#32 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
176 reviews
Hello everyone, welcome back to another flight report!
I was on a school trip to Queensland. Due to booking arrangements, I would take a flight from Hong Kong, transferring at Sydney, eventually reaching Brisbane. This trip report features the first leg of my trip, where I fly from Hong Kong to Sydney Terminal 1.
This flight is especially important to me as it is the first long-haul I have ever been on, as well as my first Qantas flight and my first time being in Oceania.
Aircraft: VH-EBM (Airbus A330-202; "Tamar Valley")
Age of aircraft as of flight: 14 years
Flight number: QF128
Scheduled flight time: 19:30 (+8) - 06:55 (+10) | 9h25m
Actual flight time: 20:04 (+8) - 06:57 (+10) | 8h53m
Seat: 49E (Economy)
The tickets are booked by our school, so we didn't really have a choice on which airline, flight, or seat to be on. Below are some alternative options that the school has used on other travelling groups (since we're split up into several):
1. Qantas QF128 Hong Kong - Sydney → QF522 Sydney - Brisbane
QF501 Brisbane - Sydney → QF127 Sydney - Hong Kong (My group)
2. Qantas QF30 Hong Kong - Melbourne → QF616 Melbourne - Brisbane
QF501 Brisbane - Sydney → QF127 Sydney - Hong Kong
3. Singapore Airlines SQ895 Hong Kong - Singapore → SQ255 Singapore - Brisbane
SQ256 Brisbane - Singapore → SQ898 Singapore - Hong Kong
This flight allows me to bring 30kg of checked luggage. I had to collect the bags at SYD for transfer.
QF128 is operated by Airbus A330s in Summer season (Northern hemisphere) and Airbus A380s in Winter season, and hence the aircraft type I'm flying on today.
Since this is a school trip, around 40 students are travelling on this flight, and we contribute to most of the crowd at the check-in counters. Despite of that, the check-in procedure is done smoothly and efficiently. Special lines are assigned to Business class travelers.
After going through security, I went to the Mcdonald's next to gate 11 for some pre-flight ice cream. It's a really nice spot for plane spotting while grabbing a snack before your flight! Prices might be slightly higher though (of course, we're in an airport)
I then arrived at gate 34, which can be accessed by some walking. But since the McDonald's ice cream took a long time, and that this is a school trip, I had to run across half the terminal building within 3 minutes, so please reserve sufficient time.
It was sunset so the views were gorgeous from the terminal. As seen from the picture, some passengers are waiting at the sitting area.
Boarding started at around 7pm, that is, 30 minutes before our scheduled departure time. Here is a partial picture of the aircraft down the jetbridge.
The aircraft I am flying on today is VH-EBM, an Airbus A330-202 nicknamed "Tamar Valley", which was delivered to Qantas in November 2009, making it around 14 years old of age at the time of flight. The aircraft features 27 business seats in 1-2-1 configuration and 224 economy seats in 2-4-2 configuration.
My seat is 49E, a middle seat in the rear cabin ,between doors 3 and 4. The seat features a touch-screen entertainment system. There is also a USB charging port available for use. A simple unfoldable tray table is featured. And finally beneath it is a seat pocket containing a safety card and an in-flight magazine.
The seat pitch is said to be 32 inches, which is quite comfortable and sufficient for me (5'7"). The picture does not reflect the true dimensions of the seat, as at the moment this picture was being taken, I didn't know it would eventually appear on a flight report somehow.
The seat also reclines backwards, and features an adjustable headrest which is quite comfortable in my opinion. The headphone port is located on the armrest. As for amenities, a headphone, pillow, and blanket is provided.
I think the seat design of the aircraft is pretty nice. Despite the old age of the aircraft, the cabin and seats have been refurbished in 2019 and hence it is quite new.
The safety video is then played. It was still the 100 years anniversary version at the time of the flight, which is one of the best safety videos I've ever seen!
Since I didn't pick the seats myself (either my school or Qantas did…), I was allocated to sit in a middle seat, though I would really like a window seat. This is a picture of me trying to get some outside view by zooming at the window, where I was desperate and envious for other passengers who get a window seat…
No takeoff photos this time. The aircraft taxied to runway 07R before taking off and turning right. According to website data, the takeoff time was 34 minutes prior scheduled time. I had absolutely no idea what was going on outside the pitch-black window, but 30 seconds into climbing after takeoff I felt a rapid descend, nose being pushed down, and the sound of air resistance/ vibration just suddenly stopped. Anyone please tell me what happened?
40 minutes after takeoff, a pack of cashews and pretzel mix is served as a pre-meal snack. A bottle of COOL water, which is a Hong Kong brand, is served too.
The main course is served 20 minutes afterwards, separately. Two options are provided, with one being oriental and the other one Western (Chosen option). As I say, when a non-Asian carrier provides a Chinese option and another option, ALWAYS CHOOSE THE OTHER OPTION, which is something I have done today, and it leaves me with no regrets.
The Western option is chicken with mashed potatoes, which is served with broccoli. A bread roll and beverage is provided as well. This picture shows a cup of apple juice.
The meal is quite nice and average in my opinion. It's something you would at least expect on a good day. Nothing to criticize about.
First off, the pretzels and nuts mix. It tastes salty and sour, which is a nice combination to get my appetite going on a flight.
Secondly, the main dish. Might not have the best looks, but everything tastes all right. The portions might look a bit small but I didn't feel extremely hungry after the meal. The only thing I think Qantas can do better is the addition of some side dishes, but I'm thankful for what I'm having that day.
And here comes the surprise, DESSERT TIME!!!
