Trans-Tasman J

[kermatu]

Red wine was a Dandelion Shiraz (2014 I think). Quite nice.

i also had the Asian beef. Very tasty and tender meat.

Dessert was good old vanilla ice cream or cheese, but I passed as I had a flight to Perth to come. Here is the beef:

 

[kermatu]

Menu from SYD-AKL evening A330 service earlier this month:

 

[sudoer]

QF135 BNE-CHC (JetConnect 738) about a week ago.

 

[kermatu]

Lentil soup on the SYD-AKL flight -

 

[kermatu]

Chicken larb also from SYD-AKL. Without doubt the tastiest dish I've had onboard in a very long time. Every mouthful was a delightful burst of salty, sweet, sour, and chilli. Rather annoyed I didn't take this option on a flight from SYD-PER a couple of nights earlier.

 

[sudoer]

Breakfast onboard QF134 CHC-BNE (Jetconnect) this morning.. menu was completely vegetarian!



Crepes had a nice texture and flavour, but were soaked in a sickly sweet sauce.



The Frittata was disappointingly bland. Also no spinach to be found...



The CSM was very friendly but the J FA seemed very uninterested. One other thing to note - was given amenitys kit on this flight but didn't get one on the reverse BNE-CHC.

 

[grant32]

Breakfast onboard QF134 CHC-BNE (Jetconnect) this morning.. menu was completely vegetarian!

The CSM was very friendly but the J FA seemed very uninterested. One other thing to note - was given amenitys kit on this flight but didn't get one on the reverse BNE-CHC.

I flew QF134 yesterday, the J FA was awesome! No amenity kits handed out though.

 

[Basalt]

We've got J on QF153 MEL-AKL coming up soon, just wondering how early we should realistically get to MEL for the 7am flight? Anyone seeing bigger delays these days through customs etc.?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

MELi airport should open before check in for the first flight to DXB.
I was there for the EK flight to AKL a while back, the first door to int dep does not open before 5am, you can do OLCI, but would probably still have to do passport swipe.
I stayed at the Ibis Budget that time, was in line in the J premium checkin at 4.15am, but noted the frosted glass doors didn't open till 5am.
So your choice, you could be there at 4.30am, there would be people queing up at the frosted door even at that time.
Granted I haven't passed int sec and doing passport outgoing Smartgate since the security upgrade, but no early than 4am I would say should be ok for a 7.xx flight.
You do need some J lounge time too, no matter how "bad" the dungeon might be.
Edit: I think they lock the frosted doors after that first EK flight from MEL - DXB is processed through, because at 5.15am when I did it, definitely, the frosted door was locked, with people lining up, and the J lounge had a sign it opened at 6am.

 

[Groundhog]

We've got J on QF153 MEL-AKL coming up soon, just wondering how early we should realistically get to MEL for the 7am flight? Anyone seeing bigger delays these days through customs etc.?

I did the Mel-Akl 7am flight across the dutch 2 weeks ago. I was worried about the extra security measures so i got to the airport at 5am, breezed through security, the smartgate and was in the Flounge by 5.15am (HLO) - no departure cards to fill out anymore so that saves a bit of time. That was on a Wednesday, not sure what day you are travelling but the terminal was all but empty for me at that time.

 

[Dr_Goz]

Breakfast onboard QF134 CHC-BNE (Jetconnect) this morning.. menu was completely vegetarian!

Ha! I was on the same flight!

This was the VGML meal that was loaded for me. All the spinach was unfortunately used here.

 

[Pushka]

Ha! I was on the same flight!

This was the VGML meal that was loaded for me. All the spinach was unfortunately used here.

View attachment 104566View attachment 104567

Good grief. The way spinach crumples and disappears with cooking, that plateful must have started out as a sack of it!

 

[Basalt]

I did the Mel-Akl 7am flight across the dutch 2 weeks ago. I was worried about the extra security measures so i got to the airport at 5am, breezed through security, the smartgate and was in the Flounge by 5.15am (HLO) - no departure cards to fill out anymore so that saves a bit of time. That was on a Wednesday, not sure what day you are travelling but the terminal was all but empty for me at that time.

Thanks Groundhog, we're travelling Thursday, though we'll be slumming it in the J lounge. We'd rather minimise time in the J lounge as the BOB* is better than the J lounge!

*bubbles on board

 

[sudoer]

All the spinach was unfortunately used here.

There it all is!!! :shock:

One of those hash browns would've been nice too!

 

[Altair]

Ha! I was on the same flight!

This was the VGML meal that was loaded for me. All the spinach was unfortunately used here.

Interesting as I always assumed that the hash browns, well at least from WLG catering, are simply Watties Hash Browns that contain beef tallow hence NOT vegetarian. It does not matter to me too much these days as I have very loose vegetarian only diet these days.

 

[Dr_Goz]

There it all is!!! :shock:

One of those hash browns would've been nice too!

They were quite soggy, no point in having them on a plane as you can't keep them crisp

I flew QF134 yesterday, the J FA was awesome! No amenity kits handed out though.

I believe the CSM was not from Jetconnect, but QF Mainline. This may have made the difference

 

[kermatu]

AKL-SYD A330 lunch menu:

 

[kermatu]

Poached salmon from above menu:

 

[kermatu]

And the hapuka:



Both dishes were tasty. Service was good. Amenity kits provided. Priority boarding worked well, but disembarking was poor with Y passengers being allowed free access to the door before J pax (only one door used).

 

[blackcat20]

Flew CHC-MEL last night. Found the menu pretty boring (and a bit odd that it was dated as March on the bottom).
Soup was tasty but the pork salad was pretty depressing looking. Flavour was ok but cold pork isnt particulary nice. Wish they'd have a proper dessert too. Went with the cheese and a glass of the Gramps dessert wine. Took an hour for the meal service to start on a flight that was delayed half an hour too.