Qantas Airways :Boeing 737-800 Economy Review

For the long weekend, I decided to jet off to Sydney. I chose to fly with Qantas, of whom I had just joined their frequent flyer programme with. I picked an early morning 6:30am flight on Friday, the 19th of April out of Melbourne, as it was cheaper and also gave me the whole day to explore Sydney. The 6:30am flight operated by QF404, that day operated by the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Credit to my mum taking a photo of my plane pushing back for departure to Sydney from Terminal 2 .

My aircraft was registered VH-XZE and named "Pine Creek"

Boarding and closing doors for departure was very quick, which I was very happy about, departing off Runway 27 , the East West Runway. I had window seat 23A, as the window seat is my preference. Economy is in a 3-3 configuration. There were less people towards the back of the plane which was another plus. The seats were nice quilt stitched ones, reasonable for a short flight of just 1 hour, landing on Mode 13, the East West Runway.

Why I choose the window seat.

Because I was on an very early morning flight, breakfast was served. I enjoyed my meal though basic was satisfactory consisting of Evia Greek Yogurt and Blueberry Crunch with packaged apples and fruit and coconut ball. My only gripe really was that my wifi wasn't working onboard the wifi equipped aircraft, of which is almost a complete certainty hopping onboard a Qantas Boeing 737-800. The entertainment features all the latest movies, TV shows and music, which is great , even if you don't need to watch anything on a short haul flight.

Economy breakfast onboard QF404

Airshow map showing our route flown

Overall, I had a pleasant , smooth and brief flight, despite the wifi not working.

Rating 3/5.

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Qantas Airways: Airbus A330 -300 Economy Review

Hello Hello! Sorry for my absence, I have been busy with studies and work, but I have a new post!.

After a wonderful weekend of sightseeing, it was time to go home. I flew with Qantas once again, and chose to book the flight QF409, operated by the Airbus A330 on that date, the 22nd of April, which also services between Melbourne-Sydney, along with the workhorse Boeing 737-800. After a delay due to the aircraft being late from maintenance and the standard traffic congestion of Sydney, boarding began at 5 past 8 in the morning. Having just joined the Qantas Frequent Flyer programme, I earned another 800 points, 800 on the way up and 800 on this flight totalling 1600.

Exterior shot of my plane after disembarking. Qantas A330-303 VH-QPI named "Cairns"at Melbourne Airport Qantas Terminal 1

My aircraft was an Airbus A330-300, registered VH-QPI and named “Cairns”. This particular A330, is In the new Silver Roo livery , and also spots the updated interior. I was seated in 39K, a window seat of course :P, right on the starboard wing. There wasn’t any wifi, but I didn’t mind as it was only a 1 hour flight. Apart from the fact I had only one seat next to me, I like the fact there was no seats behind me, with curtains dividing the my section and rows of seats behind .Economy is in 2-3-2 configuration. The red seats look sleek and contemporary. We took off 16L, the parallel North South Runway.

My seat 39K, a window seat.

The TV screens were of decent size, with a good selection of movies. This is because the A330s are primarily designed for international service, save the cross country services to Perth, and selected services from Sydney to Melbourne. Breakfast was served, with a delicious toasted bacon and egg sandwich which I woofed down. It is not filling , but ok for such a short flight. Beverages were also served including coffee, tea and orange juice.

Shortly after take off from Sydney Kingsford Smith off Runway 16L, the parallel North South runway.

I started watching the “Day After Tomorrow” but by the time I started getting into the movie, it was time to descent, landing on Runway 27, the East West Runway. The flight was quick and also very smooth.

Rating: 3.5/5

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Qantas Airways: Airbus A380-800 Economy Review

After an incredible trip abroad in Vietnam and Singapore, it was time for Qantas to take me home back to Melbourne(MEL/YMML)from Singapore Changi Airport (SIN/WSSS). My flight number QF36 was operated by the Airbus A380-842 aircraft which made me extremely excited, as the A380 offers a smoother and quiet ride, not to mention a rarity as it is the pretty much the sole latest aircraft to have four engines, as many airlines are retiring or have retired the Boeing 747-400 ER and Airbus A340 . Only a handful of airlines (not in Australia) operate the new Boeing 747-8i . The name of my plane was Hudson Fysh registered VH-OQB, the second A380 delivered to Qantas in 2008 and recently be repainted in the new Qantas “silver roo” livery.

My plane "Hudson Fysh"/VH-OQB, arriving in Singapore as QF35 from Melbourne

Boarding back around just after 7pm, my seat was 85A , (right at the back of the aircraft and a window seat which is my number 1 seat preference). Waiting for me on my seat was headsets, a nice pillow and blanket. I like the fact the seats were able to recline quite a bit back , considering it was economy. The TV screen was pretty sizeable and high quality, and the movie selection was respectable!. We pushed back around 5 minutes to 8pm , on time.

There were 3 meals served during the flight dinner, fruit halfway through the flight and breakfast under 2 hours before landing. Dinner was served around 2 hours into the flight, which there were three choices. I ordered the salad of roast chicken with quinoa, raisin, cherry tomatoes and citrus dressing but didn’t feel too hungry. There was nice mood lighting in the cabin changing into beautiful colours. I watched around 3 movies., all action, which I enjoy the most and I find passes time quickly!.

The menu

The mood lighting in the cabin

As it was a mainly night time flight, there wasn’t much to see outside, but entering Australia through the top of Western Australia , there was some storm activity which meant we did have to climb a bit to avoid them but was incredibly awesome to witness flying above them!. For the most part, the flight was smooth, and the A380 handled turbulence well. Halfway through the flight fruit was offered, but I declined. Finally, closer to Melbourne, breakfast was served (which I ate) and the mood lighting lightened to signal breakfast, which was a seasonal fruit salad with an apple cinnamon muffin and the choice of apple, orange juice, Dilma tea and Grinders coffee.

After 6 hours and 57 minutes of flying, my flight came to an end. There was a live camera located on the tail showing the aircraft landing which is definitely very impressive!. All in all I throughly enjoyed my experience flying on the A380 and appreciated the relative leg room on offer and the seating ergonomically designed the most.

15/10/2019. Landing into Melbourne very early at 6am

Rating 3.5/5 stars

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