2013 stoopidity: here, there, everywhere.. incl around the world (twice). .

[Inver]

The dams and touchdown at 1627 photos didn't upload correctly.

 

[Magpie10]

Thanks for the TA stoopidsteve just live your review!

 

[Stoopidsteve]

I ended up round the corner from Rydges Lakeside at Mocan and Green Grout for dinner. Not sure about the name. Decor is wood, at the bar dining directly in front of the cooking.



A generous bowl of olives as a welcome, but a bit too salty.

I enjoyed pretending to be a critic so here goes:
Artichoke, smoked ricotta with caramelised speck. Seemed well balanced and nicely presented with finely sliced radish and some herbs as dressing. But I felt it could have done with a little mildly acidic to complement the fat richness and sweetness of the caramelised speck...



25 minute wait until the next dish, Boxgum Grazing Pork belly, with black pudding, cabbage, and apple.

The Pork was luscious morsels of fat-layered sweet meat, with thin crispy skin. The black pudding amongst the best I've had. But the cabbage cooked way more than I like, and spiced (five spice I think, perhaps star anise). The apple was not as expected an apple sauce, but finely julienned green apple. Ah, there's the perfect acid to cut the fat...but not enough



Decided to go for the chamomile yoghurt , with walnuts and brioche, served with chamomile-infused caramel. Brioche was sweet, yoghurt was subtly flavoured, walnuts were shaved and possibly served with crispy biscuit crumbs. Caramel definitely had burnt notes to it, not so pleasant.



Coffee was good, but those custom made wooden benches and seating were a bit uncomfortable after a couple of hours.

 

[Stoopidsteve]

Awoke to more rain. Disappointed with cheap instant coffee granules and long life milk, but needs must. A day's meetings. Back to the hotel to change and then popped out to dinner. Competent and comfortable at Posada. Squid starter, batter was crispy but tasted floury. And it needed salt and pepper...hang on, this isn't flounge is it?

Pizza was good. Ambience was pleasant, high roof, and low light, not cheesy.

Would prob have another go there next time I'm in CBR.

 

[Stoopidsteve]

Another morning of rain, another day of meetings. Rain stopped and the sun came out in the afternoon, showing off autumn in Canberra.

I was booked on the 1830 flight to SYD, but got to airport by 4pm. Had the pleasure of introducing a couple of colleagues to the business lounge, but i wasn't in long before the flight I had been kindly put on was called. On the way out, I noticed the lovely uniform display, so of course thought it would look great enhanced with a stripy beanie. Unfortunately, one of the lounge staff had a fit "That's Qantas property, you shouldn't have touched it. I'd better not see those pictures on Facebook."

Straight faced I concurred that I would not post to FB.

But out of respect for the wishes of the lounge dragon, edit:

 

[Stoopidsteve]

Boarded QF858 (catering not assured).

Gave up the front row seat on the 1830 flight for 15D, flight about 2/3 full. Capt Mark Usher took us the short trip, and Peter Smith CSM.

Push back was 1658, took off 1707, and landed 1740, at gate 1745. Service efficient

The crew were happy and amused to take pic for me (and greeted by name..I think the name list must be on the trolley?).



Into the SYD business lounge. Busy at that time of day. Island dining: island was full so I asked a passing staff member for some of the Thai beef, before I had to take a call. Not sure if I could hear over all the boarding announcements, and calls for late passengers.




So having arrived early in SYD too, I asked for change, and was offered the 1805, or 1905. Had some emails to finish off, so took the 1905.

QF548 (VH-VYA) was skippered by Martin Smith. Absolutely full flight. I'd sacrificed front row again (from scheduled flight at 2030 or something like that) for 10C. A couple of the cabin crew didn't board until 1930, but that's OK as general boarding had only just finished by then....

Push back 1940, took off 1955, and didn't land until 2128, to gate by 2131.

