- Joined
- Jul 17, 2004
- Posts
- 3,979
30 APR 2011
BNE-SYD QF517 767-338 VH-OGG SEAT 34K
Seems like every time I get on a plane you will eventually read a trip report from me. If you don't want to read any more of my dribble you can go to the next thread now.
It had been 90 days since I was last on a plane, trip report can be found here, and I thought a quick trip to Melbourne is just what I needed. A friend was moving to Melbourne and I could take a suitcase of clothes with me, to help in their move.
I brought the ticket in different bookings. The Brisbane to Sydney was via points redemption, Qantas were offering 30% off economy redemption s and as the flight was over $158 dollars I thought I couldn’t go past that deal, 5600 points + $11.00 in tax. I earn about 10,000 Qantas points a month through credit card sweep, try doing that 30 years ago.
Qantas had recently installed the next generation check in and I thought I would give it a try. Last time I tried this I ended up having to see an agent as my seat had been moved in the last 24 hours. Another new feature Qantas had recently introduced allowed passengers with status the option to select exit row.
I got to the airport at 9:00am scanned the Qantas frequent flyer card, with the message "see agent". I went and found a Qantas check in agent and told them that I was seated in an exit row and I would need assistance with check in. Agent said I should still be able to check in with old style terminals. She went through the process to find that it came up with the same error. Eventually she went back to a Qantas terminal where a boarding pass could be printed and then I went and put the bag on the injector. Once the bag is weighed the bag is sent off by the belt and a baggage tag receipt is issued.
To explain it better Qantas has updated their website with a guide showing how easy check in is supposed to be.
Next Generation Check-in from Qantas
Don’t forget to take the baggage receipt with you, something that doesn’t appear on the preview, I forgot to grab mine until the next person inline reminded me.
I had a quick look at the departing plane to Darwin, my next major trip in a few weeks and I was checking what time it would leave and it looked as though it used one of the gates on the main concourse.
I went to the lounge, and caught up with munitalp(that username is so hard to type backwards) who had just returned from Townsville and who was on his way to Melbourne. After a chat of where we had been, "me no where" and what we were planning the flight got called and I was off to gate.
On-board I found the seat 34K an exit row, the cabin crew came past just before doors were closed to advise that we were seated in an exit row and we had to confirm that we understood the crews instructions in case of any emergencies.
During this time the cabin crew advised that the music channels in our area were not operating At least I had a music player(iphone), dam useful those things are, and could read the April issue of Qantas the Australian way inflight magazine.
A safety demonstration featuring John Travolta was done soon after we departed the gate at 10:15am.
Service consisted of 2 biscuits with tea and coffee plus a range of water or juices.
The flight landed on time at 11:50am, and I went in search of the baggage claim area.
For the first time ever when flying JQ35 I had to transfer using the train transfer, there is a sign to the right of the baggage claim area which tells which when the next train is due. Cost of the train transfer is $5.00 available from a machine or from the train ticket booth.
Best piece of advice I can give when flying Qantas to those with checked luggage, don’t select exit row. :idea:
30 APR 2011
SYD-MEL JQ35 A330-200 VH-EBE SEAT 36D
After arriving via train I went to the check in area which was in area H. At check in, no one was inline. Well I guess I wasn't competing with 20 of my closest friends like I was last time.
Check in was fast even with my 20.9kgs of luggage. An orange sticker is attached to the boarding pass which you then need to sign. After check in I went through security, where there is a dedicated area for those passengers flying only domestic.
I looked for the TRS(Tourist Refund Scheme, for GST claims) which will need to use for an upcoming overseas trip. It is in the left hand side amongst all the duty free shops. After fighting my way through the duty free maze it was up the escalator and into the First lounge.
You are checked by an agent at the door and then up another escalator to the desks, where your boarding pass and platinum card is checked.
I had a look around the lounge before going to get myself some lunch.
There is the option of a starter which I didn’t choose this time.
