Review of Qantas flight from Melbourne to Brisbane in Economy

Please read the previous review if you haven't to know what is going on!

Introduction

It was my first time ever in my life on a domestic flight, a narrowbody, a 737 and my first time getting to use wifi on an airplane, so I didn't know what to expect. Thus, I was quite looking forward to this flight as well.

Check-in

After (finally) getting out of security, we ran to the Qantas Terminal (T1) at MEL to check-in our bags for the domestic flight. Easier said than done again, as the queues were pretty long and there were only 2 counters catered for our group.

Airport experience + Planespotting

After that though, it was time for chilling and I took a look at the busy domestic departures/arrivals schedule, realising that our plane only has a 30 minute turn around time (it came as QF613). I already knew that there would be a pretty bad delay judging from that.

The terminal was very dated and had limited shops, but it didn't stop me from doing more planespotting. VH-EBV that carried me from Melbourne in sight, as well as an EK A388!

First time seeing an E190, from an all new airline!

A new face I see…they stopped flying to Hong Kong 3 years ago and long haul altogether shortly afterwards :/

First time seeing a dash 8 as well! 

717 from Qantaslink!

There goes the Alliance E190!

Boarding + cabin

Boarding began at 12:10, only 10 minutes before departure as the aircraft was late. I suspect that they didn't even clean the aircraft due to limited time.
Even though I've heard that Qantas boards from 2 doors, the back door was not in use today and we all boarded from the front. 

VH-VZJ, a 2011-built 737, will be taking us to Brisbane this afternoon. This cabin has the new cabin, featuring personal TVs in Economy class.

The same seat on the A330-200s and the same PTV, which is definitely sufficient for a 2-hour domestic flight.

Window view! (Thanks to my friend sitting in 22F for these nice shots!)

The same magazine is in the seatback pocket, as well as a safety card.

The safety video was screened at around 12:40 and we pushed back. Still love the Qantas safety video (shame on you Cathay!)

In-flight entertainment

The in-flight entertainment selection is about the same as my previous flight, but all 737s are fitted with free wifi for streaming/browsing capabilities. As such, most episodes of TV shows are actually available via Q streaming instead of the screen.\
Here's a shot of the wifi page (thanks to my other friend this time!) 

Once you hit "connect", there's a 30-second ad and off you go with free browsing! This service is available from gate-to-gate and speeds are quite respectable (enough for watching instagram reels!). Note that calls are blocked. I tried whatsapp calls, instagram and discord calls and found that they're all blocked by the service, so no luck over there!

For the screen, it's still as laggy as the ones on the A330-200s, so I just stuck with the moving map.

Takeoff

We taxied to the runway. It was a busy day in Melbourne and with only 1 active runway, we waited around 20 minutes. The captain also came onto the PA while we were waiting on the taxiway, which was something weird to me (I'm used to PAs before departure, but that was probably due to the limited time before departure). The captain told us that we would make up time due to strong headwinds.
Rex's Saab 340! My first time seeing one of these in real life!

We finally took off at 13:00, with FULL THROTTLE!

This is where it gets interesting - the captain did NOT reduce thrust after taking off and we climbed at a rather steep angle. The seatbelt sign was kept on until 33000 feet (I guess he was trying to make up time!). 

Overflying the deserts!

Food and drink

Food was kept pretty basic. There was only 1 option (though I overheard that there's a vegetarian option available) - a peri peri chicken sandwich. I went with orange juice this time since they ran out of apple juice.

The sandwich was cold though quite tasty. Coming from Asia though, I definitely had higher expectations than this (though it's just that short-haul meals are a lot more superior in Asia). I've seen hot meals being served on 2-hour domestic flights pre-covid on Qantas, so I did expect a bit more during lunchtime. Not to complain though, I still think this is quite a decent meal when you compare this to Europe and North America.

Service

Our 737 was very full and the crew were trying to get everything done as quick as possible. They were friendly and professional, but nothing too memorable to me. The "playfulness" and Australian humour of the crew is definitely missing compared to the long haul flight, but it's just 2 hours again and that didn't bother me too much.

Landing

Well, guess what, the captain's plan to make up time failed due to traffic at BNE, prompting us to go into a holding pattern before we were permitted to land.
Overflying Gold Coast! Wish I could visit such a beautiful area next time :/

On final!

Then I proceeded to have the WORST landing in my entire life! It was probably due to the limited time and the pilots were rushing, but that landing was so bad that it tossed me up from my seat. 

Disembarking from the rear this time! What a nice apron and aircraft view! Thanks to VH-VZJ, and all the crew working on QF616 once again!

Into the Domestic Terminal at BNE. It looked basic but felt better than the terminal at MEL.