What it's like to travel Qantas in 2021

[Seat0B]

I took my first flights from CBR to OOL (direct on a B717) and back again on a B737 via SYD over the period 12-16 March 2021. I had not taken any flights since February 2020, other than the 747 Farewell, so it was quite a shock to see what travel is like now. Here are a few photos and comments to illustrate my experience.

I thought it might be nice to start a thread so we can all document what it's like to travel in 2021 and see how things (hopefully) improve as the year progresses.

So here is my picture essay about my March 2021 flights.

The usually bustling CBR concourse was all but empty. You could literally have shot a cannon down it and not hit a soul.


The regular CBR Qantas Club is closed and the Business Lounge is open. It too is very quiet. That's Mr Seat 0A at the service counter. There were 2 other people in the area where we sat. In total, about 12 people in the lounge. It was lunchtime, so not peal business travel time, but this lounge was previously usually bursting at the seams most of the day. The chairs have been rearranged to be more spaced apart and set in smaller settings for 2 people, with only a few settings for larger groups. These were in a completely separate area of the lounge. Boarding passes were scanned and a QR code check in was also required.



The food selection in CBR business lounge isn't bad, but it really does not have the same sense of choice and abundance that it used to have. Everything was individually portioned, individually wrapped or individually plated. You had to ask the attendant for what you wanted - no self service of anything allowed. I'm happy to say the coffee was actually quite good.



On the flight, and in the airport precinct, it is mandatory to wear a mask unless you are eating or drinking. Very high level of compliance in the airport, in the lounge and on the flight on the way from CBR to OOL. Not the same at all in the other direction. At least 30% of people in the OOL airport precinct non-compliant with mask wearing, many more "notionally wearing" mask but with their nose not covered, and a noticeable number on the flight OOL-SYD just outright refusing. Crew did not really address this. I was glad to be sitting next to Mr Seat 0A! Flywell packs (mask and sanitising wipes) are self service at the boarding gate and were not being pushed or mentioned at all. Also, if you miss getting one, there was quite a bit of huffing and puffing from on board crew to supply one to those passengers who asked.



Lounge in OOL crowded (as it usually is) and although I have obscured people's faces in my photo, and you can't see this, only 2 people in this shot were wearing a mask. They were not all eating and drinking - most were on their phones.



Lounge food in OOL was OK. Even the fresh fruit was individually plated!



In flight meals (business class) were OK to awful. Chicken pie (CBR-OOL on B717) was all right. The other meals (OOL-SYD on B737) were not. There was no welcome drink and absolutely minimal service onboard. Meals were served and that was it. No follow ups, no top ups, no "can I get you anything else Ms Seat 0B". Felt quite austere.







So that's it. Overall, the experience of flying is not as bad as I thought it would be, but it is pretty basic and a long way from how things used to be back in the pre-COVID days. I'm old enough to remember what flying was like in the pre-9/11 days and observe how much things changed after that event. I am concerned that COVID might be another seminal moment that changes flying forever, and in my opinion, not for the better based on this experience. That said, I'm glad I was able to travel to see relatives for 90th birthday party, and I did not feel unsafe, other than at the baggage carousel in OOL where there was no social distancing, minimal mask wearing and no one at all policing that. I look forward to hearing/seeing other people's experiences, and I really hope this post is the low point before things really take off back to normal!

 

[eastwest101]

I've been flying throughout 2020 and the I think the word 'austere' is very descriptive, as things get busier again it might be that the novelty of empty terminals and reasonable fares might change to something different and more expensive.

I've noticed the same variability about mask wearing and social distancing as you have in your comments,

 

[jakeseven7]

Canberra has suffered disproportionately as well.

I’ve never really stopped travelling apart from the national shut down almost a year ago and the airports are now much much much busier - the last few weeks numbers have literally exploded, I kind of miss my empty terminals

Our QF rep said they are busily warming up more and more aircraft in response to demand which is really good to hear, more A330’s being woken up too!

 

[sudoer]

Very high level of compliance in the airport, in the lounge and on the flight on the way from CBR to OOL. Not the same at all in the other direction. At least 30% of people in the OOL airport precinct non-compliant with mask wearing, many more "notionally wearing" mask but with their nose not covered, and a noticeable number on the flight OOL-SYD just outright refusing.

