anat0l's Audacious Australian and Asian Adventure Aboard Abundant Aircraft

[anat0l]

Sun 31 May: SIN-SYD (part 4 of 11)

I might have walked more, but I was in imperative need of a shower, plus the check-out time was fast approaching. I made my way back to T3 and the room, but not before trying to get some bathroom accessories from a passing maid (which proved to be a challenge as she only spoke Mandarin, and I struggled with my broken Mandarin but eventually managed to get soap, shampoo and body lotion from her).

The bathroom behind the suite's master bedroom was huge. There was a walk-in toilet, walk-in shower, a huge bath tub and two vanity sinks. The bathroom was bigger than the master bedroom! One very refreshing shower later, it was just about time to start cleaning up and getting ready to check-out. Kiwi Flyer, being the elite traveller that he is, handily packed up quickly as I meticulously but hastily put my belongings into my luggage and backpack (including a spare change of clothes since BA15 was an overnight flight and I was through-checking my bag to MEL). There were three red apples (of extremely odd shape, I must add) on a short wooden platform on the desk, and I'll be the first to admit embarrassingly that I did not know they were complimentary until Kiwi Flyer unreservedly picked one up and bit into it.

Shots of the suite at the CP Changi

A quick check of belongings and we were downstairs on the ground level for check-out, which was efficiently completed. That done, it was off to the inter-terminal train to SIN T1.

On arrival at T1, we set about finding the premium check-in for QF or BA. Kiwi Flyer looked a bit hesitant that there was such a special area or simply just a counter (and perhaps, if we're lucky, with ropes and a red carpet or the like). However, we happened upon a sign that instructed us towards the location of the premium check-in for BA and QF flights, which turned out to be a small sectioned off check-in area adjoined to a seating area with plants. The premium check-in serviced both QF and BA flights, as well as a plethora of other airlines (including non-oneworld airlines as well).

Premium check-in lounge area for QF, BA and many other airlines in SIN T1

As if it didn't need to be said, Kiwi Flyer's formalities were extremely simple, since he was travelling without checked baggage and was duly given his boarding pass for SIN-SYD, but not one for SYD-AKL, which needed to be picked up in SYD. My formalities were a tad more difficult. I had SIN-SYD and SYD-AKL on the same PNR, but AKL-MEL and MEL-BNE on another PNR. SYD-AKL and AKL-MEL were on the same day, so I was trying to get my bags checked through all the way to MEL (i.e. from SIN via SYD and AKL; can't check all the way to BNE due to customs requirements in AU). Two agents with much discussion were required to sort this one out, but eventually they managed to sort something out (I think they might have created a new dummy PNR for me). Like Kiwi Flyer, I only received a BP for SIN-SYD; SYD-AKL and AKL-MEL BPs would need to be collected in SYD and AKL respectively. My bag was tagged and affixed with a BA orange priority tag before being sent onto the belt.

Immigration was fairly close to the premium check-in area, which also had very short lines; again, I must admit being surprised because of the sheer amount of traffic that SIN handles. The immigration officials were very efficient; the official handling my documents appeared to be Malay or Indonesian, so I said "terimah kasih" (thank you) after she had finished with my documents. Her reply of "sama sama" (same to you) confirmed my observation. Kiwi Flyer was slightly annoyed that he scored another stamp in his passport. Personally, I wish more times than not I could get a stamp in my passport (which seems still to be the norm in Asia), but I suppose one day we will all have passports with RFIDs and no need for stamps.

Next stop - shopping...nah, who am I kidding? This is me we're talking about (and Kiwi Flyer, for that matter). Our next stop was the QF/BA lounges upstairs. Although it has been said a few times that some people prefer the J Lounge over the F Lounge, we went to the F Lounge anyway.

Sign outside the QF/BA F Lounge SIN T1

For those not in the know, the J Lounge and F Lounge aren't much different from each other, save for the calibre of flyers in each one . The F Lounge isn't anything to write home about, but it was pleasant enough. The view looked to part of the inside of the terminal (and most of the view we had was under construction), so nothing interesting there. When we arrived there, the lounge was pretty deserted. There was barely any food to speak of (best dish was little crostini of boccocini, tomato, baby spinach leaf and olive tapanade); the bar at the rear of the lounge had no ice cream out. Kiwi Flyer went straight to the computers to book a spot before grabbing some food and getting stuck into work. I did a bit of exploring of the lounge (the water feature running through the lounge is a nice touch), but considering it wasn't a very big lounge at all, I soon did much the same thing as Kiwi Flyer and found a computer, along with a few "light" snacks.

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 May: SIN-SYD (part 5 of 11)

Main buffet and bar area near the front of the lounge

Another view of the lounge

"Lighter" lounge snacks

Most of my time was spent on the internet as I watched and listened as the lounge got progressively busy. I think I took a bit of a walk around the terminal at one point, returning to see the F lounge was bustling, and new, hot food had been put out on the buffet selection, like mini pizzas and samosas. The lounge attendants were meticulous about the presentation: if you removed an item from the hot food selection, they would immediately follow up by rearranging the other items so that they were precisely straight. If a single item was even slightly crooked, you could bet they would be there to fix it up again. It was paranoid attention to detail. I helped myself to some of the hot items and moved to the remote drinks bench near the large window of the lounge.

