Hop on a Prop

[exceladdict]

A (very) recent trip report by kamchatsky inspired me to do a quick write up on a short leg I had on REX this month. Unfortunately, I’m quite light on photos due to my regular phone (a nexus 6p) being in for repairs, relegating me to an old, cracked, Sony Xperia Z2 which can’t autofocus to save its life.

ALH-PER, ZL2126, 0:58, Saab 340 (SF34) VH-ZRZ


Long story short I was meant to be driving back to Perth but I ended up being gifted a ticket to take the short way back, which is a difficult offer to refuse. I had only ever flown a turboprop once previously in my life, from Queenstown to Christchurch, so on top of saving some time it was a bit of an experience too. My memory suggests that turboprop in NZ would have been bigger than this.

I was travelling back with a friend of Mrs Excel’s, who did not have much experience flying, so we had fun in the car to the airport, and in the departure lounge, explaining among other things how “big trucks go up to the plane and spin up the propellers, then they release the spring to take off”. Two of the other gems were that you weren’t allowed to use any electronics onboard, to the extent that you weren’t even allowed to take a phone with you in to the flight. A book I had packed became a handy prop in this joke.

It was interesting to see that ALH had ticket parking, with 4 hours free – arguably enough for a quick trip to Perth, a meeting at the airport and Perth and a flight back – I guess to deter fifolks from taking up the parking.
Unfortunately the check-in agent, who later turned out to be the boarding gate attendant, ruined the fun when he kindly advised I wouldn’t need to check in my small roller bag (I prefer to go HLO but was a bit uncertain about the size of the overheads on the Saab). He advised that the plane would be arriving shortly, and we waltzed through to the departure area.

I was interested to still see VA paraphernalia around the place, as I was under the impression VA had pulled out from the regional WA routes having been swapped by REX – but it turned out they still do flights on some days of the week. It was a bummer as I am only one flight (and a bunch of SCs) away from the ‘trial gold’ on velocity thanks to flybuys, but the 10scs wouldn’t have tipped me over the edge so my upset did not last long.

 

[exceladdict]

As we enjoyed an ice coffee and Gatorade respectively in the lounge, the plane flew in, passengers disembarked, luggage was unloaded and reloaded.

I didn’t get any photos of the plane itself, which I regret, but here’s one from Central Queensland Plane Spotting:

We were welcomed on to the plane a little ahead of schedule and were greeted at the bottom of the stairs by the first officer, who had a friendly smile, and then by an FA at the top of the stairs. I was in seat 4A, by myself on the left side of the plane, which I prefer. It’s not that often you get an aisle-window seat (in Y).


My roller bag just fit, wheels sideways into the overhead compartment, and there was reasonable leg/footroom, but I felt like the back of the seat in front of me was quite close. It was comfortable enough for the hour.

 

[exceladdict]

I was also nice and close to the engine and propeller, being very glad I had my QC25s with me.



Before we started moving, in-flight service commenced from the friendly FA.



Then, one engine began to spin, before the other, and we taxid out and took off. Being a small plane, we were in the air quite quickly, and we had an interesting (albeit in my case, obscured) view of a bushfire near Albany that was in the process of being extinguished.

 

[exceladdict]

I’ve had bumpier take offs on a 737, but one thing I thought was unique about the smaller plane was that the small movements in the air are more noticeable – slight drops, strafing side to side, for example, which is very understandable.

Complimentary in flight service continued after we reached cruising altitude:



Other snacks, as well as alcohol were available for purchase but I did not take it up.

The flight back was relatively uneventful and I made a small dent in both a book I was reading, and the in flight magazine, and after reading a feature on the Cocos Keeling Islands I’m keen to go there. Perhaps next year.

We approached Perth from the east and things began to get choppy as we came over the darling ranges. A few more bumps up and down and side to side before we approached the runway, where I saw a livery I didn’t recognise – it’s partly obscured by the SAA plane here, and kind of seems to have a skyteam logo in the middle but it didn’t look like a CZ or GA tail. Who am I missing?



We disembarked and then walked in to (and out of) terminal 2 very quickly, and an uber took about 8 minutes to come. I have a feeling the standard of uber cars is dropping – and there seemed to be a fair few waiting in the ‘special’ uber parking lot, which the driver pointed out on our way out. Apparently the airport surcharge is being snuck in to uber fares ex-PER as well.

Anyway, all in all a short but pleasant flight. Having flown now, I’d say Albany is at the point where travelling by air is worthwhile for the time saving, considering 15 minutes or so to the airport 20 or so at it, an hour in the air and 20-25 minutes back to the Perth CBD, to save a five or six hour drive. Of course a $180-250 ticket is more expensive than the $40-75 worth of fuel, but when a ticket is gifted, who can say no.

And I’m glad to be one flight closer to my hundredth flight now too – the points are being accumulated in anticipation (though not on this leg, of course).

 

[kamchatsky]

Thank you for the TR. I have never flown Rex myself. At least your plane has 5 more rows than the Pelican!

But you must be a tall man as you don't look like you had any room on your knee photo.

I must admit I do not know much about WA (only been to PER and BME), so I had to consult Dr Google to find where the heck is ALH .....

Ironically the bag of chips is pretty much equivalent to VA's snack offering these days (I get pretzels ...)

 

[clazman]

Thinking it could be Xiamen but can't find direct flights to Perth, is it possibly Garuda?

 

[Daver6]

This thread failed to deliver on my expectations. When I saw the title I immediately thought it would involve a rugby union front row'er.

 

[AviatorInsight]

Good to see the Rex service still upholding in the west. It has been quite a long time since my last Saab 340 flight. Still one of the best aircraft I've ever flown.

I saw a livery I didn’t recognise – it’s partly obscured by the SAA plane here, and kind of seems to have a skyteam logo in the middle but it didn’t look like a CZ or GA tail. Who am I missing?

Looks to me like it could be one of the Volga Dnepr AN124 aircraft.

 

[Mattg]

Thanks for the trip report! It's good to know what other options are available apart from the big 4 airlines.

 

[kermatu]

Thanks for the TR. Been a few years but I used to fly on the REX Saabs regularly (mainly Melbourne to Wynyard). Noisy but enjoyable. Some of my most turbulent flights have been on these aircraft - perhaps coincidence but I'm inclined to agree these craft let you feel any bumps!

 

[exceladdict]

This thread failed to deliver on my expectations. When I saw the title I immediately thought it would involve a rugby union front row'er.

Being from WA I have no idea what that means. I'm sorry to let you down (again).

 

[mannej]

I am going to take a stab it is a Volga Dnepr AN-124

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AN_124_100,_RA-82043_-_Volga_Dnepr_Airlines.jpg

 

[exceladdict]

I am going to take a stab it is a Volga Dnepr AN-124

https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AN_124_100,_RA-82043_-_Volga_Dnepr_Airlines.jpg

Good to see the Rex service still upholding in the west. It has been quite a long time since my last Saab 340 flight. Still one of the best aircraft I've ever flown.



Looks to me like it could be one of the Volga Dnepr AN124 aircraft.

I think you're both right: Perth Airport Spotter's Blog: Volga Dnepr Airlines An-124:100 RA-82044 'VDA3010/4557'

Looks like you're both on the money. Glad I can close that open loop in my head

 

[Buzzard]

Nice little TR.