Main Course chicken curry with rice with some fancy name
Dessert
Between the main course I received a call on the mobile, I had left my carrier on bag at one of the chairs just away from where I was seating and the lounge staff were wondering where I had to gone to. I have the mobile on my QF tag, good thing mobiles eh, I guess they could have paged me, being the unimportant person that I am.
After a few alcoholic beverages I thought I should go onto the soft stuff, wouldn't want to miss the plane.
I even got everyone on AFF to check the fridge for the missing water. . Aren't mobile phones with camera good.
At 2:40pm with the flight due for departure at 3:00pm I went and talked to the desk to inquire whether boarding had started for JQ35 to Melbourne, there had been no call so the staff rang down to the gate to confirm whether boarding had started. To their surprise boarding was already well underway.
It was time for me to head to the gate; the gate being used for JQ35 was gate 35. I didn’t get a 35 trifecta as my seat was 36D.
The flight was about 70% full and even though I was one of the last to board we still had to wait for a late coming passenger.
The flight was a routine flight down to Melbourne where the cabin crew did a run with the buy on board menu. I just had an orange juice I had poached from the lounge.
Waiting for baggage took about 20 minutes, and then it was out to arrivals where I was picked up by the person whose bag I had carried from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney. They couldn't confirm until I was in Sydney whether they were going to get a car for the weekend, but I got a text message once I reached Melbourne that they could come collect me, saving a taxi fare to their new place.
1 MAY 2011
MEL-BNE QF632 737-438 VH-TJE SEAT 4A
I caught the skybus from Southern Cross station to the airport. Trip takes about 20 minutes with departures every 10 minutes during peak times.
I checked in with my web enabled mobile phone, I find if you are cutting it fine for check in this usually can buy you a few extra minutes, but no use if you select exit row.
As I had no luggage I headed through security and up to the lounge, where I got a new boarding pass printed out. If you had no luggage to check in then it would be useful to have selected exit row, and then the lounge staff could confirm your suitability for exit row.
I boarded the aircraft and asked the cabin crew who was checking the seat allocations which 737 was operating the service to Brisbane. The flight operating this service was JE, which I said "sounds like one of the older 734s operating for Qantas". Cabin crew said "I must know my aircraft." just a bit.
I find QFflyer a great resource to find out the name, age and configuration of the operating aircraft. The flight was operated by 18 year old VH-TJE Qantas oldest 734 which Qantas now have for sale.
Interesting during boarding there was an announcement about how to stow the luggage, with the big items into the overhead and smaller items under the seat in front of you. Come on this isn't US domestic, I just found the announcement strange on a half empty aircraft.
The flight was lucky to be 50% with Queensland on a public holiday on Monday I guess some people stayed in Melbourne for another night. The passengers spread throughout the aircraft and row 4 only had 2 passengers in it, myself and someone in 4F.
Dinner served on tonight’s flight was red Thai curry with rice.
Really nice flight with plenty of leg room in row 4, I had a quick chat to the cabin crew. I asked them which of the 737s they liked to work on and they enjoyed the 738s better but in some ways the 734s have a bit more galley space. I asked them about the upcoming changes at Virgin Blue(now Virgin Australia) and they said it will provide a bit of competition for Qantas. And they said it was sad to see John Borghetti leave and work for Virgin.
It was the 1st of the new month with new magazines and the updated IFE. I was secretly hoping that it would still have the April IFE as then I could have listened to some of the IFE that I had missed on the flight down to Sydney.I guess I wasn't flying Jetstar so I had to make do with the current months selection.
Descent into Brisbane commenced at 7:48 and we were on the ground by 8:15pm.
I had an enjoyable weekend flying Qantas and a nice visit to the Qantas First Lounge before my flight on Jetstar to Melbourne.
And even today flying Qantas, coach has meals, leg room, no baggage fees, have introduced mobile phone use, and why I regard Qantas still offering the best domestic service anywhere in the world.
