#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 flying from Hong Kong to Brisbane on a school trip, transferring at Sydney, as arranged by the school. This trip report features the second leg of my journey as I fly from Sydney to Brisbane.
This trip is particularly special to me, as it's my first time visiting SYD, transferring to a connection flight, and first time taking a domestic flight in a foreign country.
Aircraft: VH-VYF (Boeing 737-800; "Evandale")
Age of aircraft as of flight: 18.2 years
Flight number: QF522
Scheduled flight time: 12:05 - 13:35 (+10) | 1h30m
Actual flight time: 12:27 - 13:29 (+10) | 1h02m
Seat: 29F (Economy)
After having deboarded from my last flight, QF128 (Hong Kong - Sydney), we went through immigration security and collected our baggage. Afterwards, we exited Terminal 1 (International Terminal) and walked a few minutes to the Qantas domestic transfer terminal.
We went through security checking and checked in our baggage. Then, we took a connecting bus which goes directly to gate 15 of Terminal 3, the Qantas domestic terminal. Some nice aircraft can be spotted along the way.
I managed to walk around and do some planespotting inside the terminal before boarding. Some exotic aircraft (e.g. the Boeing 717) can be spotted. The weather that day was wonderful.
We boarded from gate 7 at 11:55am, 10 minutes before scheduled takeoff time. Before boarding, the staff at the check-in counters requested some carry-on luggage to be sent to the cargo hold, as the flight is fully booked that day (Of course, we have 40+ students travelling together…) The counter staff demanded passengers to be efficient and yelled at passengers "Hurry up we need to leave on time!"
Boarding is done via both doors: the front door through the jet bridge, and the rear door through the stairs. Being seated at row 29, I was lucky to board from the ground so I could take a good glimpse of the aircraft I'm flying on.
The aircraft I'm flying on today is VH-VYF, a 18.2 year-old Boeing 737-800 named "Evandale" which was delivered back in June 2005. It features 12 Business seats in 2-2 configuration and 162 Economy seats in 3-3 configuration.
I could see the ground staff throwing our baggage onto the belt. One of the mates travelling with us had their baggage broken after this flight.
I don't have enough picture evidence for this flight here, so please scroll down to the "Snack Service" section for a snapshot.
My seat is 29F, the second last window seat on the right. The seat design is very simplistic, which only features a tray table and a seat pocket, containing a paper bag and a magazine. It's not any ordinary shopping guide or menu, but actually features crosswords, games, and destination information within.
The legroom is said to be 30 inches, which is quite fine for a short person like me (5'7"), ini which I find no particular discomfort. It's fine for a domestic flight.
The safety video (100 years version) is played on the overhead television screens, which are then immediately retracted upwards after the video finishes playing.
As I'm seated at the second last row, the horizontal stabilizer can be seen if I turn my head backwards enough.
We proceeded to taxi to the far end of runway 34R before taking off.
We took off from runway 34R before we ascended rapidly. Flaps are retracted within few minutes into climbing.
We turned sharply to the right. If you look close enough, parts of the apron can be seen.
A complimentary roast beef with Bavarian mustard sandwich is offered, alongside with a beverage. The picture shows a cup of apple juice. The sandwich is cold and tastes quite salty, but I think it's just to spice things up, and despite of that it's pretty tasty. Besides, the portions are quite nice, such that I found it filling after finishing the sandwich, as if I have eaten breakfast. Quite a nice job for this one-hour flight, a 9/10 for the snack.
As I say, what's happening outside of the window is the best in-flight entertainment. As we flew along the shoreline for the duration of the flight, even without the presence of IFE, I still enjoyed the flight by looking outside the window. Enjoy the view over the East coast of Australia!
Shortly after, the aircraft began its descend over Brisbane. The weather is slightly cloudy and humid there.
We then managed to land on runway 19L at 13:29, 6 minutes ahead of schedule, before taxiing to our gate.
We quickly deboarded after having arrived at the gate. As I'm seated at the second last row of the aircraft, I got to deboard through the staircase at the rear of the aircraft. Afterwards, we walked down the stairs of the terminal and got to the baggage claim area. The process is mostly quick and efficient.
This marks the end of this flight. Do stay tuned for the upcoming flight reports of my remaining trip, where I fly back to Hong Kong via Sydney.
Qantas is quite a nice option when travelling domestic in Australia.
The snack provided is more like a real breakfast, with nice portioning. The view outside of the window is stunning, and the magazine keeps passengers entertained. The flight procedures are done quite efficiently.
Nothing much to complain for a 1-hour flight. Well-done, Qantas!
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