Aussie Flyer

Having recently arrived from Sydney  I found myself in the wonderful surrounds of the Thai Airways First Class lounge at Bangkok's Survanabhumi airport. One of the ground services available to First Class passengers is the spa facility. On this occasion I decided not to have the full body massage and instead I had a 30 minute foot massage which was very enjoyable. Once that was over I headed back to the lounge for some food and beverage: Cocktail in the lounge

Well we've known the B767 days were numbered in the Qantas fleet for quite some time now, but since Alan Joyce fast-tracked his turnaround plan for the airline, the day came somewhat earlier than many had hoped. December 27, 2014 was the final day of Boeing 767 passenger operations for Qantas, and indeed it would be the final flight of a Boeing 767 with passengers in Australian domestic service period.  The Boeing 767-200 and Boeing 767-300 have been an integral part of the aviation scene in Australia since about 1983 (with Ansett) and for many it was the preferred method of travel between the east coast capitals for decades. The type has been in service with Qantas for 29 years and was it's first twin engine aircraft. So it was with some sadness that I booked my seat on flight QF767 from Melbourne to Sydney to farewell what I think has been a very significant part of Australian airline history. Here is how I experienced the day....

In case you are not subscribed to my YouTube channel, here are the videos associated with part 1 and 2 of this latest series of reports: And for a sneak peak at Part 3, here is the video of the flight Bangkok to Tokyo Haneda: Enjoy!

After arriving from Melbourne on QF400 I collected my luggage (Qantas won't interline to non alliance partners on separate tickets anymore), and took the train between terminals. They charge $5.70 for this 2 minute journey, which other airports in the world charge to transfer between terminals I wonder? Qantas does offer an inter-terminal transfer but I couldn't use this as it is airside and I had to go landside to get my luggage. Fortunately the luggage didn't take too long and I was over at the Thai check-in counters by 8am. Here are the details of todays flight: FLIGHT TG476 AIRLINE Thai Airways  International ROUTE Sydney to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi GATE DEPARTURE 10.00 (Scheduled) / 10.02 (Actual) GATE ARRIVAL 15.25 (Scheduled) / 15.44 (Actual) FLIGHT TIME 9 hours 12 minutes airborne AIRCRAFT Boeing 747-400 HS-TGO Check-in for Royal First, Royal Silk and Economy ...

Last month I decided I needed to satisfy my cravings to fly again so I planned and booked a very hectic 6 day trip from Melbourne including stops in Bangkok, Tokyo, Osaka and Hong Kong. This is my report of the flights I took on this trip. They include Qantas business class, Thai Airways first and business Class, Japan Airlines economy class, and EVA Air business class, including a Hello Kitty flight. This post is about the first part of my trip, the short hop between Melbourne and Sydney to connect up with Thai's 10am service to Bangkok. I have  done this a couple of times before and I always choose the QF400, 6am service.  It is almost always on time and leaves a nice 2 hour 30 min transit time in Sydney. The only downside is just how early in the morning it is. Since I was flying onwards in First Class from Sydney, it seemed only natural to fork out a few extra points and fly in business class on the first leg. Here is the review of this short flight: FLIGHT ...

Earlier this year Air New Zealand announced the retirement of it' Boeing 747-400 fleet. As part of the farewell celebrations they scheduled a one off Auckland-Sydney-Auckland service, and as a fan of the Jumbo Jet, I booked a ticket. Sadly about a week before the flight the airline cancelled the service with no explanation. It was quite disappointing. However, the replacement aircraft was the brand new B787-9 and that would be a new type for me so I decided to go ahead and fly anyway. I managed to snag a seat in the Premium Economy cabin for a small surcharge, but please be aware that whilst I had a premium economy seat, ANZ do not offer a premium economy service on Trans-Tasman flights. So the soft product that you will see on this review is identical to the basic 'Seat Only' economy class service. FLIGHT NZ104 AIRLINE Air New Zealand ROUTE Sydney to Auckland DEPARTURE 12:30 (Scheduled) / 12:28 ...

The Saab 340 has been on the Australian aviation scene for about 30 years, and it is still going strong. In fact we are home to the world's largest operator of the type, Regional Express, or simply 'Rex'. Rex was created after the collapse of Ansett Australia and is the amalgamation of the former regional airlines 'Hazelton' and  'Kendell'. They fly a fleet of almost 50 of these Saab's to many regional destinations throughout the country. Today I would be flying on the morning service between Melbourne and the NSW regional city of Wagga Wagga. FLIGHT ZL3258 AIRLINE Regional Express ‘Rex’ ROUTE Melbourne to Wagga Wagga DEPARTURE Schedule 0900 / Actual 0930 ARRIVAL Schedule 1000 / Actual 1030 FLIGHT TIME 45 minutes airborne AIRCRAFT Saab 340B VH-EKH  (Age 19 years)