Platinum Plus Perhaps ...

[serfty]

We took off to the South West after a long taxi to somewhere seemingly near Nudgee if not Redcliffe. After departure there were more great dusk glows to the west.

Leo was in charge; they provided terrific service through the flight.

The meal options were Teriyaki chicken with rice or Vegetarian gnocchi with optional chicken

My shiraz preference was a St. Hallett's Black Claw.

I had the Teriyaki ... it was fine.


The flight was in early, I tried to get an Uber but none were forthcoming so Taxi it was.

 

[serfty]

Accommodation was very basic, a single room. It was booked using Qantas Hotels with the cost reduced to under $30 with a voucher. Since reception closed at 7pm, I needed to access an external safe with a PIN supplied earlier that day. It was 9:30pm by the time I accessed the room and I was asleep soon after.

After quite a good sleep I showered and went for a walk to the esplanade. I have been to Cairns and its surrounds many times so really nothing new was to be seen. Noting the tide was out with mud flats extending to the East. I headed South and found a place for a light breakfast. After that I wandered back to my room to pack then check out. (No late check out here.)

I Ubered it back to the airport - taking a shared option to save a few dollars. Soon I was airside with a couple of hours to kill.

Reviewing loading for my flights I noted business had filled up overnight. This has been the same for almost all my recent VA travel. I guess those J seats are being monetized to the hilt. Good luck doing FlyAhead with a Business class booking.

 

[serfty]

The inbound from Brisbane was a little late. It also took a while to offload before boarding could commence 15 minutes late. It was a virtually full flight to Brisbane with the only availability Y1.

In the end we took off 20 minutes late with great views of Cairns CBD out of the window.


Scott was in charge for this flight. Unusually, orders for pre departure drinks were taken and then served to each passenger individually. Normally a tray with options get presented.

The food choices were as per the way up from Brisbane, Pulled Beef macaroni with BBQ sauce or Vegetable yellow curry optional chicken. Orders were taken in reverse order from what is generally the case, 2DF, 2AC, 1DF then 1AC.

I tried the pulled beef, it was quite nice with the BBQ sauce not too sweet. This washed down with a couple of G&T's.

It was a smooth and quick flight arriving at the gate 5 minutes early.