More lounge snacks, including hot food

Another empty plate, another food hunt. But first, I wondered over to the showers to see if there was a free room. Interestingly, there were no free rooms; in fact, I had to apply for a spot in a waiting list. I received one of those vibrating remote reminder devices not unlike those used in restaurants (the kinds where you order first then collect your order). I got my spot and then wondered to the rear bar to indulge in a bowl of the ice cream they had there. When I went back to the drinks bench to eat my ice cream, a lounge attendant was going around offering plates of what looked like soy-sauce duck with vegetables and rice. I took a plate as Kiwi Flyer found me.....and only mere seconds before my buzzer jumped to life. Ah nuts...I tried to scarf down some of the hot plate and some ice cream before I had to leave a good deal of it behind and head to the showers, since after all if I didn't turn up straight away, it may just be that my room would be given away. I jogged towards the showers and handed in my buzzer, which was quickly exchanged for a towel pack.

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 May: SIN-SYD (part 6 of 11)

SIN T1 QF/BA FL showers - the vanity sink...

...the circular shower area, with...

...multiple shower heads, and...

...Molton Brown amenities.

The SIN T1 QF/BA FL shower rooms are quite spacious and relatively elegant. The most striking feature is the circular shower with two sets of shower heads (one set with only one shower head; the other set was a cluster of three heads) and, funnily enough, each set had its own flow control tap. The idea is that the single head set is used for showering from the head down, whereas the other triple head set is used to shower the body (torso). I guess the separate controls are useful if one doesn't want to wet their hair, which is good since there are no shower caps provided (in fact, I can't think of one single lounge that I've been to so far, except for the QF F Lounges in SYD and MEL, that supply shower caps). Shower amenities were provided by Molton Brown, which are also provided as standard issue now in the SYD T1 JL (although they are provided as pump bottles in the shower rather than as small individual bottles). I had a quick shower in anticipation of my overnight flight.

After leaving the shower room, I went for another wonder to fill a bit more time just before we had to start moving to our boarding gate. This wonder took me to the nearby BA/QF J Lounge. The lounge is bigger than the F Lounge and has slightly different design and decor, but the food selection is pretty much the same or poorer, there are less showers and it was just as full as the F Lounge except there far more kids running around in the J Lounge, as well as using up the computers (for good or otherwise).

Entry to the SIN T1 QF/BA J Lounge

A scene inside the J Lounge

Once I returned to the F Lounge, I quickly found Kiwi Flyer and we agreed to start heading down to gate C18 where my first flight on BA awaited me. Since SIN have their security screening at each gate (cf. Australian airports where security screening is at a common section straight after immigration), most people were well told in the lounges to start making their way to the gate to leave enough time to get screened so they can board with ease.

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 May: SIN-SYD (part 7 of 11)

The lower section of the C pier at SIN T1, with our gate C18 in the background

The C wing is a considerable distance from the lounge; gate C18 was no exception. Still, I was a bit deficient on the step count so I didn't mind the extra distance to be covered. Security screening was duly completed, with a bottle of water which I had forgotten to drink earlier (compliments of the CP Changi) duly confiscated. Meh, not a big bother. Boarding started very shortly after we were cleared by security.

Flight: British Airways BA15 Singapore Changi (SIN T1) - Sydney (SYD T1)
Depart: 1945h Sched; 1945h Actual (est.)
Aircraft: G-YMMG Boeing 777-200
Distance: 3,908 mi (6,301 km)
Class: Club World (Business)
Seat: 10E
(ticketed as QF320 Business)

As I entered the BA 772, I was greeted by the lovely Cabin Service Director Sandra. We had to push through the F cabin first before getting to Club World. Now I must preface that before I boarded this flight, I had no idea what was the "newest" Club World (there was "Old" Club World, New Club World and Next Generation Club World a.k.a. "New New" Club World - and I had no idea of the differences between all three). As it turned out (with confirmation from Kiwi Flyer later), the cabin was configured as Next Generation Club World. The CW purser Mark greeted me and I took the liberty of informing him that this was my first flight with British Airways. His reply went something along the lines of making this flight as enjoyable as possible, which altered into a more zealous and ambitious promise to convert me when I mentioned that I'm normally a QF flyer . The other FAs serving CW were Cynthia (who helped Mark on the left aisle of CW), Julia and Jenny.

For my first CW flight, I decided to assume the inside seat which faces backwards. A couple who managed to get an upgrade from WT+ joined us in the neighbouring 10F/10G seats. The wife assumed 10F next to me, with darling husband in 10G; the wife had great fun and giggles in cracking jokes and poking fun at hubby about and across the dividing screen.

Next Generation Club World seats

Seat controls for CW seats

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 May: SIN-SYD (part 8 of 11)

The CW seat isn't particularly wide; I think the QF Millennium seat is slightly wider. Kiwi Flyer and I both fit in the seat, plus the leg room was absolutely brilliant and is heaven for anyone who is particularly tall (although this is only when considered without the footstool in the normal seating position; as well, the inner seated CW pax have the problem of stepping over aisle seated pax; aisle seated pax have a similar problem). Luckily for me, there was no one seated in 11D, so access in and out of my seat was going to be very easy. Divider screens separate middle and aisle seats in CW; the divider can be operated with a button or manually lifted up/pushed down, however the divider must be left down only for the safety demonstration. I especially liked the drawer at the foot level of the CW seat. The overhead locker is necessary for storing bags, but the drawer is quite large - I managed to remove my shoes and fit them in the drawer. A control panel on the side contains the control buttons for modifying the seat position between flat for sleeping and straight upright for eating; the blue button sets the seat back to a position for take-off and landing, which oddly enough is not straight upright.