I actually thought that dinner service was over after the main course. To my surprise, Qantas provide a mango sago flavoured ice-lolly as a dessert, which is something I totally wouldn't expect. It is produced and packaged by a local Hong Kong brand, which is obvious from the package with Chinese written all over it. I personally enjoyed local elements like this when having in-flight food. Qantas did a pretty nice job for this, so a 7.5/10 for the catering.
Touch screens are featured on the back of the seats, which are not too responsive. There is a very limited choice of games and entertainment. The moving map is not interactive at all, as it always zooms out far away, and I was unable to see the geographic details. Also, at the last 3-4 hours of flight, the entertainment screen turned off for no reason, which I could not turn on again. Qantas might need to improve their IFE systems to provide a better experience.
I attempted to get some sleep after the meal, as it's getting pretty late. The cabin lights were dimmed. It was significantly difficult to sleep for a long period of time because the air was too dry. Each time I could only sleep for around an hour, before being waken up by my dry and burning throat. After some hydration, I would repeat this process. I had some 2-3 hours of terrible sleep that night in total. Thankfully the seat is quite comfortable which makes this experience less terrible.
Then just before breakfast, the sun began to rise. The sunshine can be seen from the horizon. I asked a friend of mine who got a window seat to take a few pictures for me. Make sure you choose a window seat for Australian flights, you will not regret it.
I took a visit to the toilet. To my surprise, disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste are being offered, which is a very considerate thing to do. In addition, the bathroom is regularly cleaned by the cabin crew per 3-5 passengers, so the hygiene is outstanding. Appreciate it!
The second breakfast is served 2 hours before landing. It is a full breakfast, consisting of eggs, bacon, has browns, baked beans, and 1 cherry tomato. A raisin scone is served alongside. As for the beverage, they provide the usual: juice, tea, or coffee. The picture shows a cup of tea with milk.
Again, the meal is quite nice and average, nothing particularly outstanding nor horrible. Everything tastes all right and has the right portions. I personally quite like the bacon which feels meaty. But the hash browns feel all soggy after being reheated, therefore I think airlines should serve something else as a replacement. A 8/10 for this meal.
I also think the cup of tea with milk is utterly disgusting (Shouldn't have added the milk!!!) I should never commit such a terrible mistake ever again, whether being on air or on the ground.
Again, I'm not seated at the middle seat, and with the terrible IFE system, I have no idea where I was. The only thing I remember is seeing the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House from the windows on the right before coming in for approach.
Eventually we touched down at runway 34R at 06:57, 2 minutes behind scheduled arrival time, before taxiing to gate 31 at Terminal 1 (International). Since I'm travelling with my school and we had one more flight to catch, and I was in serious fatigue due to the lack of sleep, I didn't have much time to take pictures after landing.
We proceeded to the immigrations counters, which was highly crowded. It took a long time getting through the long queues, as I believe it was during the morning rush hours. Afterwards, we proceeded to the baggage claim hall. Travelers are required to declare any prohibited goods, which is quite strict, and includes a lot of food products, so it is advised that travelers should check the regulations before travelling to Australia. Some of my schoolmates spent some long time at security just to declare their prohibited peanut items.
Afterwards, we walked to the Qantas domestic transfer terminal to catch our next flight, QF522 (Sydney - Brisbane). At the transfer terminal, we went through security (again…) and processed our baggage (again…) Then, we all took the connecting bus, which goes to gate 15 of Terminal 3. Please do note that the bus is quite slow and some waiting is required. More on that on my next trip report.
Another thing to note is that the free airport Wi-Fi at SYD is highly unreliable, as I was unable to connect to the internet regardless I'm at the international terminal or the domestic terminal.
That's all for the first leg of my Australian journey! Please stay tuned for the next flight report, where I'll fly domestic from Sydney to Brisbane on QF522. Thanks for reading!
Qantas is quite a nice airline to fly on long-haul routes.
The cabin and seats are quite comfortable, with some nice legroom. The catering is pretty average to nice, but the portions might be a bit little for some passengers. The cabin crew are generally friendly.
However, the entertainment system might not function properly, and it offers quite a narrow range of selection too. The cabin air is very dry as well. But if those are not your major concerns, I would definitely recommend flying long-haul on Qantas, which gave me quite a pleasant experience.
Please note that immigration procedures may be time-consuming at Sydney Airport for foreign visitors, and I was unable to access the internet through the free Wi-Fi at SYD.
Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 12 avis concernant 4 compagnies sur la ligne Hong Kong (HKG) → Sydney (SYD).
La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Singapore Airlines avec 8.7/10.
La durée moyenne des vols est de 9 heures et 11 minutes.
More information
8 Comments
Thanks for sharing!
True, but it’s Cathay with less than 7 flights per week and shockingly high ticket prices (I think doubled?) but I’m ok with it as I enjoy flying on Qantas domestic too!
Not too sure about that, because I saw the aircraft being reconfigured back in 2019 from planespotters.net. But anyway the aircraft is kind of aged and will be replaced by Boeing 787s in the foreseeable future. Overall an enjoyable flight experience!
I’ll post a report where I fly back to Hong Kong with the newer seat product, so stay tuned!
Probably all that ice cream you ate before boarding ^^ The stripped down meal services that only have an entree definitely look lighter than competitors, but at least QF catering has a good reputation for quality. I thought they usually serve focaccia instead of rolls, but maybe that is only ex-Australia.
Likely just the pilots making a more drastic change in the pitch to reduce the rate of climb.
Haha I’m not sure… it might be somewhat related but that’s 3 hours in between lol! Also it would indeed be more appreciated if they offer more side dishes alike their competitors (cough Cathay)
Please refer to my upcoming flight report where I fly out of Australia hehe (spoiler alert: they really do offer focaccia and they’re super delicious)
Sure. It feels like being on a roller coaster, and it’s a bit frightening because I’m stuck in a middle seat and can’t look through the window!
Login to post a comment.