Didn't bother with dinner, but fyi it was chicken and veg masala. Again I was offered drink by name (hence comment that I think they have names on trolley).

One of crew asked about the headphone leads (said other crew had been talking about them), and I explained how great they are not to get tangled or lost in blankets on long haul. Which is true.




So a couple of days in Canberra came to an end.

I must say the four domestic legs, the crew were all cheerful and very efficient, and despite delays, I enjoyed my flights with QF.

I must point out that the couple of days in Sing a week or so ago, in a much nicer hotel, worked out all inclusive about the same as two days in rainy Canberra (both on sale fares)....

Next edition will be really silly JASA SC run to KTA from BNE. Next weekend...

 

[Stoopidsteve]

Time for JASA:
MANY pics taken of the travelling beanie, some may be posted later

Saturday/ Sunday

Summary:
BNE-ADL QF661 2F on VH-VXQ CSM Rod
ADL-PER QF587 2F on VH-VXQ CSM Rod, Captain Mike McCubben
PER-KTA QF915 2F on VH-VXQ Captain Mike McCubben, CSM Vera
KTA-PER QF916 2F on VH-VXQ Captain Mike McCubben, CSM Vera
PER-MEL QF648 2A on VH-VZO Captain Matt Penrose, CSM Travis
MEL-BNE QF604 1F on VH-VXT Capt Pete Spalding.

Yup, 5 of 6 sectors on old 737, only VH-VZO (Prostate cancer) on refurbed a/c
Yup, 4/6 sectors on VH-VXQ
Yup, same flight crew on three sectors.
"international" catering on ADL-PER and PER-MEL flights.


Started the entire trip with two other AFFers, and another joined the gang with BNE-PER direct.

BEST PARTS:
1) sharing it with like-minded loonies, er, travel enthusiasts who wouldn’t bat an eyelid at the lunacy of 25 mins on the ground in KTA: thanks for the company and the laughs. You know who you all are
2) sharing the excitement of one of the travelling group who reached Gold for first time ever as flights credited en route, and getting BPs reprinted with Gold Status
3) Seeing the beauty of desolate West Australia
4) Getting all flights credited by the time I arrived home (awaiting DSC posting)
5) The bemusement of cabin crew and lounge crew
6) Actually managing to get some productive work done on the BNE-ADL and ADL-PER sectors
7) The service on all sectors was very consistent

Worst parts:
1) my inability to refuse food…gluttony!!!!
2) The long (4+ hour) wait in PER (note to self, see of you can break the journey if there’s a “next time”).
3) Only getting refurb metal on 1 sector
4) That each time I drifted off to sleep, the captain makes announcement 30 mins out from each arrival and wakes everyone up!
5) That one of (but not all!) was pulled aside in KTA by police because of “suspicious travel activity” of immediate turnaround in KTA
6) The chicken schnitzel on the “ international dining” menu: don’t bother!

New experiences:
1) Taking advantage of DSC for first deliberate SC run.
2) Meeting fellow AFFers on the road
3) The “international” food service on ADL-PER

 

[serfty]

Looking forward to more deatil - but one thing ... the later 73H's (eg VZO) are not refurbished, they are simply contemporary production aircraft with a different fit out to the earlier ones.

FWIW, VZO commenced operation only two years ago (JetPhotos.Net » Aircraft Census Database » CN 34191 Boeing 737-838 VH-VZO) whereas VXQ has been around for just over ten years (JetPhotos.Net » Aircraft Census Database » CN 33723 Boeing 737-838 VH-VXQ).

 

[Stoopidsteve]

Apologies, lost my notebook with all comments, and lost memory card with all pics in of the BNE-KTA SC run


Next stoopidity coming up is RTW in 8 days and 10 sectors, a day in Boston, 4 days in UK, a day in Singapore.

