Aussie Flyer

October 29, 2011 is going down in history in Australia as the day Qantas ceased flying, due to industrial action. I am still in a state of shock but for all who don't know Qantas mainline services worldwide are now grounded due to ongoing industrial disputes with 3 unions. The announcement was made by the CEO at 5pm eastern daylight savings time. For those flying QantasLink and Jetstar, your flights are not affected. It is an awful day for everyone involved and I hope it will be resolved as soon as possible. My thoughts go out to the employees and their families who will be affected, along with the passengers who are being disrupted.

I have reviewed UA840 a couple of years back, but with my Star Gold status renewal running a little short this year I directed a bit of business back in United's direction for a trans-pacific run. Here is a quick run down of the flight once more... pretty much the worst option for Trans Pacific flying, but also usually the cheapest!! N174UA parked in front of the new Cafe Vue at Melbourne International I was taking this trip in the Economy Plus section of the Boeing 747-400, which features 34 inch pitch compared to the 31 inches offered in economy. The first leg of the flight is the short hop from Melbourne to Sydney, and today it was being operated by Boeing 747-400 N174UA. This bird first flew in early 1990, making her 21 years old. The now old United livery on the 747-400 I was at the airport about 90 minutes before departure and the check-in desks were already pretty empty. Looks like a light load for the first sector, which seems pretty common. After visiting th...

I have reviewed this flight a couple of times before, and it probably is one of my most often flown routes but here is an update review of the economy class service on TG466, Melbourne to Bangkok. The flight is one of two daily flights between Melbourne and Bangkok operated by Thai Airways. The mid afternoon departure gives you a late evening arrival in Bangkok, great for onwards connections to Europe and ideal for those whose final destination is Bangkok as well. AIRLINE: Thai Airways International FLIGHT NUMBER: TG466 AIRCRAFT: Boeing 777-300 HS-TKB (12 years 8 months old) SCHEDULED TO DEPART: 15.00 ACTUAL DEPARTURE: 15.03 SCHEDULED TO ARRIVE: 21.30 ACTUAL ARRIVAL: 20.48 CLASS: Economy HS-TKB, my aircraft today has just this year had the most recent Thai livery applied after flying the first 12 years in the old scheme (Picture courtesy Alexander Watts/Airliners.net) I arrived at check-in at about 1pm, 2 hours ahead of departure time. Ch...

On a recent adventure I had the pleasure of spending some time in the Qantas First lounge at Melbourne along with a friend of mine. The lounge is quite a bit smaller than the one in Sydney but with that you get a much more personal service with everything being taken care of from the moment I arrived. The Departures Display The friendly waitress tended to my friend and I immediately upon being seated, taking drink orders and asking whether we would be having lunch today. We ordered Taittinger champagne and advised we would be eating a little later. The lounge area was very bright with a lot of sunshine flowing through the windows and we were even asked if we would prefer the blinds closed, which I didn't. Champagne The Menu  The menu was the winter menu with some changes compared to Sydney including an additional champagne choice: the Veuve A. Devauc blanc de noir. I sampled all 4 options! After a couple of pre-drinks we moved over to the Rockpool operated re...

As some of you may know, Singapore Airlines has recently undergone refurbishment of its Terminal 2 lounges at it's hub Singapore Changi. As a part of this refurbishment Star Alliance and Krisflyer Gold members now have their own Krisflyer Gold lounge in Terminal 2, much like the one in Terminal 3 which has existed for a couple of years now. Great news, right? Well........ NO! Let me explain.... at Changi, Singapore Airlines passengers flying economy class have not been entitled to use the business class lounges for as long as I have been a regular customer. Instead, in terminal 2 we were directed to the SATS Premier lounge which was used by various airlines and featured PRIVATE toilets and showers! Admittedly these showers are really showing their age these days but at least they were available. When terminal 3 opened, Star Gold passengers had a new Krisflyer Gold lounge to use but it lacks toilet and showers. Instead you have to use the public toilets and if you want a shower,...

VH-OJO in transit from London at Bangkok ---------------------------------------------- BANGKOK to SYDNEY AIRLINE: Qantas FLIGHT: QF2 AIRCRAFT: Boeing 747-400 (VH-OJO) 20 years old SCHEDULED TO DEPART: 18.00 ACTUAL DEPARTURE: 18.00 SCHEDULED TO ARRIVE: 06.05 ACTUAL ARRIVAL: 06.10 SEAT: 16J (Upper Deck Business Class) ---------------------------------------------- As part of my journey home from the Royal Wedding I flew Qantas from Bangkok to Sydney in business class. I was lucky to also have an emergency exit seat on the upper deck. The flight was ready to go at the scheduled departure time although we did hold at the gate for a while to ensure we would arrive after curfew time in Sydney the following morning. Welcome Champagne and Hot Towel View looking forward from my seat  The Boeing 747-400 business class seats are skybeds but they are angled and not completely lie flat like the newer version found on the Qantas A380's. They are comfortable never...