Inaugural QF SYD-DFW – Cowboy welcomes the Roo!

[Kendall Roy]

(Pictures coming soon - pls check back)

This is my first attempt at a TR, so be nice

QF7
SYD-DFW
16MAY 2011
VH-OEE – 747-400ER
Premium Economy (seated in Skybed)

Less than a week after the flying kangaroo bid farewell to the northern California port of SFO, it was Dallas’ turn to welcome Australia’s flag carrier into partner airline AA’s home town. DFW is also the busiest Oneworld hub in North America, with direct connections to a significant majority of AA’s North America network.

CHECK-IN
A number of activities were taking place at check-in to commemorate the flight including a presser from QF boss Alan Joyce. Behind the cameras, a plethora of balloons, marketing collateral and easy-on-the-eye cowgirls dressed in QF gear provided a warm welcome to pax.

QF FIRST LOUNGE
I was fortunate enough to meet up with froggerADL who was more than happy to guest me into the F lounge with his brother.

This was my first trip into the F lounge and per the indications provided by a number of AFF trip reports, it really is a step above the J lounge down the road. The elevated view provides an excellent perspective on apron and taxi ops.

Food consumed included a mix of the chef’s sandwich (prior to 11am) and the Wagyu beef burger for lunch. It was probably a good day to skip breakfast at home!

BOARDING
Gate 8 would play host to boarding and related entertainment. Cupcakes were on offer to pax as the return of the QF cowgirls and a big fella moonlighting as an NFL player.

SEATING
It pays to get in early sometimes, and depending on the route flown, be in possession of SG/OWS or higher status. QF currently sells DFW flight as a 3 class service using 4 class kit. Until refurbishments are completed towards the end of the year, this represents an exciting opportunity for elite status members to experience the hard-product of the class above the ticketed fare.

I won’t bore you with the details, but with the provision of a QF “we stuffed up” voucher, I found myself only sub $2K out of pocket for a return PE ticket with seats pre-allocated in rows 29/30 (Skybed). I believe these are only made available for SG/WP/CL members.

ON-BOARD
Prior to take off, QF cabin crew continued with the ‘Spirit of Texas’ theme.
Taxi and push back were on time with a long departure to the north from YSSY 34L.

The obligatory pre-takeoff refreshments were provided, however the hot towels were not to be seen anywhere until the initial approach into DFW.

Dinner
A choice of beef and chicken were offered.

Breakfast
A choice of continental and hot breakfasts were on the menu for today’s flight.

Sleep
Cabin lights were killed for approximately 10-11 hours during the flight which provided plenty of opportunities to snooze away

IFE
The IFE on-demand selection was extremely limited given previous experiences on the B744 with Qantas. With that said, the system was very responsive throughout the flight.

ARRIVAL
The flight arrived at the gate approximately 15mins ahead of schedule despite heavy headwinds.

The arrival itself was a great end to such a long flight with significant interest from AA DFW apron staff and media taking pictures from all angles.

DFW fire crews provided a spectacular water cannon salute (well, almost obligatory given how far we had come ).

But wait there’s more……. The man himself John Travolta was at the gate to individually greet all pax in his QF uniform! Congrats to Qantas to making this such a memorable end to a long flight!

SUMMARY
A fairly non-eventful flight after takeoff with Qantas maintaining their solid levels of customer service standards with a fairly senior crew. Oh, and did I mention that it’s a LONG flight? Full respect to anyone slumming it down the back in whY J

Hope you enjoyed reading!

OVERALL RATING
8/10

 

[Kendall Roy]

By sydausguy at 2011-05-16

By sydausguy at 2011-05-16

By sydausguy at 2011-05-16

By sydausguy at 2011-05-16


By sydausguy at 2011-05-16

By sydausguy at 2011-05-16

By sydausguy at 2011-05-16

By sydausguy at 2011-05-16

By sydausguy at 2011-05-16

By sydausguy at 2011-05-16

By sydausguy at 2011-05-16

 

[Keith009]

Very nice!