Leg room in CW seat 10E

Me in CW seat 10E, shot courtesy of Kiwi Flyer

Pre-flight drinks were served soon enough, with my selection being the choice champagne on board. Menus and amenity kits were handed out in quick smart fashion before we were asked to take our seats for push back and the safety demonstration. (You can find the menu for this flight here: food and wine list).

Pre-flight champagne and CW menu

I can't remember if push back happened on time, and FlightStats seemed to have no records of it either. In fact, being that I was seated backwards, perhaps push back was the wrong words to use! (Just kidding....) We moved away from the gate and with the flourish of Leo Delibes's Flower Duet, I knew that the BA safety demonstration was running and my first BA flight was soon ready to take us out of SIN back home. (Good to know that in the event of an emergency, my brace position was to simply sit back and cross my arms across my chest...sure beats putting one's head between their legs and kissing their......you get the idea )

Take off backwards was interesting, since you end up actively having to rebalance your body to compensate for the thrust instilled when the aircraft begins powering up and charging down the runway. Our take off was without a hitch and, for a bit of departure from the normal QF procedures, within 30 seconds of take-off, CSD Sandra came onto the PA to more fully welcome everyone aboard as well as introduce the pursers for each of the four cabins, plus the other FAs. Then there was the usual post-take-off spiel of safety and such (like most other airlines, and thank you BA for clarifying (unlike QF) that baggage in overhead lockers may not just move during flight, but they can actually fall out and injure someone), which carried through the seat belt sign being turned off.

Once the crew were up and running after the seat belt sign turned off, Mark wasted absolutely no time at all in taking the CW cabin pre-dinner drinks and dinner orders. This was a bit of an unexpected surprise for me (the earliness of the order being taken, not the action itself), and I found myself slightly disoriented when Mark popped up and asked what I would like to order. Not to placate him, I wish I could have said that I'd like more time, but this is an aircraft, anat0l, not a restaurant! The entree choice was fairly elementary - unless you were truly interested in the medley of vegetables, then the salmon with creme fraiche was a no-brainer. The main was a bit more of a challenge. I rubbed out the choice of main course salad straight out, as well as the Asian chicken, with the former sounding a bit unexciting for a main (unless I really had to stick to healthy) and the latter sounding rather pedestrian (but then again since I have an Asian background that's probably expected). That left a choice of the steak or the penne. I'm not very partial to eating steak outside of BNE, mainly because I know I can almost always get an excellent steak in BNE, so when I'm out travelling I usually prefer to try something other than steak (since there is always a risk of the steak being done poorly and hence not a good meal). With this in mind, although it also sounded fairly ordinary on face value, I selected the penne with tomato-based sauce and parmesan.

After Mark took my order, the next step was to work out the footstool. Although I followed the instructions on the sticker, for some reason my footstool would not budge. The lady in 10F was both amused and puzzled as I struggled to lower the seemingly simple footstool. Even Kiwi Flyer couldn't quite understand what trouble I was having, so being the more elite flyer than I was, I invited him to help me out......and would you ever predict how embarrassed I was when I realised that all I had forgotten to do is lower the stowage catch lever first before following the instructions on the sticker . With that, I removed my shoes and stowed them in the seat drawer before resting my feet on the lowered footstool. I have to remark how amazing it is as to how much force the footstool must be designed to withstand (although I'm by no means a stress test case, there must be others out there who could easily exert more force on the stool; in saying that, the stool was not designed for people to sit down, however).

Another QF009-shot - putting my feet up in BA NGCW

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 May: SIN-SYD (part 9 of 11)

I had a bit of a flick through the AVOD, but even the lure of British comedy and drama wasn't enough to sway me (it's not that these shows are bad, it's just that I've gotten used to not watching a lot of TV). Pre-dinner drinks and nuts arrived; I had my trusty sparkling water.

Pre-dinner drink of sparkling water with packet of BA nuts - product of Mother England...I mean, no, wait...that can't be right......

......product of Kenya, that's better! Also note the allergy warning - just in case you thought there did exist nuts for those with nut allergies...

Dinner was served fairly soon (well, "soon" as in to keep in mind that the CW cabin isn't your usual J cabin size; I was quite impressed at how quickly Mark and Cynthia managed to serve the pre-dinner nibbles). A tray came from above the dividing wall with my entree of salmon and a side salad. A wholesome looking roll was supplied and I was asked for a drink. I asked for a white wine and I was recommended to try the Spanish selection from the list - the Sin Palabras Albarino 2007; I hadn't had any Spanish wine before, so why not give it a go.

Entree of salmon with creme fraiche and side salad

I undid the flimsy "metal" clip holding the napkin, then unravelled and found my utensils. First point of order: all of the accessories were plastic (cf. QF where only the knife is plastic). The utensils were quite small and thin; I was surprised how some of the more tough dishes (e.g. steak) could be eaten successfully without snapping the utensils. The rest of the tray contained a small bottle of olive oil dressing, a flat packet containing a sachet of salt and pepper, a thick disc of butter and a small blue cardboard box containing two chocolates.

The salmon was a fairly standard dish, although there was a hint of herbs in the creme fraiche. It was nice to have the salad afterwards to complement the salmon, and the bread roll supplied was nice and soft and wholesome in taste. The crew came around to serve seconds of bread rolls, of which I probably would not have minded to ask for another one had my mouth not been embarrassingly full of salad when I was offered .