BNE-SYD QF517 767-338 VH-OGG SEAT 34K
Seems like every time I get on a plane you will eventually read a trip report from me. If you don't want to read any more of my dribble you can go to the next thread now.
It had been 90 days since I was last on a plane, trip report can be found here, and I thought a quick trip to Melbourne is just what I needed. A friend was moving to Melbourne and I could take a suitcase of clothes with me, to help in their move.
I brought the ticket in different bookings. The Brisbane to Sydney was via points redemption, Qantas were offering 30% off economy redemption s and as the flight was over $158 dollars I thought I couldn’t go past that deal, 5600 points + $11.00 in tax. I earn about 10,000 Qantas points a month through credit card sweep, try doing that 30 years ago.
Qantas had recently installed the next generation check in and I thought I would give it a try. Last time I tried this I ended up having to see an agent as my seat had been moved in the last 24 hours. Another new feature Qantas had recently introduced allowed passengers with status the option to select exit row.
I got to the airport at 9:00am scanned the Qantas frequent flyer card, with the message "see agent". I went and found a Qantas check in agent and told them that I was seated in an exit row and I would need assistance with check in. Agent said I should still be able to check in with old style terminals. She went through the process to find that it came up with the same error. Eventually she went back to a Qantas terminal where a boarding pass could be printed and then I went and put the bag on the injector. Once the bag is weighed the bag is sent off by the belt and a baggage tag receipt is issued.
To explain it better Qantas has updated their website with a guide showing how easy check in is supposed to be.
Next Generation Check-in from Qantas
Don’t forget to take the baggage receipt with you, something that doesn’t appear on the preview, I forgot to grab mine until the next person inline reminded me.
I had a quick look at the departing plane to Darwin, my next major trip in a few weeks and I was checking what time it would leave and it looked as though it used one of the gates on the main concourse.
I went to the lounge, and caught up with munitalp(that username is so hard to type backwards) who had just returned from Townsville and who was on his way to Melbourne. After a chat of where we had been, "me no where" and what we were planning the flight got called and I was off to gate.
On-board I found the seat 34K an exit row, the cabin crew came past just before doors were closed to advise that we were seated in an exit row and we had to confirm that we understood the crews instructions in case of any emergencies.
During this time the cabin crew advised that the music channels in our area were not operating At least I had a music player(iphone), dam useful those things are,
and could read the April issue of Qantas the Australian way inflight magazine. A safety demonstration featuring John Travolta was done soon after we departed the gate at 10:15am.
Service consisted of 2 biscuits with tea and coffee plus a range of water or juices.
The flight landed on time at 11:50am, and I went in search of the baggage claim area.
For the first time ever when flying JQ35 I had to transfer using the train transfer, there is a sign to the right of the baggage claim area which tells which when the next train is due. Cost of the train transfer is $5.00 available from a machine or from the train ticket booth.
Best piece of advice I can give when flying Qantas to those with checked luggage, don’t select exit row. :idea:
30 APR 2011
SYD-MEL JQ35 A330-200 VH-EBE SEAT 36D
After arriving via train I went to the check in area which was in area H. At check in, no one was inline. Well I guess I wasn't competing with 20 of my closest friends like I was last time.
Check in was fast even with my 20.9kgs of luggage. An orange sticker is attached to the boarding pass which you then need to sign. After check in I went through security, where there is a dedicated area for those passengers flying only domestic.
I looked for the TRS(Tourist Refund Scheme, for GST claims) which will need to use for an upcoming overseas trip. It is in the left hand side amongst all the duty free shops. After fighting my way through the duty free maze it was up the escalator and into the First lounge.
You are checked by an agent at the door and then up another escalator to the desks, where your boarding pass and platinum card is checked.
I had a look around the lounge before going to get myself some lunch.
There is the option of a starter which I didn’t choose this time.