I noticed the same on flights ex BNE and CNS recently. Queensland Police were patrolling BNE and pulling people up at least.

 

[sudoer]

Good to see Palaszczuk has noticed the complacency also:

WA, Tasmania and NT bring in new rules for Queensland's high-risk locations — as it happened

Tasmania declares a list of high-risk premises in Queensland, while WA and the NT says anyone who has visited those locations must get tested and quarantine.

www.abc.net.au

 

[BD1959]

IFE was running on the 637 last night - haven't seen that all year. Content seemed to be 12 months out of date though judging by the "Premiere Movies" ... or maybe that's just QF getting back to Business-As-Usual ...

Regards,

BD

 

[milehighclub]

IFE was running on the 637 last night

The systems were never updated to be blank. They just have what was left at the last update (March). All the content will be there, but the crew have to switch off access to it every flight.

The IFE itself cannot be turned off completely, as there are emergency announcements embedded into the system (like for a decompression).

 

[Supersonic Swinger]

I kind of miss my empty terminals

So do I - flying from Qantas domestic terminal 3 in SYD in July last year was like having your own massive private jet terminal.

The photo @Seat0B posted of the CBR concourse was what the QF lounge was like!

I asked the lady at the counter what the strangest thing she'd seen during Covid was, and she said people rocking up at the lounge in full haz-mat suits.

 

[oirets]

Flew SYD-MEL in QF today late afternoon. Overall, it seemed relatively normal. SYD was definitely less busy, but it's not as empty as some of the pictures I've seen suggested.

The Qantas Club was closed, everyone got access to the Domestic Business Lounge instead. There were quite a few people around, a bit of a queue for drinks and food, but overall still very quiet and easy to find a spot to sit. Lots of quiet areas around the back and the central area (just inside the entrance) was quite lively and airy. All of the seats next to the windows with the tarmac views were taken unfortunately.

My family (of 3) and I flew on Red e-Deal tickets, with points upgrade on-departure (after request didn't go through online, but I asked at the lounge and they put it through just fine). On the plane, 11/12 of the seats in J were taken, but the rest of the plane was relatively empty, most rows had maybe 3 - 4 (/6) passengers and there weren't any full rows from memory. Boarding was relatively quick, no priority queue, but it's not a big deal since there was practically no queue.

Everything onboard seemed pretty normal to me. People were asked to put on a mask and those without a mask were offered one by the crew. From looking around, it seemed as if everyone was wearing a mask aside from when eating/drinking. I had rice with chicken which was yummy and the drinks seemed to be standard. I don't drink alcohol, so I had a Coke, but they seemed to have white/red wine available.

Overall, I'm super happy with the flight and look forward to future flights.

 

[mviy]

Apart from the understandable mask wearing requirements I still find flying enjoyable.

I expect if masks are required when flying internationally once borders reopen there'll be a lot of people with half full drinks and/or some food on their tray table most of the time when they're not trying to sleep.

 

[RB]

It is a couple of weeks since we did a PQQ-SYD return. Still pretty quiet both ways-around 40 passengers. Plenty of room to distance at Port. Masks in use except for a couple of young passengers. A very hard landing in SYD then a short walk from the tarmac (no bus ride this time). Bags were pretty quick but no clear indication of which carousel was in use. We caught a train to Thirroul- only saw 3 passengers waiting as we went past the SYD international station. Train was late morning so no problems with distancing. Opal cards checked on the train.

Return journey we waited in the usual small corner that PQQ seems to get allocated. 2 buses used to ferry us out to a remote stand. Got to takeoff on the main runway (saved the usual long taxi out). Two passengers (unknown to each other) spent the whole flight having a general conversation with no masks. Another hard landing & then got to use the carousel at PQQ for the first time since it was installed in late 2019

PQQ waiting area

PQQ

PQQ-now don't have to wait outside


SYD-still very quiet

 

[Sprucegoose]

Couldn’t help but wonder the magnificent opportunity Virgin have if QF keep up the remarkable catering. I received a soggy pie last night J class BNE-MEL. Have standards really sunk that low?

 

[AIRwin]

I received a soggy pie last night J class BNE-MEL. Have standards really sunk that low?

It may have been the recent rains...

 

[oirets]

Couldn’t help but wonder the magnificent opportunity Virgin have if QF keep up the remarkable catering. I received a soggy pie last night J class BNE-MEL. Have standards really sunk that low?

