MEL - BNE in J

[Leroy87]

Hi everyone,

Flew the wife and I to Brisbane for the Melbourne cup long weekend - Y classic awards were scarce on the Saturday morning so we burned some points to fly J (first time domestically with points) and check it out.
A few comments/questions:

I can't remember the last time I took a checked bag on a QF domestic flight, so the auto bag-drop at MEL was... an interesting surprise. No Q-tag for me so lots of "the reader cannot read your bag tag" and lots of other confused, puzzled and frustrated people wandering around. Could spot only 1-2 ground staff - seemed mostly to be PAX helping each other work out the machines. Is this at all normal? Struck me as a bit messy (Saturday blues maybe?).

Dom J Lounge at MEL was quiet and fairly well matched descriptions I've read here. Food was nice, wife liked the coffee.
Priority boarding - tick.

Then we walked onto an ancient looking 737. Are there many of these still around or did I just luck out? (I guess I'm also asking: If I flew Dom J again how much of a gamble is it...?)
Breakfast was served and wasn't great. The eggs were grey (albeit with the faintest hint of yellow around the edge) and barely edible - the FA was almost apologetic as she took them back and explained that they're made of powder.

At least there was enough room to read The Age


Does my experience seem fairly normal for QF J (good airport side, but ancient plane with not great food)? If it is, I probably wouldn't do it again - I may pick up status with some work flights to the US next year and get the same airport side experience just flying economy.
The second reason why I probably wouldn't do it again is we flew Virgin back (for a comparison) and our experience was markedly batter, but that's a different story.

Thoughts?

 

[eastwest101]

Sounds like you got unlucky and got one of the few old remaining B737-400s, pretty rare and pretty unlucky. If its any consolation you don't see too many of them unless you live in Canberra. I am not an expert on the J class Qf and VA meals but most of the breakfasts I have seen in J class on both QF and VA have been pretty good, so again, you were unlucky there.

Your comments about the auto bag check-in without Q-tag sound very familiar, nearly every time that I have had to use them I have ended up helping other people whom are unfamiliar with the proccess.

If you had been on a B737-800 and they had not screwed up the breakfast then I think you would have found it fairly comparable to a VA business class flight.

 

[opusman]

QF still have a few of the old 734s flying (about 7-8 I think) so it's just bad luck when you score one. A couple of months ago I went MEL/BNE for lunch, had a 734 on the way up complete with uncomfortable seat (hate those convertible J seats), emergency announcement that malfunctioned and kept telling us very loudly that oxygen was required for about the first 30 minutes of the flight, and a coughroach walking up the window. Scored a nice new 738 with BSI on the way back - was like chalk and cheese.

 

[eastwest101]

QF still have a few of the old 734s flying (about 7-8 I think) so it's just bad luck when you score one. A couple of months ago I went MEL/BNE for lunch, had a 734 on the way up complete with uncomfortable seat (hate those convertible J seats).....

I actually find the J class convertible seats on the old B734s pretty comfortable actually - but understand everyone has a different opinion! the other stuff does not sound quite so nice....

 

[Leroy87]

Sounds like you got unlucky and got one of the few old remaining B737-400s, pretty rare and pretty unlucky.

Thanks for that, I find it a little more reassuring. Could the fact that it was a weekend have anything to do with it? (ie. new planes fly the actual business PAX morning/evening peak during the week, have a rest on Sat/Sun).
If so, next time I go away I'd consider going the night before maybe ^^.

Your comments about the auto bag check-in without Q-tag sound very familiar, nearly every time that I have had to use them I have ended up helping other people whom are unfamiliar with the proccess.

I could definitely see that happening. I only got it to work after some people helped position the tag and bag together in such a way that the scanner picked it up.
Then when the belt moved the bag fell over and got stuck.
Then when I adjusted the bag so that the belt would move it all stops because it detected "interference".
Then it backed up and --relief-- didn't try to scan again before accepting the bag. Yikes.

 

[elbarto]

Sounds like you were just unlucky. Even if you got a 738 it could have been one of the early ones which aren't as nice as the newer ones since they lack individual IFE. As for the catering, my recent Dom J flights have all been good with no issues. In short, I wouldn't let this experience put you off flying QF J again.

 

[eastwest101]

Thanks for that, I find it a little more reassuring. Could the fact that it was a weekend have anything to do with it? (ie. new planes fly the actual business PAX morning/evening peak during the week, have a rest on Sat/Sun).
If so, next time I go away I'd consider going the night before maybe ^^.

Certainly seems to be the case - during the weekend QF mainline take a lot of B767/A330 capacity offline (because apparently the business of the nation must cease on Friday afternoon) and replace those services with B738s which then has the flow on affect of replacing routes that would normally be B738's end up being B734's and routes normally B734's replaced by B717s (possibly?)

 

[markis10]

Certainly seems to be the case - during the weekend QF mainline take a lot of B767/A330 capacity offline (because apparently the business of the nation must cease on Friday afternoon) and replace those services with B738s which then has the flow on affect of replacing routes that would normally be B738's end up being B734's and routes normally B734's replaced by B717s (possibly?)

MEL BNE has been a 734/738 route no matter what day it is, aside from the odd wide body at peak (QF636). I am guessing the OP was on QF610, the 905 AM departure, FWIW there has been only one 734 flight on the 29th, none since. BSIs average four flights a day no matter what day of the week.

 

[boomy]

Save your points, don't burn them on short flights. The breakfast is never impressing and it's too early to drink alcohol. The chairs are wider and there is a bit more space, that's all.
I would go for row 4 or emergency exit on MEL-BNE and keep my points for long flights upgrades (Perth and beyond).

 

[Damon Klotz]

The best 10,000 points I've used as a recently new QF has been to upgrade by flights to Perth.

 

[GoldCanyon340]

I've had a couple of 734s out of ADL this year, usually on a mid-morning ADLMEL run (both weekday and weekend IIRC). Evokes memories of when I commuted ADLSYD every week for four years and flew on every 734 and 733 QF had from TN, including TJB in the Solomon Airlines livery.

 

[Leroy87]

MEL BNE has been a 734/738 route no matter what day it is, aside from the odd wide body at peak (QF636). I am guessing the OP was on QF610, the 905 AM departure, FWIW there has been only one 734 flight on the 29th, none since. BSIs average four flights a day no matter what day of the week.

Just for reference, it was QF608 at 805. May be useful for someone to know.

Save your points, don't burn them on short flights. The breakfast is never impressing and it's too early to drink alcohol. The chairs are wider and there is a bit more space, that's all.
I would go for row 4 or emergency exit on MEL-BNE and keep my points for long flights upgrades (Perth and beyond).

I absolutely agree, there's only so much champagne you can drink at 9 in the morning, even if it is a weekend.

For me at the moment its not points I've run out of but annual leave - and Perth is a fair way for a relaxing weekend.

 

[markis10]

Just for reference, it was QF608 at 805. May be useful for someone to know.

You were on VYB delivered in 2004