MEL + KUL - Grands Prix and 10 days of slight chaos

[Must...Fly!]

Well, the next 10 days or so will be hectic. Starting today (Saturday 16th March) I begin 10 days of travelling, attending two Formula 1 races in two cities - Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur.

Today I left Perth for Melbourne, and on Tuesday night will return home. Wednesday will be spent at University, cramming as much as I can in to one day before I jet off again at lunch time on Thursday to Malaysia for another GP.

First I want to acknowledge bossreggie and simongr, without whom the extensiveness of this report would not be possible - I was always going to the Malaysian GP, however a generous competition run by them for low-status flyers saw me win a ticket to the Melbourne Grand Prix, so I am very much indebted to those two AFF members. (You can find the thread here: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....cussion/awesome-f1-ticket-up-grabs-48252.html).

I will mostly focus on my travel and the Malaysian GP experience here.

Hopefully you enjoy the installments. I am certain I will have an amazing time over the next week and a bit, hopefully I can convey some of that excitement and fun in this report.

Safe travels everyone!

 

[Must...Fly!]

Well upon receiving the news on Monday that I had won a ticket to the GP in Melbourne, I immediately began searching for flights to Melbourne and found the answer pretty quickly - VA692 to MEL on Saturday afternoon, departing at 1600. $219 later, I had my reservation. There was also the drama of finding a place to stay on the Saturday night of an F1 weekend...well, that ended relatively well, as the late arrival of the flight (10pm) meant staying at the airport was a realistic option, and happily discovered a rate on a 3rd-party site for the Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport for $172, a massive saving over the HI site ($250) and just about anything else in the city.

The more conveniently located Park Royal, which I have stayed at before and really like was available for $235, however I was keen to keep cost at a minimum for this bonus weekend. My flight home was a little more complicated as VA had a service at 2000 for $219, however my mother was (by happy co-incidence) going to be in Melbourne and flying home on Tuesday night on QF. At $335 it was a lot more than what I wanted to pay, but I don't often get to fly with her so coughed up the cash - which in the end was only $35 out of my pocket, as I had a gift voucher. I know it's a bit fleeting to look at it from that perspective, but cash in pocket is better than cash in gift voucher form!

Saturday 16 March 2013
Perth-Melbourne
Virgin Australia VA692
ETD 1600
ETA 2200
A330-200 VH-XFAwesome

I was constantly looking up the seat plan on EF in the days leading up to the flight, as I was rather keen to experience the Economy offering on the new-build VA birds, but unfortunately this was not meant to be. This was my first time on board VA transcontinental since the introduction of the full meal service, so it would be something new anyway. I had previous been on the ex-EK planes twice before, once in Economy and once in Business (during the 1/2 price points upgrade promotions in 2012) so I was not expecting anything exciting from the IFE. A short flying time of 2hrs48mins meant this would not be the slightest issue, as I had a little bit of work to do and watched old episodes of The Inbetweeners on my laptop to fill in the time.

I suspected a light load, and I was right - fares for the flight didn't jump at all from the Monday when I purchased my flight, and almost everyone had a row to themselves, along with several being unoccupied.

What I was most looking forward to on this flight was the food on offer from VA, as I had heard quite good things. I tried to measure my expectations against QF and I think, comparatively, VA does an acceptable job. The crew first came past with a drinks service (served from the galley, no cart - I presume due to the light load). Then food was distributed, a choice of Ravioli (which was pumpkin-filled, I think along with peas) or Butter Chicken. I chose the former. The quality and taste of the food was fine, nothing wrong with it at all.

VA Economy coast-to-coast food

Overall, I would call QF marginally better, as the food is presented better. The plastic trays on VA are just....well, tacky. They need something a little more premium than tuck shop trays that go straight in the bin. It was nice to see a bread roll on offer though, which I suspect might have been the reason behind QF bringing it back recently.

As expected the flight passed very quickly (these transcons are like a 5 minute drive for me now!) and we landed in a very wet Melbourne. The rain did have a happy (at least, for me) consequence, as earlier in the day it caused the delay of most of Formula 1 qualifying until 11am tomorrow morning - meaning I will get to see it in person! But as it was raining (and still is, as I look out the window) it did make for a wet walk to the Holiday Inn, making me wonder if the $60-odd I saved by staying here was worth it...but never mind, I am here.

The room is as you'd expect for a Holiday Inn, clean and well presented. That said, if given the choice, definitely take the Park Royal. Not only does it have direct (undercover!) terminal access, but the rooms are also nicer.

Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport - Standard Room

A quick trip out to the Macca's across the road (with umbrella this time...) was dinner, and now I am ready for a sleep and a massive day of Formula 1 tomorrow!

 

[mella2007]

Have a fantastic time! Shocking weather tonight!

 

[Rallo]

Nice report , hopefully the rain stays away for you tomorrow , it is a generous offer from bossreggie and simongr I hope you have a great day!

 

[cmon0005]

Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport - Standard Room

A quick trip out to the Macca's across the road (with umbrella this time...) was dinner, and now I am ready for a sleep and a massive day of Formula 1 tomorrow!

Was there any aircraft noise from the room, or have they sound proofed it a bit?

Good report so far, Look forward to more updates!!

 

[markis10]

Sounds like a big trip, the merch is not bad!

 

[moa999]

Nice cap... Might have to get one in KL myself.
Last year everything was Petronas heavy with advertising.

 

[Noob]

Have a great time!

I think another poster mentioned the Y "trays" are temporary.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Apologies for the lack of updates, the time in Melbourne was both productive and busy! Busy though will be tomorrow, cramming as much university in to one day as I possibly can along with a couple hours of work!

