Journey –
SYD-NRT
Flight no. –
QF21
Class –
Business
Seat –
3K
I am flying out on APEC weekend – whatever that means. What it does mean is a public holiday on the Friday before my Saturday night flight to Tokyo. I spend some time preparing my packing for the trip given the luggage constraints but actually have a relaxing day with mrssimongr – working on a few last things for the house and planning for our trip when I get home. There is more than a few minutes of panic at home as my Moleskine notebook that I use for trip reports has vanished

so we troop off to the store to get a replacement (it doesn’t feel the same though as it just doesn’t seem right to be taking SOB notes in a book without the BEHEMOTH).
[aside-ramble]
I guess at this point I can take a minute to better elucidate what travel means to me (here he goes again) and why certain things make the experience more than just a journey. When writing my first trip report I just grabbed a $5 notebook – the same as I used for my normal work notes. But at the commencement of the BEHEMOTHI bought myself a
Moleskine notebook. Obviously a notebook is just a sheaf of paper tied together. But as you can see from how I write and how I travel the feel of what I do is almost as important as the actions themselves. I can feel the warmth of the notebook as I write and the feeling of putting the band back on the book makes the experience of writing seem more than just an accountant exploring his ego and more like a writer.
[/aside-ramble]
Fortunately as I pack the last few things and tidy the bedroom before I leave I find my old Moleskine on the floor next to the bed. This is a relief and a nice lift before I take my bags downstairs to begin the journey. The car arrives on schedule and I take my two small bags and drop them in the boot/trunk of the car and finally (for you and for me) it begins!
With it being APEC weekend I am expecting terrible traffic on the way to the Airport so have booked a slightly earlier than normal car but it is only 45 minutes from my house to the F lounge! The somewhat belligerent check in staff is happy to check me in and gives me my SYD-NRT and NRT-HKG boarding passes and after some prompting gives me the Epass for express immigration and security. I know it sounds petty having only had two outbounds from SYD as a either an F Pax or an OWE – but I am little disappointed about this new higher level of service – no documents have been pre-prepared for me as F (obviously not a benefit as OWE) and the little chaps in the check in area seem to just ignore me – all it seems is that it is just a walled off area. I know I joked about rose petals and champagne but something more than a grunt might be nice.
Anyway, as there is no-one in the main immigration queue I pocket the epass for a rainy day and go to a regular counter. I am quizzed on my less than direct routing to HKG but am waved through after some muttering about how I like to fly and am advised not to say that it is nicer up the front…
The first test of my hand luggage challenge is security and not a word is said and no bags are weighed – all good so far. Security is painless thankfully and I am quickly into the F lounge with no issues at all. I am quickly able to confirm that the AFL is being shown in the lounge although in retrospect I wish it wasn’t given the Swan’s performance
I enjoy the Tapas plate of some salt cod fitters (super yum), [non]-spicy meatballs (yum), interesting octopus (not normally a choice for me but given a punt and surprisingly nice) and some prosciuttio (which I pass on at this point). This shortly followed by some very spicy calamari which is being brought round a la the SIN F lounge I experienced. Obviously this all being washed down with some Veuve initially and subsequently with some Cape Mentelle (I am really enjoying this visit to the lounge).
I am enjoying a somewhat topsy turvy game with it fairly balanced but with still almost a full half to go when sadly the F lounge needs to give way to a J seat and I am off to board my first QF A330 flight. I am struck on boarding by the lack of two door boarding that we would get at HKG – it really does devalue the J experience when you have to board with the hoipolloi
As I take my window seat (preferred option on night flights) I look around at the options of seat buddy that I could have had and roll my eyes at the 50+ dumpy woman that I will actually be sat next to. Now I know I will take some heat for that – it’s just it would be nice just once to be sat next to a chatty attractive woman given I dont get to travel much with mrssimongr
As I take a look around the cabin I notice some subtle differences to other airbuses that I have been on. Obviously this is a newer aircraft and the flow of curves around the cabin is definitely different to other aircraft. The Skybed also feels different. There seems to be a large lump in my lower back and the plastic of the seat in front looks lighter. They also seem noisier – and as people are spending much time adjusting them BEFORE take off it makes the whole thing just seem loud on board.
The option of “dining later” seems to be causing trouble for some pax – but I revert to a normal mode of asking for a nice cold beer shortly after take off (rather than a G&T as it is a little outside of the G&T window (on reflection this entire trip seems a little light on G&Ts

).
We are a little delayed taking off due to the departure of the Evil Overlord (George Bush) on Air Force 1 and 2. Disappointingly we get slightly divergent messages from the cabin crew and the flight deck – a little thing but also a little unnecessary.
I am again asleep on take off and for the first 45 mins of the flight – but strangely I find that drinks are still not being served and a pre-dinner drink is not forthcoming! I foolishly try the AVOiD only to be disappointed again

The system is dead for the cabin for the first two hours (remember this is a 9:50PM flight out of SYD). I determine that the problem with the system is that it takes time to get going and progressively becomes stable with the cabin row by row and then seat by seat – sadly my seat is the last cab off the rank – and I just don’t have the patience to wait for it to catch up so revert to laptop TV…
Dinner is a fairly unappetising affair starting with an artichoke salad and a veal pie. The veal pie is a nice concept – a traditional footy pie with ketchup/tomato sauce on top - but have you ever tried eating a pie that is in a small ramekin on a plane with airline cutlery? Obviously some of you will have but for the purposes of this story let’s just assume that my eating failings are an enlightening experience for you
A couple of glasses of nice shiraz and I am off to Bedfordshire. Now here is the kicker – the Skybed actually feels a little longer. It might be totally psychological but I do manage to crash out quite well

I think I get maybe 5 – 6 hours sleep so I view that as a net win.
I wake and immediately given a scorching hot towel and asked if I want breakfast – but am at least given the chance to go to the bathroom before I have to commit to breakfast. I am not normally great a having breakfast straight after waking – I am more of a brunch person. I only manage to pick at breakfast and realise that if I was more in the mood it would be quite nice – soft scrambled egg, smoked salmon and leaf tea.
As we begin our descent the CSM brings me a A$50 voucher for onboard duty free – a darn sight more useful to me than the A$300 voucher I got previously for failed AVOiD – but that was only redeemable against other flights…
I repack my bag and begin my focus on NRT and the JL F lounge, deciding whether to lounge hop and switching my seat on the next flight – I mean c’mon 17A???
DYKWIA???? 