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SYDNEY to MELBOURNE (SYD-MEL) on Qantas 747-400 in business class
I walked fast to transfer security. There was a modest queue and with less frequent travellers travelling it took longer than normal for the number of people ahead of me. Then up to the lounge for a quick shower and catch up on my messages. Boarding was soon called and I headed to the nearby gate. It was showing as final call, but passengers continued to board for about 15 minutes after I did. The flight is very empty. I had the mini cabin almost to myself. We depart late but not so late that we can't arrive on time thanks to schedule padding. A light snack was served. Sorry no menu but IIRC it was a choice of sandwich or tart, plus tea coffee juice or water. We arrived just a few minutes late. |
MELBOURNE to AUCKLAND (MEL-AKL) on Qantas 747-400 in economy class
On arrival I went through security fairly quickly and then up to the first class lounge. As I expected boarding to be not far away I opted to check my messages and catch up on some work instead of having a sit down lunch. But a delay was announced around the time boarding should have commenced. The reason given cleaning and catering still not completed. As the delay was supposedly 20 minutes that was still not long enough for a sit-down lunch but just enough time for a light salad and a couple of drinks which they were happy to bring over to me. I'd been watching availability for this flight for some days now and it had consistently shown as economy heavily oversold (all economy booking classes zeroed out) with a few spare seats in business class. So I was hopeful for an op-up. However earlier while in Sydney I checked again and it was now Y1 (and all other economy booking classes zeroed) - no op-up for me today. Boarding was further delayed. Eventually doors were shut an hour late. Onboard the explanation was different - late due to late arrival of the aircraft. What rubbish. For it was the same aircraft I'd come down from San Francisco. Somehow a 10 minute late arrival into MEL turned into a 70 minute late departure with a transfer time of 2:20. I dozed during the flight. Meal was a choice of beef or pasta, with salad, roll and ice cream as well as the usual orange juice, tea coffee water and wines. We arrived late into Auckland, reducing my very limited time here before the next trip. Immigration was quick with short queues, and customs and x-ray were very fast. |
Auckland to Melbourne business class menu
BREAKFAST Fruit fusion drink Orange juice Your choice of: Continental breakfast Fresh seasonal fruit Bookfarm muesli or Cereal selection A choice of warm bakery items or Hot breakfast Fresh seasonal fruit Scrambled eggs with spinach, bacon and potato rosti or Croque monsieur - french style toasted sandwich of ham, cheese and bechamel sauce A choice of wamr bakery items BEVERAGES menu Champagne Australian Wine [a new edition of the wine guide] Aperitifs Campari Spirits Bacardi white rum Chivas regal scotch whisky Inner circle (green dot) dark rum 57.2% Tanqueray london dry gin The glenlivet malt whisky Wild turkey 86.8 bourbon Wyborowa classic vodka Beers For your enjoyment we have a selection of premium international and Australian beers onboard today. Non Alcoholic Apple juice Orange juice Spicy tomato juice Tomato juice Mineral water Soda water Tonic water Bundaberg ginger beer Cola Diet cola Ginger ale Lemonade Solo - lemon squash Hot Beverages Grinders coffee bodum decaffeinated Dilmah tea chamomile english breakfast jasmine green peppermint Hot chocolate Liqueurs Bailey's irish cream Cointreau Fortified Penfolds bluestone 10yo tawny Rutherglen liqueur muscat Cognac Martell vsop |
AUCKLAND to MELBOURNE (AKL-MEL) on Qantas 747-400 in business class
Less than 12 hours after arriving at Auckland I was back at the airport checking in for the next trip. Check in was quick - the only minor delay being for the new agent to tell the other agent to check out my crazy routing. Other agent sees that it is me and makes some comment about an earlier trip. I have 4 boarding passes in hand (plus 2 more that I OLCI'ed for on a side-trip). As I'm there the departure tax stickers arrive, but they have no exemption stickers (for less than 24 hours in NZ no departure tax due) - so I need to visit the exchange bureau. I pre-clear immigration and collect my exemption sticker. I'd arranged to meet up with blackcloud and together we made our way through immigration (a small delay while a large family was being processed by the officer in the pre-clear line), then through security. We both could tell someone