Thursday 8th: BNE-SYD-LAX-DFW-ORD-BOS (sector 1 in economy, rest business/"first")
Friday night: BOS-LHR (economy on BA, AA flight number)
Tuesday:LHR-DXB-SIN (economy on QF and EK, Qf flight numbers)
Thursday:SIN-MEL-BNE (economy on QF metal)

Points upgrade came through for the QF107 SYD-LAX at T-56. I was happy to snag 5J. And I then confirm chauffeur pick-up in my bookings, as upgrade is confirmed more than 48 hrs in advance of travel

Then today (T-approx 44) get a call from chauffeur service..."courtesy call for your pick up on Wednesday 7th....." Me much confused ask them to check. They call back a few minutes later to say "Courtesy call to confirm your pick up on Thursday". We haggle over excess fare: I am about 6km outside the 60 km pick up for BNE. First up they say "$35 please", and I suggest that's a bit more than 6 times $2.80. "Oh, Qantas tell us a charge for each suburb, but we'll honour that rate of 2.80 per km. But we calculate the difference as the distance from the perimeter to pick up and then from pick up back to perimeter....." I suggest this is actually charging $5.60/km outside the 60km.... (anyone else got any experience of this?) So they say it's $30.

Oh well. Cheaper than airport parking, and not sure I can be bothered to argue for a few dollars.

So, getting excited about this trip. Should be able to have a short time in SYD FLounge, then some work in 5J, and hopefully some sleep on way to LOTFAP...

 

[Stoopidsteve]

Anyone wanting Flounge guesting in SYD Thursday morning for QF107 pm me

 

[Stoopidsteve]

QF501, nominally 0600.

Arrived business lounge at 0450 to check in.



Just got the BPs for 501 and SYD-LAX QF107, presumably AA BPs in Sydney or in LA.


Jeff Watson captained the 767
I was in 24J, no-one next to me. This set has no window. I decided to forgo breakfast on the plane…[Editor’s note: WHAT? Stoopid refused food? What happened to the glutton?]



Pushed back just before scheduled 6am, took off 0610, and landed again at just before 0730. Of course that time of day the plane was full of suits and ties…almost felt underdressed in short without tie!

Landing into a grey, wet Sydney. Off the plane at gate 4 about 0740, and into the sanctum of FLounge by 0815 after transferring on the bus and clearing immigration and security.

Time for the yummy sweet corn fritters. Server needed asking again for tea, but it’s busy at this time of day.



Still no BPS for the LAX-DFW-ORD-BOS sectors.

 

[Stoopidsteve]

So onto QF107. VH-OEH “Hervey Bay”. 5J. nicest seat in the house according to cabin crew. Cabin crew on this flight markedly more senior than the A380 crews.



Mike Worthington skippered us. Took off at 1105 (nominal 1000 departure) after a wait at the gate then a few minutes on the taxiway.

Lunch arrived about 1230, I chose the beetroot salad, and lamb. Lamb was a little sloppy, probably should have got some bread to go with it. Ice cream dessert presentation seemed not so elegant, but practical.

 

[Stoopidsteve]

Got a bit of work done then half a zopiclone gives me about 4 hrs solid sleep, needed otherwise I’d never get to sleep at body clock time of mid-afternoon. The internal argument is always whether to take half and only get 3-5 hrs, or take a whole one and risk having to be woken having missed breakfast, (and there’s horror stories of “paradoxical sleep effects” on this class of drugs if sleep is interrupted).

After a movie, some breakfast (nice scrambled eggs with salmon). Interesting that cabin crew served those awake first rather than all lights coming up to wake everyone. There were queues for loo to change out of the grey, but I guess this way of serving breakfast reduces the crush and spreads workload out a bit. We landed 0705 local. We’d made up some of that 1hr late departure (vs 0645 nominal).



The service was OK without being outstanding. Nothing I could put my finger on, perhaps just a lack of warmth. But it got me from SYD-LAX, 5J is awesome as a single on the 747, and the meals were (again) OK without being outstanding.