Next came the mains - the crew did the plate doh-see-doh, taking my salad and entree plates and in its place supplying my ordered penne pasta. Rather disappointing, it was exactly what it said in the menu (penne pasta tubes with a light slathering of tomato pasta sauce, but no parmesan), so I guess I don't have much right to complain (a la the infamous VS pax who wrote a rather lengthy rigmarole to complain about his "Indian" meal), however had I known that the dish was going to be this uninteresting I might have taken a chance on the steak, which Kiwi Flyer had ordered and later reported to be quite tender and very much satisfactory. I'm figuring that this pasta dish is the catch-all vegetarian option (a bit of correlation with the First menu I yoinked later seemed to confirm this), but I guess on the merits of what was presented to me, it wasn't a bad tasting dish at all; the sauce had a nice rich tomato taste, and although I'm normally one who likes to drown (relatively) their pasta in sauce, there was enough coating in this dish to keep me content.

Main of penne pasta with tomato pasta sauce - no parmesan, though

In a timely fashion, Mark and Cynthia wheeled out again to collect dinner plates and offer cheese or desserts to finish dinner. Thinking that I had to make a choice, I asked Mark for dessert but maintained that I would hope to get some cheese later. Mark simply replied that he'd just give me both straight away, so that made it nice and easy for both of us. Mark offered a port since CW (or J in almost any airline, I guess) did not have any dessert wine, which I decided to try. The dessert was a fruit jelly with coconut cream, which looked ordinary but was otherwise a light refreshing number (well, light if you discount the coconut cream...). The cheese plate was a simple serving of a couple of cheeses with a small bunch of fresh red grapes and a packet of oat biscuits; all went down well. I tried to enjoy the port with my dessert and cheese plate, but after having the wine and not willing to recreate any events of the previous night, I felt that the port was just a bit too strong for my tastes and stopped drinking after a few sups. (In most other isolated contexts, I probably would have finished the otherwise fine fortified.) Mark came back to collect trays and was surprised that I did not want to keep my unfinished port.

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 May: SIN-SYD (part 10 of 11)

Dessert of fruit jelly and cheese plate, served with a glass of port

"Particularly good with cheese", eh? That's such a relief...

Once trays were cleared, the cabin was dimmed so people could get some sleep. Given that we were rising fairly early in the morning (notwithstanding that this east bound flight was shorter than its west bound mirror flight, plus we gained two hours in heading home). However, like any FT adventurer on their first experience of anything, I had to go exploring, so the first stop was the CW bathroom (well, I did need a bathroom break anyway).

Flowers in the CW bathroom - such a similarity - although I'm not sure about the paper towel used a presentation element...

BA CW amenity kits - small in size...

...so they contain really small amenities (with spa products from Elemis)

 

[anat0l]

Sun 31 May: SIN-SYD (part 11 of 11)

The bathrooms are very near the CW galley, so I happened upon Mark, who was eating dinner whilst I happened to spot the CW Kitchen, which is pretty much the self-serve snack and drink bar. Mark took the liberty of explaining to me that BA have been a pioneer in many commercial airline industry feats - first flat seat, first in-flight self-service snack bar, etc. - and in showing me the CW Kitchen also explained that hot snacks could be prepared by means of the microwave in the galley (crew operated only, though). The CW Kitchen was stocked with drinks (I particularly liked the mini-cans of soft drink), fruit, cakes and sandwiches. Mark said that on some other flights there would also be chocolate available, but not to be. I helped myself to a mini-can of sparkling water (to be served in a glass with lemon), plus one of the interesting looking organic orange biscuits.

BA Club World Kitchen

A midnight snack

I had some difficulty in carrying all of my items back to my seat, but with a bit of patience, slow stepping and careful movement in avoiding the shoulders of the aisle-seated pax, I made it back to my seat with everything intact. The biscuit was quite nice; it would have been nicer with tea but I made a satisfactory effort of complementing it with my sparkling water and lemon. I returned the empties and my glass to the galley, then returned to my seat, reclined the seat into flat bed mode, carefully threw on the blanket and turned in to sleep.

 

[anat0l]

Mon 01 Jun: SYD-AKL-MEL-BNE (part 1 of 3)

Monday, 1 June 2009

I awoke from slumber just as breakfast was being served; I don't know how unusual, uncanny or skilful (or lack thereof, rather) was my ability to wake up on time, as it was merely a Continental breakfast being served and I still had considerable sleep debt to make up. Mark offered a choice between cereal or muesli. I selected the muesli, which looked rather soaked - I'm rather unsure now whether it had more of a likeness towards porridge or muesli, but certainly it was not crunchy or dry by any means. A small tub of strawberry yoghurt was offered - this was the type which is from Japan and is super smooth (for those of you that are familiar with Yogo, it is that smooth). I also accepted a glass of fruit energiser and a cup of black tea, then two danishes from the warm bakery. Later Mark would come around offering bacon rolls (or butties as I believe they are referred to in England, except no sauce), of which I couldn't help myself but to have one in good ol' English fashion. It was nothing awfully spectacular (what could one expect for a bit of bacon on a hot dog roll), but as the saying goes, "when in Rome"......

British Airways small CW Continental breakfast

It was soon time to prepare the cabin for an early landing (early meaning the time of the morning, not that the flight was making record time), so tray tables were cleared, footstool was restowed and latched and shoes were duly fetched from the drawer and put back on. The crew came down the aisles to spray disinfectant, much to the irritation of a few pax (who communicated accordingly via coughing, although the result was indecipherable when translated into Morse, and it wasn't the answers to the last contestant's set of questions of the UK's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire).