was soon going to be picked for wanding. Despite our efforts to fumble our gear and let someone else get wanded, blackcloud drew the short straw. Then up to the first class lounge for a couple of drinks and a chat. When I made the booking for this trip almost a year ago I pre-selected a certain seat in the nose, for you never know when you'll get lucky with a 3-class aircraft on this route which is sold as 2-class. Today was my lucky day, and indeed I was unlucky to miss by a day getting 3-class aircraft earlier on the way to Los Angeles. This strategy has served me well over the years. Our aircraft was late arriving from Los Angeles and thus we departed late also. Having a busy night in Auckland I was rather sleep deprived. Just as well really, for the IFE was kaput with just flight map working (and later they manually started as non-avod the movie Ratatouille). This time express immigration cards were handed out. We arrived late, but fortunately I'd allowed plenty of time for my next flight departure. |
Melbourne to Singapore business class menu
DINNER Our extensive Rockpool designed menu allows you to enjoy a completely personalised dining experience. You can choose the full menu after take-off, or our express meal is available at any time. Entree Prosciutto, baby bean and parmesan salad with tomato almond salsa Main Courses Crumbed snapper with tartare sauce, potatoes and snow peas Braised chicken in chinese master stock with shanghai noodles and gai lan Beef fillet with red wine jus, glazed carrots and steamed asparagus Green leaf salad with herb vinaigrette Dessert Seasonal cheese hand-selected by calendar cheese company served with accompaniments Nice cream boysenberry and vanilla ice cream with berry compote Sliced fresh fruit Chocolates Valrhona chocolates Paton's macadamia chocolates EXPRESS DINNER To assist in providing you with a flexible dining experience, choose the following menu as an express meal after take-off or nominate your preferred time to dine later in the flight. Green spinach soup with garlic croutons Prosciutto, baby bean and parmesan salad with tomato almond salsa Green leaf salad with herb vinaigrette REFRESHMENT Enjoy a range of snacks and drinks at any time throughout your flight. Your flight attendant will be pleased to prepare your selection or simply snack from our inflight bar. Toasted baguette with turkey, fontina, semi dried tomatoes and rocket Toasted turkish bread with smoked salmon, cream cheese and red capsicum or Create your own toasted sandwich from the following selection turkish bread or sourdough baguette with: smoked salmon roasted red capsicum sliced turkey semi dried tomatoes cream cheese baby spinach fontina rocket leaves Fresh whole fruit Mother Meg's pecan shortbread Maggie beer ice cream tubs Cheese and biscuits Chocolate bars BEVERAGES menu Champagne Australian Wine [a new edition of the wine guide] Aperitifs Campari Spirits Bacardi white rum Chivas regal scotch whisky Inner circle (green dot) dark rum 57.2% Tanqueray london dry gin The glenlivet malt whisky Wild turkey 86.8 bourbon Wyborowa classic vodka Beers For your enjoyment we have a selection of premium international and Australian beers onboard today. Non Alcoholic Apple juice Orange juice Spicy tomato juice Tomato juice Mineral water Soda water Tonic water Bundaberg ginger beer Cola Diet cola Ginger ale Lemonade Solo - lemon squash Hot Beverages Grinders coffee bodum decaffeinated Dilmah tea chamomile english breakfast jasmine green peppermint Hot chocolate Liqueurs Bailey's irish cream Cointreau Fortified Penfolds bluestone 10yo tawny Rutherglen liqueur muscat Cognac Martell vsop |
MELBOURNE to SINGAPORE (MEL-SIN) on Qantas 747-400 in business class
A few hours and a quick side trip later I was back at the first class lounge. The same staff as yesterday were on duty, which brought a few comments. I had enough time for a shower, a nice sit down lunch and a few relaxing drinks, catch up on my messages and even get some work done. The flight is called. I take the elevator down to the lower level for boarding. I was one of the last to board - thanks to the policy of calling late in the lounge ^ The flight is fairly empty - perhaps 2/3 full? For once I was not disappointed in having a seat mate. We depart basically on time but have a 30 minute hold at the end of the runway. A pre-dinner drink then dinner. A snack was served later in the flight but I was asleep then. Sweater and amenity kits handed out before take off. The cabin temperature was too hot :( A slight delay on arrival at Singapore as we got put into 2 holds. Nonetheless we were not very late thanks to lighter than normal headwinds en route. |
Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
(Post 8951289)
AUCKLAND to MELBOURNE (AKL-MEL) on Qantas 747-400 in business class
I'd arranged to meet up with blackcloud and together we made our way through immigration (a small delay while a large family was being processed by the officer in the pre-clear line), then through security. We both could tell someone was soon going to be picked for wanding. Despite our efforts to fumble our gear and let someone else get wanded, blackcloud drew the short straw. Then up to the first class lounge for a couple of drinks and a chat. Thanks for guesting me into the First Lounge, my flight was full and of course as been my luck lately sat next to a chatty seatmate:rolleyes: I hope LHR was not too bad and that you had a decent Christmas somewhere in the world.:) |
Fantastic report Kiwi ^^
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Los Angeles to Sydney first class menu
SUPPER Our supper menu allows you flexibility to choose either our full menu after take off or to select from the menu at any time throughout your flight. Your flight attendant will be pleased to assist you. Canapes Entrees Potato and white bean soup with olive puree Seared tuna and tomato ceviche Light Meals Duck ragout with fresh gnocchi Beef burger with smoked mozarella cheese Main Courses Vegetable tagine with almond pilaf and coriander yoghurt Sea bass with parsley caper sauce and braised roman beans Grilled lamb cutlets with roast pumpkin, broccoli and mint jus A rocket salad is available to accompany your meal, or can be enjoyed as an entree, dressed with your choice of aged balsamic vinaigrette, red wine vinaigrette, lemon vinaigrette or blue cheese dressing A choice of mustards and condiments is available Cheese Hand selected blue, soft and hard cheese served with accompaniments Dessert Caramel butter crunch cake with honey yoghurt Baked pear and ginger custard with mascarpone Ice cream tubs Whole or sliced fresh seasonal fruit Petits Fours Dark chocolate semi dried figs Pecan fudge slice WINE LIST Champagne ... including Charles Heidsieck, Dom Perignon and Krug ... [Dom Perignon 1998 on this flight] White Wine Ferngrove "Cossack" riesling 2007 Clonakilla semillon sauvignon blanc 2006 Freycinet chardonnay 2006 Red Wine Pondalowie Mt Tempranillo 2005 Torbreck "The Steading" grenache mourvedre shiraz 2005 Tahbilk reserve cabernet sauvignon 1999 Dessert Wine De Bortoli noble one botrytis semillon 2004 Fortified Wine Morris of rutherglen old premium liqueur muscat & tokay BEVERAGES menu Aperitifs Bloody mary Campari Noilly prat french dry vermouth Spirits Bacardi white rum Bombay sapphire dry london gin Chivas regal 18yo scotch whisky Glenlivet 18yo malt whisky Inner circle (green dot) dark rum 57.2% Wild turkey rare breed 108 bourbon Wyborowa single estate vodka Beers For your enjoyment we have a selection of premium international and Australian beers onboard today. Liqueurs Bailey's irish cream Cointreau Fortifieds Grant burge 20yo tawny Cognac Martell cordon bleu Non Alcoholic Apple juice Orange juice Sunraysia mango liquid fruit Sunraysia pear liquid fruit Tomato or spicy tomato juice Mineral water Soda water Tonic water Bundaberg ginger beer Cola or diet cola Ginger ale Lemonade Solo - lemon squash Hot Beverages Grinders coffee cafe latte cappuccino decaffeinated espresso flat white long black mocha liqueur coffee T2 tea english breakfast peppermint chamomile sencha lemongrass and ginger Hot chocolate |
Los Angeles to Sydney first class menu continued
BREAKFAST Create your favourite breakfast from our extensive menu. Your flight attendant will be pleased to assist with your selection. Orange juice Apple juice Tomato juice Cranberry juice Sunraysia pear liquid fruit Sunraysia mango liquid fruit Vanilla and banana energiser drink Fresh fruit salad Bircher muesli Granola Cereal selection Yoghurt and honey Toast Croissant Cinnamon scroll Selection of conserves strawberry jam, orange marmalade, honey, vegemite Scrambled eggs Bacon Sausages Smoked salmon Slow roasted roma tomatoes English spinach Braised beans Potato cakes Baked ricotta tart with grilled bacon and tomato relish WINE LIST Champagne ... including Charles Heidsieck, Dom Perignon and Krug ... [Dom Perignon 1998 on this flight] White Wine Ferngrove "Cossack" riesling 2007 Clonakilla semillon sauvignon blanc 2006 Freycinet chardonnay 2006 Red Wine Pondalowie Mt Tempranillo 2005 Torbreck "The Steading" grenache mourvedre shiraz 2005 Tahbilk reserve cabernet sauvignon 1999 Dessert Wine De Bortoli noble one botrytis semillon 2004 