Doors open at 0717, and I hear my name called as “please meet ground staff at the bottom of the escalator” and I’m handed a bright orange “express connections” with the missing BPs.

After a short wait at immigration in line with others clutching orange express cards, and back through security at Terminal 4 (is there a way of going from Tom Bradley after arriving without having to queue up again?), I’m in the Admiral’s club First section by about 0805. MY first visit to this area. Shower rooms are a little bigger, but other than that, I didn’t notice huge differences compared to the club lounge next door.

Just enough time for a quick shower and coffee. IS it just me, or is it everyone: there’s something about clean undies and socks/shirt after that long on a plane, even if I had changed into grey PJs for most of the flight?

 

[serfty]

Enjoying the report.

...

Just enough time for a quick shower and coffee. IS it just me, or is it everyone: there’s something about clean undies and socks/shirt after that long on a plane, even if I had changed into grey PJs for most of the flight?

It certainly not just you, after a shower and a light Flagship Lounge bite along with a glass of Mrs T's (can't come at that "coffee"

) I am ready to run the world ... or at least run to the next gate.

...
After a short wait at immigration in line with others clutching orange express cards, and back through security at Terminal 4 (is there a way of going from Tom Bradley after arriving without having to queue up again?), I’m in the Admiral’s club First section by about 0805. MY first visit to this area. Shower rooms are a little bigger, but other than that, I didn’t notice huge differences compared to the club lounge next door. ...

Sadly, Security is a fact of life when landing into the USA from overseas, whether transit or otherwise. (An airside connector between TBIT and T4 is due for completion in a year or two, but you still end up landside on arrival from Oz).

 

[Katie]

After a short wait at immigration in line with others clutching orange express cards, and back through security at Terminal 4 (is there a way of going from Tom Bradley after arriving without having to queue up again?), I’m in the Admiral’s club First section by about 0805. MY first visit to this area. Shower rooms are a little bigger, but other than that, I didn’t notice huge differences compared to the club lounge next door.

Just enough time for a quick shower and coffee. IS it just me, or is it everyone: there’s something about clean undies and socks/shirt after that long on a plane, even if I had changed into grey PJs for most of the flight?

Main difference to me: the availability of food.

And agree on changing undies after a long flight (or before a long flight, when I'm coming from the east coast USA and heading home).

 

[Magpie10]

Another great TR stoopidsteve oh how I wish to be your shadow and check out those faces when you wack that beanie out!

 

[k_sheep]

Worst parts:

5) That one of (but not all!) was pulled aside in KTA by police because of “suspicious travel activity” of immediate turnaround in KTA

See I rate that as one of the best parts, since it wasn't me

Especially funny when he got super paranoid about the local constabulary who showed up in the QP afterwards!!

 

[Hvr]

Another great TR stoopidsteve oh how I wish to be your shadow and check out those faces when you wack that beanie out!

I agree, just what do the staff say when you ask them to photograph you in that beanie?

 

[Stoopidsteve]

I agree, just what do the staff say when you ask them to photograph you in that beanie?

bemused smiles is the usual response.

 

[Stoopidsteve]

Down to gate 41, just next to lounge, and onto AA2432, 0905, MD-80, seat 3E. We boarded about 0840, with Mark Sherman as captain.
Apparently there were pax refusing to finish phone conversations. The AA approach to this appears to be non-confrontational, instead sitting at the gate and cabin crew and captain re-iterating the message every couple of minutes that we can’t leave until electronics are all turned off.

Push back was 0912, and a long wait on taxiway (during which I snoozed) saw us take off at 0935.

Pleasant enough in F.



woke up to see neighbour eating his breakfast. In my somnolent state I was confused by the FA’s question of whether I wanted cookie or muffin…I had ordered the quiche! Then it was pointed out to me that the choice was in addition to the quiche….doh!




Another snooze saw us arriving into DFW at 1413, and at gate A8 1425.