Soon enough, in the still dark SYD morn, we thudded into the airport in Mascot and were thanked by Sandra as we made our way to gate 25. Once at the gate, everyone had to stay put in place with seat belts fastened as AQIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) officers boarded to escort some pax off the plane, presumably as they admitted to being possible swine flu risks. This took several minutes, which was rather annoying as our connection to the SYD-AKL flight was the mere comfortable connection time of 120 minutes. Once the CSD cleared us to stand up, no one wasted any time quickly collecting their belongings and hopping out into the aisle. As the twin aisle slowly unloaded its pax into the terminal, I managed to pass F and noticed a couple of menus left behind. With a clear "yoink!" I kept one of the F food menus but not a wine list. I then said thank you and goodbye to Sandra and proceeded into the terminal, where Kiwi Flyer had already started towards the international transfers point at break neck speed.

QF vs BA: Who is better? You had to be expecting this, didn't you?

Best itin & dates that includes A380 is

30MAY 0850 AKLSYDSIN 2245 on A380
30MAY o/n SIN
31MAY 1945 SINSYDAKL 1210+1 on BA

Downside. SINSYD is on BA.

When Kiwi Flyer sent me that note in the PM, I had no idea at the time what that was meant to mean. (There's a real downside to flying BA?) In saying that, according to the Ultimate BA Guide, to make the most out of the Club World experience, one needs to set low expectations from the outset. In light of that warning, I'd say Club World is a fine cabin in the sky. After all (after reading a few reviews here and there), if it were a choice between WT, WT+ and CW, I think I know where I'd really rather be! (OK that seemed like a no-brainer, but on QF services, the decision between J and Y+ is a little less obvious).

But then again, who am I to pass judgement, because I don't have a flight on QF J that is comparable to this experience that I've had on BA CW (let alone any other comparable long-haul premium - and JQ Star Class does not count). (I've only flown QF J on Trans-Tasman and domestic, and let's not get into the 'tiff about comparing BA CW with either of QF J with Skyslopes or QF (A380) J with Skybed Mk II). BA CW was nice; although the CW cabin is a bit cramped and crowded (many people in a small space), it has a mini-suite feel to it if you're on the inside seats. I was quite lucky that no one was sitting in 11D, otherwise that certainly would have been bothersome. The crew were a friendly bunch, especially the CW purser Mark (who was a pleasant chap to have a yarn with). The service on BA, though, seems a bit more rushed than that of QF; everything happens very quickly, things are kept small and simple deliberately. Sometimes this is good, but in other cases it becomes a bit boring or hasty. And plastic eating implements in a Business cabin? Come on! (In fact, I'd chance in saying that the plastic implements on JQ Star Class are more hardy than those on BA CW). To conclude this assessment, I can't decide between QF or BA in J yet, but BA CW is definitely not in my bad books and certainly deserves to be flown again...of which I will get that chance later this year (BA 744 F SYD-BKK, then QF 744 F BKK-LHR - so that will be a better compare case).


Anyway...back to the story. Kiwi Flyer was well and truly powering ahead and disappeared from view. Once at the international transfer point, I was relieved to see that there were no people there, so I went through without a hitch. Back up the stairs to the oneworld concourse, then up the escalators to the F Lounge.

Upon arriving at the F Lounge proper, I tried to get my next BP from the desk agent, but she couldn't produce one straight up, so I opted to collect it from her later. The first thing on my mind was a shower, so I went straight to the shower rooms to reinvigorate the senses. I don't mind a nice, long warm shower, especially early in the morning, however long was not a good idea this morning as there wasn't much time until boarding of QF141.

When I got out of the shower room, I couldn't see Kiwi Flyer in the pretty deserted F Lounge, so I sat up at the restaurant bench to have a quick bite. Although there were a couple of OK looking options which were express options, I kept in mind that I still had breakfast on QF141, so in the interests of both health and speed I simply asked for a fruit salad and a pot of green tea. Getting an adequate intake of nutrients whilst travelling can be a challenge, so the fruit was a nice lift for the day.

Fruit salad and green tea in the SYD T1 QF FL

I finished the fruit bowl and my green tea in good time, having a little bit of a chat to the attendant behind the counter whilst I was at it. I left the restaurant counter and went back to the desk to collect my boarding pass, as it was getting very close to boarding time. I bumped into Kiwi Flyer whilst heading to the front desk, who had our boarding passes ready, but advised that our flight was a bit delayed in boarding. We had a bit of breathing time in the lounge, but it wasn't too long before we had to make our way to gate 31 for the last leg of our AKL-SIN run in J.

The sun rises over SYD Airport with a AY A340 in special F1 livery docked at gate

Flight: Qantas Airways QF141 Sydney (SYD T1) - Auckland (AKL I)
Depart: 0715h Sched; 0734h Actual
Aircraft: VH-OGL "Wangaratta" Boeing 767-300
Distance: 1,341 mi (2,162 km)
Class: Business
Seat: 1F

Whereas in QF142 where we took seats near the window, this time we took seats in the middle. The leg room in the middle bulkhead is a bit limiting but isn't a problem for someone like me who is a bit short. Take-off was thankfully not delayed any more than it already was so we got away in a fairly timely fashion just as the sun was beaming on SYD.