Fortified Wine Morris of rutherglen old premium liqueur muscat & tokay BEVERAGES menu Aperitifs Bloody mary Campari Noilly prat french dry vermouth Spirits Bacardi white rum Bombay sapphire dry london gin Chivas regal 18yo scotch whisky Glenlivet 18yo malt whisky Inner circle (green dot) dark rum 57.2% Wild turkey rare breed 108 bourbon Wyborowa single estate vodka Beers For your enjoyment we have a selection of premium international and Australian beers onboard today. Liqueurs Bailey's irish cream Cointreau Fortifieds Grant burge 20yo tawny Cognac Martell cordon bleu Non Alcoholic Apple juice Orange juice Sunraysia mango liquid fruit Sunraysia pear liquid fruit Tomato or spicy tomato juice Mineral water Soda water Tonic water Bundaberg ginger beer Cola or diet cola Ginger ale Lemonade Solo - lemon squash Hot Beverages Grinders coffee cafe latte cappuccino decaffeinated espresso flat white long black mocha liqueur coffee T2 tea english breakfast peppermint chamomile sencha lemongrass and ginger Hot chocolate |
LOS ANGELES transit
Several flights and a couple of days later I arrived in Los Angeles for my next trans-pacific flight. This transit was a little unusual, so please forgive my indulgence in posting about the transit before getting on with a report on the flight. We arrived a few minutes late thanks to a late pushback in London. This was blamed on delay in getting clearance from USA - certainly all passengers were on board and cargo doors closed before our scheduled departure time. But I digress. As we taxied in to the terminal in addition to the normal spiel about waiting to be towed into the gate we were advised a passenger was abusive and LAPD were waiting to escort her off - we would need to remain seated until they had done so, which should only take a couple of minutes. Yeah right. Sure enough at the point where the tug hooks up to the aircraft we are met with an escort of fire and police trucks, lights flashing. As the passenger in question had apparently been restrained I have no idea what good these trucks thought they were doing. Anyway we pulled into the gate and sat and waited. And waited some more. An announcement was made that our passports would be checked on the airbridge - so please have them ready and open. We waited some more. Finally, 30 minutes after reaching the gate we were allowed to deplane. Immigration was a zoo. It took another 30 minutes to clear immigration. This time the delay was not lack of officers but rather they seemed to spend an eternity with some visitors. While I waited in the queue one poor guy spent the whole 30 minutes (plus time before I arrived and after I left) being questioned. At most countries, such in depth questioning by immigration normally takes place in a separate room or area away from the front line desks. A family was sent back for an irregularity with their paperwork, and another was asked to complete green visa waiver forms despite having correctly filled a white form to match their visa. I wondered if I would be questioned about transitting USA between 2 longhaul flights for the third time in a little over a week, but nothing was said and I was processed very quickly. Another wait at customs. Again they seemed to be taking a long time with checking everyone's papers and even looking through some passports. Why? By now it was 90 minutes since we reached the gate, and some 2 hours after my scheduled arrival. I was glad the connection was long enough to cope. I headed over to T4 and checked in for my next flights. |
LOS ANGELES to SYDNEY (LAX-SYD) on Qantas 747-400 in first class
Check in was quiet. Even a couple of hours before the flight I got sequence number 117 (on a not very full flight) so I guess there are lots of connecting passengers today. Security was empty (and once again missed my gels tucked up in multiple amenity kits) and I was soon up to the lounge. I took a shower. The flagship lounge was almost completely deserted with just 3 passengers (including me) and only 1 staff member flitting in and out but spending most of her time at the admirals club reception. I had some drinks and read a bit. Popped out to send some messages from the computers in admirals club, before returning for a few more drinks. Boarding was then called. I took my seat in an almost empty first cabin. Just the four passengers - two of whom I recognised as a former Qantas chairman and a female movie star. The rest of the aircraft was almost as empty. Despite this the captain reported we were at maximum take off weight - clearly QF had more freight than normal today. |
Sorry for the interruption. My flight was called.
