Monday 6 January 2025 Singapore -Sydney QF 292 Finnair for Qantas
Having a leisurely departure today with a 1400 late check out granted, so we slept late and then enjoyed an extended breakfast. packed and ready to go before 1200, so took advantage of the remaining couple of hours to drink some coffee in the Club, write up my trip diary (that is the source for this TR), catch up with family and friends etc. All the timings are a bit odd today. Our flight departs at 2030, so check in will open around 1630-1700. But we are likely to arrive at the airport about 1500 due to the check out timing. And even if we didn't have the problem of the luggage, that's not really very long to do anything at the airport. First world problems.
We took the same luxury large taxi (driven by Andrew) that we had used to get to the hotel, and the drive to the airport was very comfortable and civilised. Arrived early as expected, and got quite excited to see that there was some sort of early check in arrangement that we could use. But that was not to be, because it was something arranged by a third party, and there was no status/class of travel recognition, and there was a massive long line. So we repeated our arrival protocol and killed time with a final Starbucks and a visit to the Jewel Rain Vortex (which was closed for maintenance) before being able to officially check in at 1530. So that was good - at least an hour earlier than expected. Check in, immigration and security all very smooth and fast and we were seated in the QF First Lounge by 1600. Settled in to some good reasonably private seats to wait for our departure at 2030. This lounge was very nice, but again perhaps influenced by feeling unwell, I didn't really get the hype that others on AFF have posted about. I didn't like it as much as either SYD QF First Lounge or EK DXB First. there you go, I am officially a lounge snob!
We had a very decent meal in the lounge around 1800 before it got too busy. Salt and pepper squid, of course! Followed by Snapper with a red sauce for me and some kind of pork belly dish (I forget what it was exactly) for Mr Seat 0A. My fish was delicious and beautifully cooked. he did not like his pork belly - it was very fatty and the fat was soft and not well rendered. Then for dessert, a coffee and the mango panacotta for me, and a cherry choc brownie for him. He immediately had orderer's remorse as he didn't enjoy the brownie, so re-ordered a panacotta for himself. Not the first time that has happened!
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Boarded our Finnair bird for home and again I found the service good and the Sky lounge seat comfy. Had a cheese plate adn some fruit and then off to sleep on this very short (7:55) overnight flight. Catering continued the sad QF tradition with very dried out and hard to eat breakfast - that egg yolk was like a golf ball - but I wasn't really hungry anyway.
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Arrived on time and deplaned at a standoff parking area, then driven by bus to the terminal.
While waiting for luggage to arrive, a roving quarantine inspector was looking at people's arrival cards. I had ticked quarantine items to cover my Sri Lankan tea purchases and spices from UAE. He was not at all interested in these, other than to ask if they were commercially purchased/packaged, and when I said yes, he stamped my card "OK" and told me to go through the green channel. He didn't even want to see the items. So as soon as our luggage arrived, we were able to leave the area, fairly well ahead of the mass of other travellers. Even the dreaded transfer gate was running smoothly today, and we were at the SYD Dom J lounge before we knew it. I noticed that the lounge has been extended a bit by resuming some of the QP space from next door, and that there was a panini bar. I didn't try any, as I wasn't hungry, but they looked good. It was also good to see some extra toilet facilities, and what looked like new carpet and some new armchairs, which lifts the place a bit. We easily killed the time until our connection to CBR, which was by B737 this time. Again, the travel gods were smiling as everything just worked as it was supposed to.
We caught a taxi home and paid $100 including a "round up" tip
. We are not in Sri Lanka any more.
Boy, our house is big!!!!
And, dear reader, that is it for this trip.