J load was fairly respectable as we took off and levelled out without any bumps. Breakfast was offered; menu can be found here. Thankfully, the menus on this flight had a bit more of a professional touch to it. I selected a hot option from the menu this time, specifically the frittata. After all, the other option of the Croque Monsieur looked rather pedestrian anyway (how good could an elaborate ham and cheese sandwich with bechamel sauce be?). Admittedly, from first impressions on looks, you'd be thinking, "What the hell is this dish?" On taste, however, it turned out to be a decent number. Kiwi Flyer selected the same dish, but both of us maintained our mainstay drinks and items from the warm bakery (namely tomato juice and raisin toast for Kiwi Flyer; green tea (sencha) and croissants for me). The croissants this time were not burnt, but they were pretty small and more cigar shaped than the typical crescent shape.

Hot breakfast of frittata with sides: it wasn't as bad tasting as it looks, thankfully

Once trays were cleared, there was really only one thing on my mind: sleep. So I unrolled the blanket and nodded off for pretty much the rest of the flight. I didn't wake up until it was almost time to prepare for landing. At this time, AKL could be seen in its full glory in the midday sunlight. After landing and docking into gate 10, disembarkation was quick and efficient, which was good for Kiwi Flyer as once again he was off like a rocket towards immigration, most probably to beat all the lines from the midday batch of incoming flights. I had a more leisurely walk before diverting off the main track of pax to international transfers. There was only one security machine active at the transfer point, and it seems the security staff were twiddling their thumbs. No troubles in getting through security, then it was up the short stairs where I ended up at the foot of the stairs leading from the duty free area up to the main (larger) gates concourse.

 

[anat0l]

Mon 01 Jun: SYD-AKL-MEL-BNE (part 2 of 3)

Seeing as I had a few hours to kill, I thought it might be a good chance to do a bit of walking. So up the stairs and down to the end of the original terminal concourse (gate 10 and thereabouts). The next destination was to the new concourse with gates 15 and 16. I assume that these two gates are used to cater for the A380; they are located very far from the original terminal. There was a very long walk from the main concourse which felt very much like a lot of boring hallways until I arrived at gates 15 and 16 where the new look of fresh timber and seats contrasted quite a bit from the very old looking existing terminal. There was no one in the new area save for a couple of security staff. I seemed to have arrived at a fortunate moment as a EK A340 landed and docked in at one of the gates; it seemed to take a while for the ground staff to organise and position the aerobridge in place. It wasn't long after that another EK A340 landed and proceeded to dock at the remaining gate just as I had left to go back to the QF FL.

Once back at the QF lounge, I went straight to the counter and informed the attendant that I needed a BP for my AKL-MEL flight, though my bags were already appropriately routed. As if I didn't need to be surprised, the attendant once again asked why didn't I fly direct to BNE or MEL in the first place, but the explanation I gave her seemed to be sufficient. She had to do a bit of checking and what not before she could issue me BPs for my AKL-MEL and MEL-BNE flights, but she allowed me to go in the FL while I waited.

Various views inside the QF FL in AKL I

It seems that the day selection of food was out in the FL. The selection looked a bit better than standard QP grub: better looking sandwiches, thicker soup, more variety of food. Not overly exciting, though. The FL was deserted save for about three people, including a pair of men who seemed content having a conversation near the buffet in Spanish. I sat down and took a bit of food for myself, as well as a couple of bottles of water, as I don't think I was getting my recommended 2.5 L (80 fl. oz. in the old system) of water per day. The sandwiches provided were nice and fresh, but the mushroom soup was pretty disgusting. Usually, I complain that the soup in the normal lounges is too thinned out, but the soup in the lounge was too thick! I think someone must have gone way overboard with the thickening starch.

My name was called over the PA, so I returned to the front desk where, after verifying my details against my passport, I was issued with my two BPs. There wasn't much to do between then and boarding except surf the net and start thinking over the last week of madness; I got a PM from Kiwi Flyer who had arrived home in cold AKL after successfully beating all the crowds at the incoming formalities. Enough time passed between reading some FT and AFF as well as catching up on emails, with the lounge only getting slight busier as my boarding time approached. The boarding call for QF134 came more or less on time as we were told to prudently leave immediately for gate 6, given there was a decent distance to cover from lounge to gate.

Flight: Jetconnect (Qantas) QF134 Auckland (AKL I) - Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL T2)
Depart: 1615h Sched; 1605h Actual
Aircraft: ZK-JTR Boeing 737-400
Distance: 1,643 mi (2,640 km)
Class: Business
Seat: 2D

On board the same vessel that first took me across to the LOTLWC, I was greeted by the CSM Summer with FAs Simon and Sarah in direct assistance. And very much unlike QF133, J was filled! The rest of the plane probably not, since we managed to board and get away fairly early.

Most of the pax in J were old, viz. 55 years+, as was my fellow pax in 2F. Our resilient 737-400 aircraft soared into the air and onwards to MEL.

As per the usual schedule (and I say this ordinarily because at this point I was a bit tired, so glad to be going home), after the seat belt sign was switched off, pre-meal drinks orders were taken. No prizes for guessing what I selected (hint: it's a clear, carbonated, non-sugary non-alcoholic substance, mentioned several times in this report). The gentleman in 2F ordered the rather unorthodox Scotch with lemonade, of which the FA Simon needed to come back and double-check to make sure he didn't hear incorrectly. I tried to make conversation by remarking at how unusual his request was, however he seemed quite defensive in reply so I resolved not to attempt too much conversation with him for the remainder of the flight.