The cabin crew were great. One of the other F pax asked if her son (I assume) could come up from a lower cabin and join her, and was politely rebuffed. To her credit the passenger accepted this and did go back to the lower cabin a couple of times to converse. We pushed back on time and backed into a corner. But then had a 30 minute wait for other aircraft to go past (in both directions) before we could get out to the taxiway. The various aircraft tows in the vicinity appeared to not be well coordinated. I chose this flight QF12 over the later flight because the later flight QF108 is notorious for being late, which may result in my being stuck in Sydney overnight or worse, and because this flight has a decent schedule for adjusting to time zones. Eat dinner on the aircraft, then plenty of time to sleep before waking for breakfast at a good time to adjust to Australia (east coast)/NZ time zones. I had time to watch a couple of movies, and this time managed to perfectly time the last one with it ending just seconds before the IFE was switched off. I got a reasonable sleep even though I enjoyed the service very much, almost too much :o The amenity kit and pajamas were handed out early. The amenity kit was almost empty with a few gels, mint and eary plugs. The eye mask, slippers and socks, and toothbrush and toothpaste were together in the pajama kitbag. Nonetheless the amenity kit will make a good glasses case. With strong headwinds we could not make up any time and arrived late. As we descended on final approach a Qantas 73H was in near perfect formation on our left - just a bit lower for that runway extends further into Botany Bay. |
SYDNEY to AUCKLAND (SYD-AKL) on Qantas 767-300 in business class
Quickly through security and up to the lounge. Time enough for a shower and some coffee, check messages and on-line check in for some more flights the next day. Unfortunately I wasn't able to improve on my pre-selected seats. Close to departure and a boarding call had not been made for the flight, yet not showing as delayed. So I headed out for the gate. I've been caught out before with this lounge forgetting to make a flight call. The monitors show final call but there is still a trickle of passengers making their way to the gate when I arrive. The flight appears to be full. Being on a first class ticket I could have taken the earlier LAN flight. I chose not to because of timing issues - if LAN flight is on time and the flight from LAX late (as it was) then the connection is short. Conversely, the LAN flight has terrible on time performance and could be delayed many hours (or even the Auckland to Sydney to Auckland legs cancelled in order to make up about 12 hours worth of delay). Being a busy travel day I would not be assured of being able to be rebooked onto another flight and I needed to arrive back in Auckland by early evening. So I gave up a more comfortable seat, but the IFE is similar quality and food better on the Qantas flight. Why is it that some people seated in row 43 spend ages looking at the seat numbers for the front rows? What can be going through their mind to think the front row might be numbered 43? We have a small delay in closing the door. According to the pilot there are insufficient staff on today (he didn't say what kind of staff - cabin crew, ground staff, etc). Then a further delay for a missing passenger. So once again I am on a flight that leaves late despite boarding being (mostly) completed on time. The flight itself was short. The runway direction had changed, as is normal for Sydney (due to noise control) and so we took off towards Auckland. At the other end of the flight we had a lazy loop over the city to land back towards the west. A nice meal and generally very good service. Not quite perfect service though - for example forgetting to offer me some bread (not that I wanted any but I should have been asked). A moderate queue at immigration and also at customs, but both processed quickly. At customs I headed to an officer who had no queue and was looking bored (all the other officers had someone they were seeing to), but was ordered by a different officer to not use that line. What?! Oh well. |
Sydney to Auckland business class menu
LUNCH From the bar Marinated olives Roasted nuts Main courses Herb crusted salmon with potato mash and seasonal vegetables served with goats cheese and spinach and cos salad Grilled chicken with prosciutto and thyme jus accompanied by sweet potato and ginger puree served with goats cheese and spinach and cos salad Leg ham, pasta, pumpkin and feta salad* served with fresh fruit selection A choice of warmed bread rolls Selection of seasonal cheese and dried fruit Ice cream and biscotti Chocolates * healthier option BEVERAGES menu Champagne Australian Wine Aperitifs Campari Spirits Bacardi white rum Chivas regal scotch whisky Inner circle (green dot) dark rum 57.2% Tanqueray london dry gin The glenlivet malt whisky Wild turkey 86.8 bourbon Wyborowa classic vodka Beers For your enjoyment we have a selection of premium international and Australian beers onboard today. Non Alcoholic Apple juice Orange juice Spicy tomato juice Tomato juice Mineral water Soda water Tonic water Bundaberg ginger beer Cola Diet cola Ginger ale Lemonade Solo - lemon squash Hot Beverages Grinders coffee bodum decaffeinated Dilmah tea chamomile english breakfast jasmine green peppermint Hot chocolate Liqueurs Bailey's irish cream Cointreau Fortified Penfolds bluestone 10yo tawny Rutherglen liqueur muscat Cognac Martell vsop |
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