Nigelinoz Brisbane Trip January 2012

[Nigelinoz]

Recently I decided that I had spent too much time at home feeling depressed about various personal
matters so decided to spend some time travelling,I have a bit of cash from the sale of my business and so have planned three 7 day “mattress runs” at Holiday Inns in Brisbane,Melbourne and Sydney.
The first of these excursions was from the 20[SUP]th[/SUP] 27[SUP]th[/SUP] of January at the Holiday Inn in Roma Street,Brisbane.
My travel plans for this trip were slightly unusual because I chose to travel from Albury to Brisbane,via Sydney on Virgin Australia and return on Qantaslink,
Initially I considered booking J class but after checking the Virgin website and discovering that the fare for ABX-BNE in J was $1055.00 I came to my senses and booked Y for $209.00,this was a 9:45 AM departure from ABX with a 10:45 arrival into Sydney and a 2hr15m connection to the 1:00PM Brisbane departure.
Day 1-Rydges Albury
In order that I didn't have to rush to the airport on Friday morning I decided to stay the Thursday night at the Rydges Albury hotel and get a cab for the fairly short drive to Albury Airport in the morning.
A friend drove me the 60km's from home to Albury on the Thursday afternoon and I checked in about 3:00PM,Rydges Albury needs some work,the bed was comfortable enough ,the food and beverages were fine and the staff were professional and polite but several factors let the property down,the main one being the bathroom which is in desperate need of refurbishment,the floor tiles are worn and grubby looking and really bring down what could be a very nice room,but for $149.00 including breakfast I wasn't that bothered.
After checking in I had a quick shower and met a friend at a nearby pub,we had a few drinks and an early dinner before I returned to the hotel and watched a bit of tv before turning in early.
The tv was another disappointment,an old analog style with poor sound and picture,Rydges need to update that.
On the Friday morning I made my way downstairs to the restaurant which was set for buffet breakfast,the usual things such as cereal,fruit,toast,eggs,bacon,tomato,mushrooms,juice,tea and coffee were available and I had a hearty breakfast before returning to my room to pack and then check out and make my way to the airport.

The Bathroom needs work don't you think?

The room itself isn't too bad.

That's the end of Part 1,in Part 2 I will detail my first day in Brisbane.
Hope you enjoy.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[Nigelinoz]

Nigelinoz Brisbane Trip Day 2 Friday 20 January 2012


Day two dawned sunny and warm and after checking out of Rydges Albury I made my way via taxi
to Albury Airport which is located only about 5km's from the Albury CBD,the airport is owned and
operated by Albury City Council and in the past few years has undergone quite a refurbishment,it now hosts four RPT airlines,Virgin Australia,Qantaslink,Rex and Brindabella and there are over 200
flights a week in and out of the city,security screening facilities have been installed but they only seem to operate at peak times,there is a good cafe,access to undercover parking and the major car
rental companies have desks in the terminal.
I arrived fairly early for a 9:45 flight,actually about 90 mins early but I had only just sat down when the Virgin check in staff arrived so I approached the desk and was able to check in for both the ABX-SYD and SYD-BNE sectors and check my baggage all the way through to my final destination,I was given seat 3A for the ABX-SYD sector and 23A for SYD-BNE.
Having checked in I went to the cafe and purchased a take away coffee to drink while I read the
local newspaper which I had bought with me from the hotel,the next hour passed fairly quickly and shortly about 9:10 Virgin's E-190 VH-ZPH still wearing the old Virgin livery arrived from Sydney carrying the passengers on DJ1174 .the passengers disembarked quickly and with a quick turnaround boarding of flight DJ1175 commenced at 9:28,I noticed that the gate staff strictly enforced the rule about
turning off mobile phones prior to exiting the terminal so I was unable to take any picture of the
aircraft prior to boarding,boarding was efficient and wheels up was dead on time at 9:45AM.
The flight was about half full and the two front rows were empty,these would have been the seats
reserved for J class passengers (had there been any)
Shortly after takeoff the flight attendants offered the chance to purchase snacks and drinks from
the onboard menu but as I had eaten a good breakfast I declined,complimentary tea and coffee was
also offered.
The weather was perfect for flying and a very smooth journey was had,we made very good time
and landed on Sydney's runway 16R at 10:23,a wheels up to wheels down time of just 38 minutes.
Overall the Virgin flight was good but in the end I was glad that I didn't book J class,it seems to
me that if you can't provide true business class seats and amenities then you shouldn't sell tickets
for it.
We parked up at Gate 34 in Sydney T2 and as it was fast approaching morning tea time I sought out refreshments,I made my way to the Virgin lounge but found out that they were no longer selling
single day passes ,initially I was disappointed however I soon found a place called Bar 2020 which had a great view,as the following picture demonstrates.

