the Qantas 747 Wunala Dreaming, which is painted in an aboriginal style. Apparently, this is being taken off next month when she does in for heavy maintenance
. I also saw a number of other Qantas 747’s parked up including one that is currently sporting an F1 style livery.
Disembarking
We parked up at gate 2 at 8.55pm, just as the Captain had said. Disembarking the aircraft was quick and by 9pm I was at the baggage belt. The bags were slow to come out and quite a few people crowded around. I remember thinking that there has to be a better system than this. Most sensible people stand back slightly, to get a good view of the belt but others then move forward, blocking their view which means that the people standing back then have to move forward too. The concept of personal space goes out of the window as people crowd around to ensure that they have the best view. Throw in a handful of kids running around all over the place accompanied by oblivious parents and it all ends up to be one great big mass of tired, unhappy people.
My bag took a good 15 minutes to arrive, which was rather annoying, given the mess and chaos that was going on around me. I collected it and then made my way down to the train. I only had to wait 10 minutes or so for the next one and by 9.50pm I was sitting on my sofa.
On the train home
Verdict
A pretty comfortable flight with some really nice crew members. The extended sunset was good and having a seat free next to me allowed me to recover from the cramped conditions on the Dash-8. The food could have been better, but that’s not really the main reason for travelling on this flight. Overall, another good and consistent domestic flight with Qantas.
Overall Verdict
This was a very enjoyable trip, a little boy’s dream you might say! Having such freedom to roam all over the 747 was just magical. There were no barriers and stuff wasn’t stuck behind glass so that you couldn’t get hands on with it. The wing walk itself wasn’t the highlight as I thought it might be, it was the overall experience that made the trip.
The flights to and from Longreach were a little loud and I’m not sure that I’d want to fly the Dash-8 on a regular basis. However, there was a certain novelty factor involved and the scenery from the plane was fantastic. I really started to understand how much these more remote communities rely on aviation and it is no surprise to me now that Qantas was formed in the outback.
I can thoroughly recommend a trip to Longreach to anyone with even a hint of an interest in aviation and history. It is a very memorable experience that will bring a smile to your face. Just book some flights and go for it!
Previous Trip Reports
If you liked this report, you might also like to browse my previous reports:
- Sept 2011:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...w-zealand.html
- June 2011:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...d-bangkok.html
- January 2011:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...r-qf-a380.html
- December 2010:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...tas-767-a.html
- November 2010:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...el-qantas.html
- September 2010:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...747-400-a.html
- May 2010:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...-business.html
- March 2010:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...a-wedding.html
- February 2010:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...eb-2010-a.html –
BA Forum Trip Report of the Year 2010
- Nov–Dec 2009:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...y-pacific.html
- Feb 2009:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...d-lhr-jfk.html
- Nov 2008:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...rld-777-a.html
- Oct 2008:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...747-400-a.html
- Sept 2008 - My first TR:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...lub-world.html