<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by GeneCMH:
Greetings Qantas qurus!
I finally have 2 First class award tickets for next September using CO miles.</font>
Congratulations. You have done well as it can be very difficult to secure 2 x F award seats on the same trans-Pacific flight.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">However, since I have 4 legs in domestic business I was wondering what this service is like? What are the seats like? (I'll be flying 2 763's, 1 742 and 1 733)
What kind of meals can I expect on flights at 7am MEL-SYD, 9am SYD-CNS, 1pm CNS-SYD, 7am BNE-SYD?
The meals should be of reasonable standard. MEL-SYD is a short flight, but at 7am you will get a choice of a hot breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato etc) or cerial, plus fruit, toast , coffee etc. SYD-CNS may be a little late for the breakfast, but as this is a 2.5 ours flight you will substantial morning-tea. CNS-SYD will serve lunch. Maybe hot, but may not - pot luck really. Still, the food quality on QF domestic J is generally good.
The seats on the 763 vary depending on the aircraft. Some are used for international services and have the same dreamtime seat as the QF 744's in J. These have 1x2x2 config. Some are the ex-BA 767-336 model and have the BA cradle seats, which I really like. These are 2x2x2 config. Some are only used on domestic services and have the old QF international J seats, which I don't like as much and are also 2x2x2 config. If the aircraft registration is VH-ZX? then you have the ex-BA aircraft, which are very common on the monorail services.
The 742 will have the old QF international seats. This indicates you must be flying very soon as the last of the QF 742's will be taken out of service soon. It is going on a one-way trip to Longreach. Two others remain in service oin lease to Air Pacific, so maybe they are returning to QF service??? Business class is the first two sections on the lower deck. Seating in rows 1-5 is generally preferred, but the seats are all the same.
The 733 will have 2 rows of 2x2 in J, plus up to 4 rows of 2x2 convertable seats (can be used 3x3 by moving the arm rests). Some people don't like the convertable seats, but I prefer them since they have greater recline. The first two rows actually don't recline much at all. But the first row is good with plenty of leg room. There is not a great deal of leg room between the rest of the J seats on the 737's.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Also, Melbourne and Cairns are my first 2 stopovers enroute to Sydney. Will I be granted access to the domestic QF lounges based on those segments being part of a greater internation F itinerary?
If these flights are all on the same ticket stock, then yes you are entitled to entry to the domestic lounges. But you may need to educate the agent - most are pretty helpful and err on the side of allowing access rather than shutting the door.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Terminal 3 at SYD, is 35 minutes enough for a connecting flight (MEL->SYD->CNS) in the am on a Thursday?
Yes, this is a legal connection and will not be a problem unless the inbound flight is 30mins late. The MEL-SYD flight will most likely use one of the dedicated CityFlier gates (1-6 I think) and the 742 flying SYD-CNS will use next gate along (7 I think). You will see the 742 parked at the gate as your SYD-MEL flight taxis to the gate (look out the right hand side window).
But even one end to teh other is only a 5 min walk. And you won't be the only people on your MEL-SYD flight connecting to CNS and they will hold the flight for connecting passengers if your inbound flight is not too far away.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Do the QF lounges or airports have smoking facilities or does one have to go outside?
There is no smoking area anywhere inside the terminal buildings. You will need to leave the terminal to smoke, then come bback through the security check (no more than a few minutes to get through).
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Thanks guys, any and all thoughts/comments appreciated.
There can be a significant temp variation between MEL and CNS, especially in winter. But in summer, you may actually find it hotter in MEL but the humidity will be the most noticable change in summer. Enjoy your trip.