Main Course chicken curry with rice with some fancy name
Dessert
Between the main course I received a call on the mobile, I had left my carrier on bag at one of the chairs just away from where I was seating and the lounge staff were wondering where I had to gone to. I have the mobile on my QF tag, good thing mobiles eh,
I guess they could have paged me, being the unimportant person that I am. After a few alcoholic beverages I thought I should go onto the soft stuff, wouldn't want to miss the plane.
I even got everyone on AFF to check the fridge for the missing water. . Aren't mobile phones with camera good.
At 2:40pm with the flight due for departure at 3:00pm I went and talked to the desk to inquire whether boarding had started for JQ35 to Melbourne, there had been no call so the staff rang down to the gate to confirm whether boarding had started. To their surprise boarding was already well underway.
It was time for me to head to the gate; the gate being used for JQ35 was gate 35. I didn’t get a 35 trifecta as my seat was 36D.
The flight was about 70% full and even though I was one of the last to board we still had to wait for a late coming passenger.
The flight was a routine flight down to Melbourne where the cabin crew did a run with the buy on board menu. I just had an orange juice I had poached from the lounge.
Waiting for baggage took about 20 minutes, and then it was out to arrivals where I was picked up by the person whose bag I had carried from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney. They couldn't confirm until I was in Sydney whether they were going to get a car for the weekend, but I got a text message once I reached Melbourne that they could come collect me, saving a taxi fare to their new place.
1 MAY 2011
MEL-BNE QF632 737-438 VH-TJE SEAT 4A
I caught the skybus from Southern Cross station to the airport. Trip takes about 20 minutes with departures every 10 minutes during peak times.
I checked in with my web enabled mobile phone, I find if you are cutting it fine for check in this usually can buy you a few extra minutes, but no use if you select exit row.
As I had no luggage I headed through security and up to the lounge, where I got a new boarding pass printed out. If you had no luggage to check in then it would be useful to have selected exit row, and then the lounge staff could confirm your suitability for exit row.
I boarded the aircraft and asked the cabin crew who was checking the seat allocations which 737 was operating the service to Brisbane. The flight operating this service was JE, which I said "sounds like one of the older 734s operating for Qantas". Cabin crew said "I must know my aircraft." just a bit.
I find QFflyer a great resource to find out the name, age and configuration of the operating aircraft. The flight was operated by 18 year old VH-TJE Qantas oldest 734 which Qantas now have for sale.
Interesting during boarding there was an announcement about how to stow the luggage, with the big items into the overhead and smaller items under the seat in front of you. Come on this isn't US domestic, I just found the announcement strange on a half empty aircraft.
The flight was lucky to be 50% with Queensland on a public holiday on Monday I guess some people stayed in Melbourne for another night. The passengers spread throughout the aircraft and row 4 only had 2 passengers in it, myself and someone in 4F.
Dinner served on tonight’s flight was red Thai curry with rice.
Really nice flight with plenty of leg room in row 4, I had a quick chat to the cabin crew. I asked them which of the 737s they liked to work on and they enjoyed the 738s better but in some ways the 734s have a bit more galley space. I asked them about the upcoming changes at Virgin Blue(now Virgin Australia) and they said it will provide a bit of competition for Qantas. And they said it was sad to see John Borghetti leave and work for Virgin.
It was the 1st of the new month with new magazines and the updated IFE. I was secretly hoping that it would still have the April IFE as then I could have listened to some of the IFE that I had missed on the flight down to Sydney.I guess I wasn't flying Jetstar
so I had to make do with the current months selection. Descent into Brisbane commenced at 7:48 and we were on the ground by 8:15pm.
I had an enjoyable weekend flying Qantas and a nice visit to the Qantas First Lounge before my flight on Jetstar to Melbourne.
And even today flying Qantas, coach has meals, leg room, no baggage fees, have introduced mobile phone use, and why I regard Qantas still offering the best domestic service anywhere in the world.