About 3 or 4 pax in the J cabin ordered special meals - the pax in 2F included - and all of those meals were delivered to people of senior age. The menu for this flight can be found here. I recognised the pasta dish on another QF Trans-Tasman flight I was on last year (also in J), so even though it didn't sound awfully outstanding I opted for the Thai duck curry. I asked for some champagne to accompany the meal and was offered the solid drop, Charles Heidsieck.

QF Trans-Tasman J Dinner of Thai Duck Curry

Charles Heidsieck champagne on board QF Trans-Tasman J

The curry doesn't look very appealing at first looks, but it turned out to be alright in flavour, with an extra kick afforded when I added the sachet of pepper. The duck was quite fatty, but that is to be expected. I'm not sure whether Summer was a CSM in training or not (although she appeared to talk to another lady in QF uniform who looked quite senior), but Sarah and Simon shared the load in taking care of dinner service for J.

 

[anat0l]

Mon 01 Jun: SYD-AKL-MEL-BNE (part 3 of 3)

Quite a few people who didn't order special meals ended up selecting the light option of the salad, eating only one dish or a few bites of it, then going to sleep. I finished my meal and Simon came back to offer cheese or ice cream. I chose the ice cream and biscotti, which I enjoyed with a cup of black tea.

Dessert of passionfruit ice cream and biscotti

With dessert finished, all the rubbish was cleared and I went for a quick bathroom break before returning to my seat and going to sleep. I must have been rather tired and/or mastered the art of sleeping on a plane because I once again managed to doze off until we had to prepare the cabin for landing. I had enough time to fill out my incoming passenger forms. In a matter of four hours, we had crossed the Tasman from beaming daylight in AKL to dark night in MEL. The little 737-400 thudded into Tullamarine and docked in at gate 5.

Our bags unloaded at the new looking belt #5, which I suspect might be the belt of choice for A380 flights owing to its longer belt. I'm not sure why it was set up as such, but there was a lot more directional tape and what not in the baggage claim hall. Since I had items to declare, I was directed to the other end of the hall, which was difficult enough to navigate due to all the crowd control tapes (but complicated much more since there was no pax in the area). I finally managed to navigate the snake of tapes and made my way to a screening point. The customs officer very dryly and emotionlessly asked me what my declarables were, then within two minutes sent me off on my way, again rather emotionlessly (that, or a bit disappointed that he didn't manage to catch me for anything).

Transfers at MEL are always very simple because MEL is one of the only airports in AU to have the domestic and international operations within walking distance (in fact, it is basically one long terminal building, with the exception of Tiger Airways); very convenient for those with tight connection windows (although my 105 minute connection isn't really that tight unless you so happen to get caught in the inwards pax traffic). In my case, all I had to do was go up a travelator to the departures floor, through a glass door and I was in MEL T1, QF (and JQ) domestic. For a Monday night, the departures hall was surprisingly busy. I did a bit of repacking of my bags for convenience before seeking out the premium check-in, which, from a distance with people teeming all about the check-in area, is difficult enough to spot. Fortunately, premium check-in had about ten times less people in the queue compared to the pleb lines; in fact, the only reason you get delayed when there is no one in the premium check-in line is because you have to navigate the zig-zag of queue tapes before you reach the counter.

Bag drop was nice and easy since I already had my BP; magenta tag was attached to my bag and off it went. Security - easy enough. With a little bit of time up my sleeve and not much to do for the rest of the night, I did one round of walking in each of the domestic concourses before making my way to the familiarity of the MEL T1 J Lounge.

Once inside the lounge, I decided to have a refreshing shower before going on my last flight, so I asked the two bright and perky attendants at the J Lounge desk for a shower pack. One of the ladies happily obliged with a set as the other not-so-carefully slipped her tongue and ended up saying "(at the end of the counter) there is a towel for your basket return". We all laughed as we realised her unintentional word swap.

A refreshing shower later (and towels returned to the basket at the J Lounge counter), it was time to have a look at the grub on offer in the J Lounge. I wasn't really wanting to eat much, but it is interesting to see what the J Lounge turn out each time as they (with rather futile results) try to make a difference of themselves to the regular QP (let alone DJ's "The Lounge"). Tonight's offerings included goulash with mashed potato, party pies and some sort of gems that seemed to be made of chicken stuffing.

MEL T1 J Lounge hot snacks

I was washing down my snack with a good dose of water when the boarding call for my flight was announced. Since the lounges are far from the gates, MEL tends to ask people to go to the gate a bit earlier than the normal 20 minute mark, but this was quite early for a formal boarding call. Not willing to tempt fate on this one, I polished off the water I had and started hot footing it down to gate 7 for my flight back home.

Flight: Qantas Airways QF636 Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL T1) - Brisbane (BNE D)
Depart: 2005h Sched; 2001h Actual
Aircraft: VH-VYE "Alice Springs" Boeing 737-800
Distance: 859 mi (1,382 km)
Class: Business
Seat: 1C

I was greeted at the deserted gate by Natalie. I soon found out why the boarding call was made so early - as I stepped on the aircraft to be greeted by the lovely CSM Holly, a bit of light conversation revealed that the load of the plane at best was about half. There were only 3 people in J including myself, and true to word, our aircraft was fully boarded well and truly within scheduled departure. Pre-flight drinks were offered by Natalie, a self-confessed sweet tooth who thus persuaded me to have the apple and strawberry juice.

