BNE-CBR in refurb QF 717 in whY

[chooms]

Brisbane - Canberra
QF1545 Boeing 717
Seat selected: 4F
Actual seat: 4A

Thought I would post some pics of the refurbished Qantaslink 717's that are now operating certain flights BNE, SYD, MEL to CBR.

Scheduled departure: 0835
Actual departure: 0845 (wheels up at 0857)

Took the risk of trying out the bulkhead in the refurbed 717 as a test run to see what the leg room was like.

Well, in all honesty, I didn't think it was too bad. Whilst you couldn't stretch your legs out, I found the extra space of not having a seat in front you far outweighs the no stretch-room issue.

iPad minis are OK. J gets full-size iPads. It is not gate-to-gate IFE. Just like with the 767's, you have to wait to use and the iPads are kept in the seat pocket.

Below are some pics. Interesting to note, whilst it looks as though the Y seats are leather in the promo pics, they are actually cloth.

Anyway, it was a standard public service/rentseeking run with a full J and pretty full Y. No WP shadow.

Row 4 looking towards 4DEF
The bulkheads also serve as closets for jackets strictly coming from the J cabin.


Legroom shot

 

[chooms]

Row 4A & B iPad mini hangers
(I left my damn headphones on the kitchen bench, lucky the cabin is pretty quiet up front)



With the iPad mini securely in place

 

[chooms]

Food offering
Bland muesli cookie. Sugar hit with the ginger beer.

 

[moa999]

Good to see the front rows get ipad hangers. Don't think they exist on the 767s.
Pity about the shift to minis - albeit better resolution (apart from the very latest ipad air)

 

[serfty]

Thanks for posting - certainly look ok for shortish flights.

Re the feet shot ([SUP] TM[/SUP]Keith009 ) - how tall are you?

 

[eastwest101]

Also from the photos it looks like maybe left had seat pair 4AB have slightly more leg room than the right hand side triple 4DEF? When you look at the placement of the cupboard separating J class from first row of Y seating, or is it just an optical illusion of the photo that chooms took.

Good photos anyway and those Y seats look better (and are quieter) than the seats right down the back. They look OK for short stuff like CBR-SYD and CBR-MEL but BNE-CBR/ Are you about 6' 0" tall chooms ?

 

[Ewing]

Wow, that leg room looks really very restrictive. I might need to start choosing the exit row on those flights.

 

[chooms]

...how tall are you?

Are you about 6' 0" tall chooms ?

Yeah about 6' 0".

Also from the photos it looks like maybe left had seat pair 4AB have slightly more leg room than the right hand side triple 4DEF? When you look at the placement of the cupboard separating J class from first row of Y seating, or is it just an optical illusion of the photo that chooms took.

Optical illusion. The bulkheads were level with one-another.

 

[Justinf]

Thanks for posting.
I really hate the 717.

 

[mannej]

Thanks for posting.
I really hate the 717.

They are nicer than the older 738's...

I detest any aircraft that is 3-3 seating. At least the 717's give you 2-3.

 

[Kendall Roy]

Thanks for posting.
I really hate the 717.

I'd prefer a 734 with large cabin and in-seat audio.

No headphones can be worn on the 717 until seatbelts off!

 

[wxxnxs]

Your user ID is unique.

 

[sail0r]

Thanks, just selected 1D based on your photos for my flight tomorrow. (this is a single class 717 on the BNE-MKY run)
(just adding my DG declaration for my inflatable lifejacket as we speak)

 

[TomVexille]

Thanks for sharing. The lack of stretch room doesn't appeal much to me. I like having space for my feet to go into.

 

[froggerADL]

I had 4F last week (after the FA evicted the squatter). I'm 6' 1" and found the legroom quite restrictive even on a 35 minute CBR-SYD flight. I think I'd go row 5 next time.

 

[chooms]

Here's the legroom from 5F.

I find that when booking seat xD or xF, almost most of the time xE will be blocked, particularly for the first few rows of the aircraft (unless people are getting heaps of WP shadows).

Those sitting in seats xA & xC still seem to get neighbouring travellers.

So, if you are keen for a bit of space for elbow-room or needing some room for paperwork, take either the window or aisle on the side with three seats.

 

[Standby]

I did a trip to Hervey Bay on the "new" 2 cabin 717s last weekend. Very briefly I found the ecy seat had more useable legroom than a 737( I'm 185cms),first time my knees werent in the back of the seat in front.
On the way back I could prebook 2C. ECY service with J seat. Significantly more legroom than J on dom narrowbodies. The seat was a bit firm but comfortable, the ipads worked(watched 1/2 a movie heading north and the rest on the way back).The aircraft certainly got a great refurb job. The windows looked like they were brand new,ie no crazing as on older aircraft.Qantaslink service as usual was relaxed and friendly.
The acceleration of the 717 on takeoff roll with a definite sence you are being "pushed" by the rear mounted engines is something I'm glad to experience again.