Review of Qantas flight from Brisbane to Sydney in Economy

Introduction

After 24 days in the wilderness of Australia, it was time to return to civilisation, and of course, home.

Airport experience

We arrived at the domestic terminal at BNE a quarter before 4, ahead of the opening time of the counters at 4. It was my first time being at the airport so early!

Check-in and security were quick at such an ungodly hour and we proceeded airside. A busy day for BNE!

Lots of Qantas 737s parked, ready for the new day.

After some last-minute souvenirs, I proceeded to join the group again as we boarded QF501, the first flight to Sydney of the day.

Boarding

Sitting in the back-half of the plane, we boarded from the apron. An avgeek's dream to be able to have such a close look on our 737, made better with the sunrise!

Another 737 parked next to us, both of which are still in the old livery.

The amazing sunrise, which also happens to be my last one in Queensland.

Boarding VH-XZF, a 10.3 year old Boeing 737-800, in the same configuration as my outbound domestic flight.

Cabin

This particular unit features the "Boeing Sky Interior", which has some fancy mood lighting installed on the higher-than-normal ceiling. Feels refreshing!

The sun still hasn't fully risen yet. Planes painted in the old Qantas livery have white wingtips (on the inside), while ones with the "New Roo" livery have the Qantas logo painted. (Stay tuned for my upcoming review for that!)

I won't go into the details of the seat & in-flight entertainment since it has been covered in my previous review. I'm pleased to report that the wifi & IFE worked perfectly, as opposed to this worn out safety card.

Departure

By 06:10, all doors were closed and we pushed back. The safety video was screened and the FA began their manual demonstrations too. Have I ever mentioned how much I like the manual demos on Qantas? It feels like watching a well-choreographed dance! 

As always, paying respects to the indigenous people is highly valued in Australia.

Lights were dimmed for departure.

Food and drink

A hot (!!) quiche lorraine was served on this flight, as well as a drink of your choice. I went with a black tea. 

The hot snack was tasty, albeit a little too salty for my liking. I appreciated how it had lots of fillings though. Kudos to my friend for this pic!

Soon after the meal service, it was time for landing. BNE-SYD is really a short flight!

Service

The cabin crew on this flight were friendly and efficient, though nothing beyond that. It's a short flight anyways and the main focus is getting the job done.

Landing & Disembarkment

We descended into SYD and pulled into the gate at exactly 07:35.

Can't miss a cockpit visit though! I did not expect this 737 to have such large & crisp screens. Apart from chatting with the pilots, I also took a selfie with them. Thanks to the pilots of QF501 for the hospitaility!

A Qantaslink dash 8 as I left the domestic terminal on a shuttle bus. (Photos to be included in my upcoming review!)