Pre-flight drink of apple and strawberry juice

Push back and take-off would have been a lot earlier, but unfortunately even though we were early, the rest of the traffic was on schedule, so we didn't get an earlier slot and had to sit at the gate for a while before push back. We managed to get away slightly earlier than planned, but a whole lot of our early mark had evaporated before we moved away from the gate.

Once we were airborne, the seat belt sign was switched off fairly soon after levelling out. The lady behind me decided to sleep for the rest of the flight. Natalie took orders for pre-meal drinks, which were quickly delivered with a packet of nuts. Although it's probably not optimal for the airline, it's nice to be in a lightly loaded cabin as it allows more time to talk to the FAs, who were pleasantly chirpy, even for the last flight of the day.

Pre-refreshment drink and nuts

Since there were only two of us having the refreshment, Holly simply asked what each one of us wanted without pulling out the whole cart assembly. The choices were zucchini & basil soup with boccocini or chicken pie with vegetables. Having had a pie in the J Lounge, I turned away from that option immediately. So the soup it was. I had no idea what to expect for the soup, especially since I could see Holly pouring the soup into a bowl out of a thermos flask! This didn't sound appetising...

The tray was served up and the offer of wine was difficult to resist. I decided to give the red wine a try, which was a Torbreck Cuvee Juveniles from the Barossa. It wasn't a bad number, but as for complementing the soup it came on slightly too strong. The soup itself was actually quite nice, with the soup actually having some flavour, depth and a wholesome texture, plus the boccocini was a nice touch. The Manna from Heaven cake was a bit burnt, but a nice treat.

Refreshment of zucchini and basil soup with boccocini

Trays were cleared, but I still had a cup of tea to consume. Jo from the Y cabin came up with the Y refreshment, which was a selection from a box of National Breast Cancer cupcakes, but I was too full (and not feeling indulgent enough) to take her up on her offer. After that, Jo and another FA from the Y cabin, Jo-Anne, were in the front galley having a chat. I then remembered that I had one box of chocolates left since I had prepared to fly with three different crews on my final QFNZ domestic flights but only gave two away.

You can probably guess what I did next. Needless to say, at least one FA was very happy at the gesture as they wasted little time in breaking open the box and helping themselves to a truffle each, including one saved for the Y cabin manager, Kelly. I was a bit worried that the chocolates may not have retained flavour (or worse) since I did purchase them on the Thursday, however all said that they were still excellent (and Natalie naturally wanted to know which shop I got them from). Holly couldn't help but thank me and offer the untouched bottle of white wine in return (a Tin Cows Chardonnay 2006 from Tarra Warra Estate, Yarra Valley). Who was I to say no? I carefully put the bottle in my backpack (padded strategically between my belongings), then ended up listening to my iPod and reflecting on the week gone by as I finally saw the lights of BNE again. We had an easy touch down in BNE and rolled up to end the day (both myself, the crew and the flight deck) at gate 19. Thankfully, bags didn't take long at all to hit the belt (although it must be a lazy last flight because there was no effort made to prioritise bags). My parents came to pick me up and that was the end of my mad week of flying in May.

 

[anat0l]

Epilogue

Epilogue

So there you have it, dedicated reader. That is how a simple J sale and a significant FT Do transformed two separate events into one magnificent status run. No, do not start saying that I'm a Kiwi Flyer wannabe; as the ol' excuse goes, "This is not what it looks like."

And with that, this trip report draws to a close. Some things I'm looking forward to as a result of this trip:

• More F Lounge opportunities in MEL T2
• Flying more NZ, but this will mostly be within New Zealand, but possibly Trans-Tasman (but preferably in premium class.... )
• Visiting ZQN again...and CHC
• Flying F again (will get two more opportunities later this year...yay!)
• Flying BA again (again, opportunity later this year...in F...yay!) - I might tire of BA once I'm completely convinced that QF is better...
• Requalifying for QF WP... I think it will be hard to go back (but that's mostly due to the unwritten benefits)...

Some of you will probably call me crazy. Some will suggest I be carted to the mad house now. Some of you will think that I'm foolish. Others of you will think how could someone possibly fly all of that in the time it was flown...and still be relatively human. They're all valid statements.



I'm not the one most qualified to answer to those statements.



But I do like some of the benefits. :mrgreen:




:arrow: Fin Omnis.

 

[Flashback]

A quality TR anat0l, very meticulous and filled with detail! Helped me pass time this afternoon, as work was v. quiet; spent a few good hours ploughing through it all.

We're going to have to do something about you not being too much of a morning person though

 

[drron]

Mate what an epic.I'm not sure what was hardest-the mileage run or reading about it :shock:.great detail.I love all the food shots.
The thing I really enjoyed was seeing that a couple of your pics had dropped out-yeh,I'm not the only one.
Keep on enjoying life.

 

[notzac]

We're going to have to do something about you not being too much of a morning person though

Ugh, the only reason for morning to exist is to stop night and afternoon from running in to each other!

A great TR, anat0l - thanks for the read!

 

[auriga]

Thanks!
What a mammoth effort.

 

[Flashback]

Thanks!
What a mammoth effort.

A nice post count increaser too:!:

 

[anat0l]

A nice post count increaser too:!:

Uh oh...they're onto me....

.....better plan the next trip and flee!

 

[anat0l]

The thing I really enjoyed was seeing that a couple of your pics had dropped out-yeh,I'm not the only one.

Que?

(Unless you read both the FT and AFF reports......)

 

[QF WP]

Golly, you were busy after I posted yesterday anat0l...pages of the report have sprung up. That will take me a while to read.