Hi, this might be in the wrong place or previously covered. I did a search, but didn't find anything, so I am putting this in here. Feel free to (re)move.
I seem to luck out and get on Qantas 737-800's (738) everywhere I go, sure I do fly intra-state cattle haulers so the 738 and 717 fleet is more than known to me. It sure beats the days of flying the BAE 14x series of yester-year. I know that the 738 is the workhorse of the fleet and that with 44 of them, I am going to see them everywhere.
Today I had the pleasure of flying on the new Qantas 737-800, this next generation aircraft was designated VZL and named Newcastle. I am unsure if that means anything to anyone here, but I am sure that someone will salivate over the information at some point. Walking up to the plane I didn't notice anythign different, it was 6am and dark at my origin and I barely open my eyes at this time of the day as I walk across the tarmac at the origin airport anyway. These short haul flights for this are like second nature to me now.
Once onboard though, I immediately noted that this was different. A darker interior in the galley section and then a brighter interior in the cabin. The lights in teh cabin seem vibrant and bright, but not so much that they hurt your eyes. Someone has seriously thought about colour temperature and it shows. The J cabin was strikingly different, with seats that were clean and seemed a little less "padded" like on some of the aging 738's. Unfortunately Qantas had not upgraded me on this flight (something that I enjoy as a WP and seem to get about 75% of the time on my regular flights) so I can not comment that much on the J cabin. Someone at Qantas is probably trying to keep the "new smell" in the J cabin as there was only 2 pax up there and myself and the other regularly bumped WP's were in Rows 4&5. The colour scheme is the same as the economy, a colour that I can not describe, a light brown, a beige. Either way it is pretty much the Qantas colour now I guess.
I moved to my favoured of seats in teh 738's in row 4. I prefer 4A and 4F for their extended leg room and more space under the J seat in front to place my bag. On the shorter flights, I find that the Window seats of 4A and 4F are better than having the aisle to deal with.
The new Economy seat is nice. Greater pitch, about the same width, with a higher back. The arm rests do seem a little thinner now, but not as much of an issue as I initially thought. The tray table came out of the arm rest easily and smoothly, but was smaller than I remember the older 738's having. This is not a huge issue, but I did find my laptop not fitting properly and moving around a lot.
Inseat entertainment is a big draw card here. Row 4 has the "Pull Out of your arm rest" type of screen that actually came out first time.
The touch screen was responsive, but I could tell that the system was not super fast itself. The system featured all the usual InSeat fare, but also has USB connectivity. For pax in this row, you'll have to get friendly with the pax in teh window seat as they have the USB ports and Power Socket behind their left leg.
The aircraft itself felt very nice. No annoying creaks, groans, cracks, thuds or bumps during taxi at all. Take off was super smooth and I was not 100% sure that we in the air for the first few moments. There was none of the old 738's overly loud hydraulic noises or the feeling tht the aircraft is attempting to flap it's own wings off at any point. The quietness extends in air as well, where the cabin is quieter; I didn't have to speak loudly for the FA to hear me. And astonishingly, the PA can be heard and understood when both the CSM and the Pilot spoke.
Some things that might be a little strange... The no smoking sign is painted on, no illumination (not a biggy, I always wondered why they needed a light anyway). The controls for the in seat entertainment for Channel and Volume are placed in an awkward spot inside the arm, half way along your leg, inconvenient if the tray table is out as you can't get to it. The headphone jack is on the front of the arm rest (also not a biggy).
I am hoping that these new 738's get more runs on the routes that I frequent. I have 8 flights coming up, 7 of which are on 738's (one on a 717 ) and I'd love to be able to get on these next gen aircraft for as many of them as possible.
I seem to luck out and get on Qantas 737-800's (738) everywhere I go, sure I do fly intra-state cattle haulers so the 738 and 717 fleet is more than known to me. It sure beats the days of flying the BAE 14x series of yester-year. I know that the 738 is the workhorse of the fleet and that with 44 of them, I am going to see them everywhere.
Today I had the pleasure of flying on the new Qantas 737-800, this next generation aircraft was designated VZL and named Newcastle. I am unsure if that means anything to anyone here, but I am sure that someone will salivate over the information at some point. Walking up to the plane I didn't notice anythign different, it was 6am and dark at my origin and I barely open my eyes at this time of the day as I walk across the tarmac at the origin airport anyway. These short haul flights for this are like second nature to me now.
Once onboard though, I immediately noted that this was different. A darker interior in the galley section and then a brighter interior in the cabin. The lights in teh cabin seem vibrant and bright, but not so much that they hurt your eyes. Someone has seriously thought about colour temperature and it shows. The J cabin was strikingly different, with seats that were clean and seemed a little less "padded" like on some of the aging 738's. Unfortunately Qantas had not upgraded me on this flight (something that I enjoy as a WP and seem to get about 75% of the time on my regular flights) so I can not comment that much on the J cabin. Someone at Qantas is probably trying to keep the "new smell" in the J cabin as there was only 2 pax up there and myself and the other regularly bumped WP's were in Rows 4&5. The colour scheme is the same as the economy, a colour that I can not describe, a light brown, a beige. Either way it is pretty much the Qantas colour now I guess.
I moved to my favoured of seats in teh 738's in row 4. I prefer 4A and 4F for their extended leg room and more space under the J seat in front to place my bag. On the shorter flights, I find that the Window seats of 4A and 4F are better than having the aisle to deal with.
The new Economy seat is nice. Greater pitch, about the same width, with a higher back. The arm rests do seem a little thinner now, but not as much of an issue as I initially thought. The tray table came out of the arm rest easily and smoothly, but was smaller than I remember the older 738's having. This is not a huge issue, but I did find my laptop not fitting properly and moving around a lot.
Inseat entertainment is a big draw card here. Row 4 has the "Pull Out of your arm rest" type of screen that actually came out first time.
The touch screen was responsive, but I could tell that the system was not super fast itself. The system featured all the usual InSeat fare, but also has USB connectivity. For pax in this row, you'll have to get friendly with the pax in teh window seat as they have the USB ports and Power Socket behind their left leg.The aircraft itself felt very nice. No annoying creaks, groans, cracks, thuds or bumps during taxi at all. Take off was super smooth and I was not 100% sure that we in the air for the first few moments. There was none of the old 738's overly loud hydraulic noises or the feeling tht the aircraft is attempting to flap it's own wings off at any point. The quietness extends in air as well, where the cabin is quieter; I didn't have to speak loudly for the FA to hear me. And astonishingly, the PA can be heard and understood when both the CSM and the Pilot spoke.
Some things that might be a little strange... The no smoking sign is painted on, no illumination (not a biggy, I always wondered why they needed a light anyway). The controls for the in seat entertainment for Channel and Volume are placed in an awkward spot inside the arm, half way along your leg, inconvenient if the tray table is out as you can't get to it. The headphone jack is on the front of the arm rest (also not a biggy).
I am hoping that these new 738's get more runs on the routes that I frequent. I have 8 flights coming up, 7 of which are on 738's (one on a 717
) and I'd love to be able to get on these next gen aircraft for as many of them as possible.