Cheers
N'oz

 

[Nigelinoz]

Nigelinoz Brisbane Trip Day 2 Friday 20 January 2012
After my coffee I took a stroll through the T2 shops before using the internet kiosk to catch up on some work and check emails,I didn't begrudge paying $5 for 60 minutes access as it was conveniently situated and let me read my emails on a normal screen instead of the iPhone.
By the time I had finished with emails etc it was 12:15 and I just had time to grab a sandwich and
glass of wine for lunch so I made my way back to Bar 2020 which by this time was getting rather busy,the next time I looked at my watch it was 12:40 and I had 5 minutes to make it to gate 35 in the Virgin side of the terminal,I got to the gate with plenty of time to spare ,the gate lounge was packed and it was obvious that the flight was full,looking out the window I was a little surprised to
see that the service would be operated by another E-190,at lunch time on a busy Friday I was expecting a 737 ,yet again I was glad that I hadn't paid extra for a J class seat.
Boarding commenced a few minutes late but was handled efficiently and DJ943 departed on time at

13:00,we departed to the south then turned and headed up the coast,the journey was smooth until
we started our descent into Brisbane when the pilot announced that due to showers and storms in the area we would be diverting right of track,there were a few bumps on the way down but nothing
that was too bad,the E-jet handled the weather fairly well.
Refreshments were again offered for purchase during the flight but I again declined preferring to wait till I got to the hotel.
We landed at 13:35 which was only 5 minutes down on the scheduled arrival time.
This had been my first time flying Virgin since the rebranding and overall I found the experience
quite acceptable,on both flights the crew,cabin and tech looked and acted professional and seemed
to genuinely enjoy their jobs ,the flights were comfortable and punctual.I do however have issues with an airline that sells tickets for seats that it cannot provide,if I want to travel J class on Sydney to Brisbane I could not justify taking the risk of paying for for a service that there was a good chance I wouldn't receive,sorry Mr Borghetti until you can sort out your fleet and ensure that when you sell J tickets you have J seats I will plan my business class travel with Qantas,but for cheap
Y class on routes like ABX-SYD then Virgin is fine.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[Nigelinoz]

After DJ943 landed at Brisbane we parked up at gate 43 and I made my way to the baggage claim area,I didn't have to wait very long for my bag,it appeared on the carousel after about 10 minutes,I then made my way to the airtrain station where a train was waiting to take me to Roma Street Station,unfortunately the train wasn't due to depart for another 15 minutes so I had to wait for it to leave.
The train was fairly well patronised but I didn't have any trouble finding a seat and settled down for the journey to Roma St,unfortunately I got off the train one station early at Central so had to find a cab to take me to the Holiday Inn.
I checked in and made my way to room 1306,I was very pleasantly surprised to find a complimentary bottle of red wine waiting for me in the room along with a personally signed
letter of welcome from the general manager and duty managers,I don't as yet have any priority
club status so I found this gesture very nice,my room overlooked Roma and George Streets and
the new supreme court building which is under construction but generally I thought the room was
well laid out and pleasant,I particularly like the idea of providing a choice of firm or soft pillows
and I found the bed very comfortable with good support.

Cheers
N'oz

 

[Greggsy]

One day at time.....

Nige, you're killing me here.

Greg.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[Nigelinoz]

One day at time.....

Nige, you're killing me here.

Greg.


Sent from my iPhone using Aust Freq Fly app

Sorry.
Cheers
N'oz

 

[Greggsy]

Sorry.
Cheers
N'oz

LOL, just kidding mate.

Good reading.

Greg.