I love the sense of occasion that accompanies inaugurals.

 

[docjames]

Great pics and well done on the TR. Concise but great info.

I'm surprised they didnt use a 744ER that had the "new" QF livery (ie the swoopy legged kangaroo) rather than the "old" livery. Or are there no -ERs with the new livery?

 

[Kendall Roy]

Great pics and well done on the TR. Concise but great info.

I'm surprised they didnt use a 744ER that had the "new" QF livery (ie the swoopy legged kangaroo) rather than the "old" livery. Or are there no -ERs with the new livery?

I was surprised also, but I actually prefer the text typeface on the old livery.

Oh and BTW, DFW is massive! And the staff are very friendly!

 

[mannej]

I'm surprised they didnt use a 744ER that had the "new" QF livery (ie the swoopy legged kangaroo) rather than the "old" livery. Or are there no -ERs with the new livery?

Qflyer suggests only a handful of the 744's have the new livery, none of which are the ER birds


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[Timtammi]

Thanks for the great trip report which is of much interest as I'm doing this flight in July, also in row 30. I take it the service was PE not J in these rows? Were they cordoned off from the rest of J or not?

How long after take-off was "dinner"? Was it pretty much straight after takeoff like they normally do or was service started some hours later? (trying to plan how much to eat in the flounge first!).

I was interested to note that you thought the inflight selection not good, just the offerings at the moment or something else?

Cheers

Timmi

 

[Ewing]

Interesting TR sydbloke. Good to see the pics/etc - especially as I'll be travelling on this route in a few months albeit without the fanfare

I take it the service was PE not J in these rows? Were they cordoned off from the rest of J or not?

I'm curious about that as well. Given the OP mentioned a choice of hot breakfast or continental breakfast, it sounds like PE service. In J you are given a menu and select items that you want.

I usually fly PE but couldn't bring myself to pay $5,700 for the privilege (I'd fly UA J instead for that) so upon looking at the seat map and seeing the front of Y sharing the PE cabin I decided to save the cash.

I saved myself $4,000 and ended up with a seat that's very much in the PE cabin (and an exit row at that):

Of course at the time I didn't notice that part of PE had Skybeds, but oh well

 

[Kendall Roy]

I'm curious about that as well. Given the OP mentioned a choice of hot breakfast or continental breakfast, it sounds like PE service. In J you are given a menu and select items that you want.

Of course at the time I didn't notice that part of PE had Skybeds, but oh well

Yes, those in the J seating (29/30) were instructed to utilise the toilet located between rows 35 & 36. So yes in effect, we were separated from the J cabin pax.

I believe froggerADL sat in the seats mentioned and may be able to report on these.

 

[Timba-Jet]

Thanks for the report.

It's good to see both QF & AA put on some fanfare at both ends. Putting some magic back into the air.

So if DFW gets us cow/cheer girls and NFL man, what will QF do for it's next new destination.

 

[Wunala Dreaming]

Great pics and well done on the TR. Concise but great info.

I'm surprised they didnt use a 744ER that had the "new" QF livery (ie the swoopy legged kangaroo) rather than the "old" livery. Or are there no -ERs with the new livery?

VH-OEG has the new livery.

Thanks for the trip report sydbloke and for making the effort to share your experience. Writing about flying can certainly be a PITA, but you've done a good job.

I had the pleasure of flying VH-OEE as QF8 BNE-SYD on Wednesday and enjoyed the experience immensely. Also had the pleasure of flying Virgin Australia's lovely new 737 VH-YFC on the return SYD-BNE sector. Certainly not bad for a day's work.

Interesting to note that the inaugural DFW-BNE service was delayed some 53 or so minutes, 10 minutes due crew transport and the remainder due to flight plan issues. Certainly not unexpected for a new route.