OK - here's my views on QF 151 Mel to Akl, departing 23:35, after one flight this week. In J, after a points upgrade came through. 5 J pax, 2 QF staff got onboard too and took 1a and 1c. (Were known to staff, offered the supper meal last etc). More on this later...
flight seemed a bit lightly loaded (maybe 80% Full). I was second last to board despite leaving the F lounge 2 minutes after boarding was called and walking 30 metres to gate 7. EF showed a large number of empty middle seats on the left rows. I had 2F and no seat block was placed (according to EF) but the seat next to me remained empty. We left 10 minutes early.
it was the usual high quality Jetconnect J service. I was very happy. I stayed awake throughout (having had bad red eye experiences where I slept for an hour before).
The hard product of course has limitations for a sleeper service, being the 737. But the soft product terrific, and far, far better than my J trans con red eyes. (Very limited experience though).
champagne, amenity kits offered up front. While the P1 team told me it would be a refreshment service only, it was effectively full dinner. Menu was named as supper. From memory it had:
Supper plates:
- cheese plate
- bowl of asparagus soup.
-prawn and soba noodle salad.
- roast lamb.
With dessert of cheese or ice cream. No mention of breakfast.
perhaps because it was a light J load, but William (the excellent J cabin attendant) gave me the soup as a starter, then I had the prawns. Both were good sized portions and tasty. Of course good drinks, coffee throughout. And for once the ice cream wasn't vanilla! So I had that and several almond biscuits for dessert. Then just as the cabin woke up, out came muffins and energiser juices.
We arrived 25 minutes early. Auckland Airport really quiet. Few immigration officers on duty (being J I got there quickly, but others would have had to queue. Made no difference as my priority bag came out in The last third of bags. Lots of customs officers on duty so that queue moved fast.
I have no idea what was offered in Y sorry. There was no announcement of "we are about to commence service" etc. there was no noise from behind so I suspect at most it was a cookie or something handed out. But I just do not know.
Service was very good in J as usual. The CSM was good, but really looked after the QF / Jetconnect staff. They each took maybe 3 amenity bags, plus two other bags of some stuff (I couldn't tell what). Plus he gave one a bottle of wine toward the end of the flight and told her to put it in her handbag.
i am all for looking after your staff, but this was a bit excessive. And while I don't know th staff travel rules that well, I still feel a letdown that high status pax don't get such good treatment (at least I never have) or get the spare J seats. But that's a whole other thread.
bottom line, I will happily fly this again.