TO NEW ZEALAND ON QANTAS
CNS-SYD ON QANTAS 767 (international config)
After my short stay in Cairns it was another early start back to the airport. Shared a ride with a nervous Brit who was panicking about missing his flight - he had an hour to spare before check-in cut off and being a very frequent flyer I was surprised by his nerves.
Check in was speedy. Again a long queue at security. Not sure why Cairns seems to have the biggest screening queues - at both domestic and international. Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe there's a lot more infrequent travellers?
Grab a coffee in the Qantas Club which quickly fills up (its quite small). The flight is uneventful. Being an international flight (albeit domestic leg), the breakfast is slightly nicer than usual. Nothing else noteworthy. We have an unusual approach flying almost over the top of SYD airport, then out to sea and back in to land. Arrive on time. I notice the immigration queues arent as large as the other day but still sizeable. I had, however, deliberately taken this flight so I could transfer through security and upstairs to departure level - bypassing immigration at SYD. The alternative domestic flight would have involved change of terminals at SYD and almost certainly much bigger immigration queues.
SYD-AKL ON QANTAS 743
Freshen up in the Qantas Club F lounge (not that I'm travelling F there is none on Qantas to New Zealand, but have access through my status) - which is the crowdest and noisiest I have ever seen it. However I'm not there long and off to board the onward flight from the gate at the end of the pier, right next to the one I'd arrived at not long before.
There's a small delay at the gate while we wait for some late connecting passengers. Cabin temperature is extremely high initially but by the end of the flight I am shivering as its been turned down so low.
There were problems with the IFE system with the kids movie option only running in Japanese! They ran out of arrival cards for New Zealand, so the back half of the aircraft missed out.
My luck with great service by the FAs ran out. Meal was served about 80 minutes into the relatively short flight (not long enough to see a complete movie) - meaning very rushed and they took the tray away before I was finished
Also no top ups of drink at all during the flight - so get slightly dehydrated.
Arrival is late due to the late departure, but not by too much. Notice they have moved the agriculture check of arrival forms from immediately in front of the xrays to around the corner opposite the luggage belts. The corridor is cordoned off for longer than normal, meaning a few extra metres walk (from some of the luggage belts). Presumably this is to fit more people queuing for xray machines and hand searches. Sure enough it takes longer to go through the agriculture xray queue than it did to get through immigration.