Retro Roo One J BNE to SYD

[PaulST]

I was up in Brisbane recently and thought I’d apply for a points upgrade on my return flight in the hope of getting a newer 737 with the red leather seats (which I’m yet to try.)
I was following Expert Flyer and was quite annoyed to see the day beforehand that I’d gone from a refurbished 738 to an older one (with only 29 rows in Y). Anyway, I was still hoping for the new Sky interior…

Upon arriving at the airport I noticed that Retro Roo (the first one) was there and I was keen for a closer look. And the news was even better as he was sitting at my departure gate!

Anyway, I went off to check out the lounge. In retrospect, I’m not actually sure if I went to the business lounge or just the standard Qantas club (assuming there’s a difference in BNE). It was fine anyway, although I thought a bit light on the alcohol side of things. Still, I was driving in a few hours so stuck with coffee (saving room for one wine on the flight).

As I’ve heard so many of you complain about before (although I’ve never seen it myself), the boarding gate was a dogs breakfast. The Y boarding queue was shorter so I jumped onto that. We were greeting on board by the CSM who was great throughout the flight. We were given a welcoming water or juice (no sparkling??) and head off down south.
The seats feel great and are a huge improvement over the older cloth ones.
The CSM came and took my order first since I was in row 3 and said that often the pax in the third row get neglected on such a short flight so she’d get mine cooking whilst serving everyone else. Having said that, I had to scoff down the food in time to land.
The salami and cheese toasty tasted great although it didn’t look great! Desert was average, though. It seemed too dry and I was already dehydrated from drinking coffee and wine all day. I must admit that whenever I fly QF J the meals are average looking – even long-haul.
The staff were otherwise friendly and found it amusing that I was filming everything. I’m a bit apprehensive using my camera as I don’t want to make them feel uncomfortable but that doesn’t seem to have been an issue (yet).

The flight was smooth and the view great!

We arrived in SYD on schedule and deplaned within minutes.

I’m off to try the new QF and VA business suite next week so keep your eyes peeled for that soon.

[video=youtube;st123rTqwWY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st123rTqwWY[/video]

 

[kermatu]

As per usual, another really nice video!

Just on a few of your points: the welcome drink for J is never alcoholic on domestic QF flights. Even on the trans-continental, which I found a bit surprising given they are often marketed as being international quality (food and beverage). But were you hoping for sparkling because it was around Christmas?

You were definitely in the regular Brisbane lounge. But it isn't that different from the J lounge (which I really like) and often quieter actually.

Interesting that your meal order was taken early. Were there QF staff travelling in the other seats? (They will usually be served last if so). I presume this was a 'refreshment' flight, and not lunch?

I love your time lapse take-offs and landings!

 

[PaulST]

Thanks mate.

I didn't realise that policy re: etoh. I just expected that every J service after lunch time would offer sparkling. I agree that it's weird not to offer bubbly on an trans-Aus flight.

Ops. Where's the entrance to the J lounge?

It was marketed as "lunch" and I didn't see any QF staff.

 

[mannej]

I don't quite get the disappointment of going from 12J162Y to 12J156Y?

 

[kermatu]

At the desk turn right for the J lounge, left for regular. It's the same entrance and desk. Staff should have guided you right if they were paying attention.

 

[PaulST]

At the desk turn right for the J lounge, left for regular. It's the same entrance and desk. Staff should have guided you right if they were paying attention.

I'll know for next time!

 

[kermatu]

There isn't a huge difference between regular and J lounge. Slightly better food and drink, but pretty marginal. The staff in the J lounge in Brisbane (and all other Dom J lounges actually) are fantastic. Will often bring around food and special drinks to customers at their seats. Happy to do refills etc. Not sure if that happens much in the regular lounges. The Brisbane and Melbourne J lounges are too small for the number of status passengers, so can get very crowded at peak times and there isn't much space between seats/zones. Hence the regular lounges can sometimes be better.

Looking forward to your next video!

 

[PaulST]

There isn't a huge difference between regular and J lounge. Slightly better food and drink, but pretty marginal. The staff in the J lounge in Brisbane (and all other Dom J lounges actually) are fantastic. Will often bring around food and special drinks to customers at their seats. Happy to do refills etc. Not sure if that happens much in the regular lounges. The Brisbane and Melbourne J lounges are too small for the number of status passengers, so can get very crowded at peak times and there isn't much space between seats/zones. Hence the regular lounges can sometimes be better.

Looking forward to your next video!

Riteo, I'll have to check it out next time.

LAN 789 J, QF A332 J suite (hopefully) and VA A332 J suite coming up in the next week.

 

[kermatu]

Riteo, I'll have to check it out next time.

LAN 789 J, QF A332 J suite (hopefully) and VA A332 J suite coming up in the next week.

Excellent! I'm a fan of the QF and VA J suites for short haul flights - QFs is a let-down for the longer haul flights in my opinion. Am likely to be travelling to South America a bit in the next couple of years, so will be very interested in your LAN review.

Safe travels.