Well the Grand Prix was spectacular. I don't want to dwell on it too much for fear of detracting from simongr's trip report, but I personally had a wonderful time. The food was great, the Qantas hospitality was very accommodating and a great time was had. I had a ball all day and having the added bonus of delayed qualifying was just the cherry on top!

There is an added bonus to being in a city around F1 time, which is who you can spot around the place. Yesterday I walked in to the lift and Mark Skaife was on his way downstairs! But this morning I jumped in the elevator and it stopped a couple of floors down....in walked Fernando Alonso!! Perhaps even more amazing than this was that he was carrying his own bags!! I wished him good luck for next weekend, however with hindsight I should have asked for a photo - at the time I thought I would leave him alone, perhaps too aware of how many photos he would have been asked for over the past week...oh well, maybe I will run in to him in KL!

The F1 geek in me was very satisfied with the weekend and cannot wait for next weekend and Kuala Lumpur! Next post will be about QF653 to Perth...

 

[Must...Fly!]

Does anyone know that feeling you get when you step off an aircraft at your destination, happy that you are there safely but otherwise wondering what was missing? That's pretty much what I felt getting off the plane in Perth.

I'm not really sure what it was, the plane was a nice international A330-200 - had I known it was a Skybed I would have stumped up for a JASA or paid extra for a flexi saver and upgraded for 10,000 points...oh well. The IFE was fine, the crew were mostly fine, maybe slightly disinterested, but something about it wasn't quite right. Perhaps my perceptions were way off or I have been lucky on QF flights in the past. Whatever it was, it didn't feel quite right.

We chose to use a couple of QP passes that Dad had bought in the recent Christmas promotion (4 for $179 or something silly like that - I can't believe someone bought them, let alone my own father!) so we sat for around an hour and watched the aircraft come and go. The food was ok, a bit lackluster, but it is the QP after all and not the much nicer J lounge. I partook a sandwich and some cheese, along with a Fat Yak beer that I had not tried before - not too bad.

Dinner was the choice of Chicken Tikka or Beef with something (can't remember) - I chose the chicken, which was ok, but nothing more. The bread roll was back at the sacrifice of the ice cream, as mentioned on AFF. The service is now main tray -> coffee/tea -> cheese & crackers. The main tray did have a very nice chocolate brownie on it though . I worked my way through Argo and Date Night onboard, finishing with an episode of Two and a Half Men which unfortunately I didn't see the end of, as the IFE was turned off on final descent?? I am unsure why this happens on some QF aircraft and not others...international crew habits perhaps?

In any case, I had a brilliant couple of days in Melbourne, meeting two more AFF'ers in simongr and nlagalle and having an awesome at the Grand Prix. Thank you again to bossreggie and simongr for the chance to come along and experience race day in such fabulous style - You can see simongr's trip report from the GP here in this thread: http://www.australianfrequentflyer..../an-awesome-grand-prix-awesomeness-48504.html

Today is my only day at uni this week, and tomorrow I shall return with reports on QF77 to Singapore and my first flight on Jetstar Asia to KL in preparation for another wonderful Formula 1 weekend (and my first time in KL!)

 

[eastwest101]

Good stuff, as a fellow F1 fan I have promised myself a trip to go and see one at some time in the future, depending on time and exchange rates I hope I can do Melbourne and maybe Malaysia/China/Bahrain in the future as well.

I think this season will be a ripper with lots of different drivers on the podium. As long as its not a precession of Vettel victories I will be happy.

 

[TheEmu]

As long as its not a precession of Vettel victories I will be happy.

Amen to that!

 

[Chris82]

As long as its not a precession of Vettel victories I will be happy.

You've jinxed the season!! Bloody Vettel.

 

[eastwest101]

You've jinxed the season!! Bloody Vettel.

Its early days in the season yet, but whichever teams and drivers can get used to the new tyres (and when they fall off the cliff) and get their tactics right will start getting lots of points first. I saw the race live on TV but couldn't see Must..Fly! in the crowds.

What a dour and joyless podium, the most of the race was very entertaining to watch! Good to see Ross Brawn and the Mercedes guys being competative again, maybe next time they will be less aggressive on their fuel strategy huh? If Lotus can work out how to preserve their tyres better than anyone else then that may see them be very competative this year as well.

 

[docjames]

What was the "vibe" like at the track after Vettel's, well, let's be polite and say "indiscretion"?

 

[Must...Fly!]

I must apologise for the lack of updates to this report. After getting back from Kuala Lumpur I had a busy time catching up with uni and sleep, only to see some kind of miracle occur and see Perth Glory get through to the A-League finals...as I am a crazy fan of theirs, it was a no brainer to head over to Melbourne for the game (sigh..game wasn't quite what I had hoped..), and I went a bit early on April 2 (Tuesday, week after getting back from KL).

Now I am soldiering on through piles of uni work with half an eye on Saturday, as I'll be going to Darwin for a night to celebrate a family occasion.

Needless to say, the past month or so has been ridiculous and by the end of it I will have done 10 sectors, spent 4 of the past 5 Saturdays out of Perth and over 15,000 miles in one month...yikes. For me that is off the charts.

I will get around to finishing this report eventually though, I assure you of that!

 

[moa999]

At the track it was fairly mixed, albeit only those with radio headsets had any idea...
Personally I just couldn't understand how Vettel made up the 4 secs between in laps as both RB pits looked OK (from K1)

The radio commentary had missed the "Multi 21" order, and obviously Webber's comment behind the podium.
It was obvious from the podium chat that Webber was peeved, but a Scotsman I was with said Webber sounded like a sore loser.

That comment was retracted after the following mornings papers.