Pies are always hard to do - there's a really fine line between soggy and dry. If I had to choose, I would much rather soft than too dry, but that's just me.

FWIW, this has always been the case with QF vs. VA, at least IMO. VA have always had better looking food, much more neatly presented on nicer crockery, but I've always just liked QF food more. There's just something homely and comfortable about QF's food, maybe it just reflects the sort of food I make for myself (I'm an incompetent cook who microwaves frozen pies for dinner).

 

[Sprucegoose]

Apart from the understandable mask wearing requirements I still find flying enjoyable.

I expect if masks are required when flying internationally once borders reopen there'll be a lot of people with half full drinks and/or some food on their tray table most of the time when they're not trying to sleep.

For my generation the golden age of flight was 2019...for my parents, it was the start of the 707/747 jet age and for my grandparents, it was the Connie.....for the kids it could be SpaceX?

 

[mahooligan]

MEL lounge was busy this morning with long queue for coffee. Hot food was bacon, scrambled egg & toast or pancakes. Other options Bircher muesli, fruit bowl, pastries, chia seed bowl.

flight to Perth served wine/beer (ETA 0935 QF773) followed by lunch service (economy). Offered fresh masks middle of the flight. No IPads. Crew great.

arrival into Perth - disembarked 50 pax at a time. Was quick.

 

[Seat0B]

MEL lounge was busy this morning with long queue for coffee. Hot food was bacon, scrambled egg & toast or pancakes. Other options Bircher muesli, fruit bowl, pastries, chia seed bowl.

flight to Perth served wine/beer (ETA 0935 QF773) followed by lunch service (economy). Offered fresh masks middle of the flight. No IPads. Crew great.

arrival into Perth - disembarked 50 pax at a time. Was quick.

Welcome to posting on AFF @mahooligan

 

[Cognac]

MEL lounge was busy this morning with long queue for coffee. Hot food was bacon, scrambled egg & toast or pancakes. Other options Bircher muesli, fruit bowl, pastries, chia seed bowl.

flight to Perth served wine/beer (ETA 0935 QF773) followed by lunch service (economy). Offered fresh masks middle of the flight. No IPads. Crew great.

arrival into Perth - disembarked 50 pax at a time. Was quick.

I did PER-MEL, MEL-PER a couple of weeks ago. Perth was bustling. The Qantas Pub was closed, and the J lounge was almost overflowing as a result. I found a seat, but only just.

The flights were fine. I usually read books when flying so no IFE didn't change much for me. PER-MEL flight was about 40% capacity.

Melbourne lounge was pretty full for the return, but not as busy as Perth. The flight, however, was very full. I think I only saw one empty seat on the 330. This was just after WA had removed all restrictions on Vic travellers.

 

[Lat34]

SYD quite busy airport plus both lounges open this morning for SYD-MEL flight.
Next leg MEL-HBA not so hectic.
Both flights ~75%
Best moment for me was boarding music playing MEL-HBA. Haven't heard in over 12 months

 

[Seat0B]

And in an update - went to OOL for a four day visit to family for a birthday event. It is just over 3 months since my last visit, and absolutely nothing has changed! The food offering in the CBR Business Lounge is pretty dreadful still, and the OOL QP is also poor. Nothing has changed since my last visit to both of these, not even worth taking a photo.

Mask wearing in the airport was quite good in CBR, and much worse in OOL, although a little better than last time. There were cops at the exit to baggage collection demanding driver's licence from anyone who admitted to being from SYD or MEL flights - and they were telling people to put their mask on or pull it up. People did that for exactly as long as it took to get out of line of sight, then down went the masks. Sigh.
Mask wearing on the flight was nearly 100% compliant in both directions.




Mask wearing in OOL QP was again totally non-existent. I blurred their guilty little faces, but not one person in this lot was wearing a mask. And most of them didn't even bother pretending to eat of drink.



I've posting my meals in the relevant thread. Again, not bad, but still very much on the lower end of pre-COVID expectations. Cabin crew a lot more attentive this time - offered refills on my drinks in both directions. Even had time for a little chit chat when serving the meal and made me feel a bit of the old "you're a platinum, we will treat you like a person not a number" feeling, which was lovely.

So in summary, after three months, nothing much has really changed and flying, even in Business, remains a pretty sad and austere ghost of its former glory.