Route: Sydney-Kingsford Smith Int. - Christchurch Int.
Airline: Qantas
Flight Number: QF045
Aircraft: Boeing 767-338/ER
Registration: VH-OGQ
Seat: 02A/03A (Business)
Distance: 1323 miles
Duration: 2hrs 45mins

View Large View Medium Photo © Daniel Talbot

View Large View Medium Photo © Anthony Cheng - HKAEC

Our journey to Christchurch had already begun, over three thousand miles away in Singapore. In another report I've already documented that portion of the trip....

We start upon arrival in Sydney Airport, the first flight of the day at an eye piercing 5.10am. We were the first passengers to arrive at the transfer security point before being allowed into the international departures, so early in fact that the Qantas First lounge wasn't open yet. A member of staff saw us outside on his way in and said they wouldn't be opened for around five minutes yet. At 5.30am he arrived on the other side of the doors by which time around five of us were waiting to enter.


The 'living' wall of the entrance to Qantas's First lounge at Sydney'

We hung back and let the others check-in at the top of the escalator as we were looking to arrange spa appointments before our flight to Los Angeles a couple of weeks later. Unfortunately the spa in the lounge didn't open until 9am, by which time we'd have left for Christchurch, and I thought if we turned up on the day spa appointments would have been already booked up in advance by other First passengers. The agent gave us a business card with telephone details to phone in but said our details had been noted and we should receive a call a day before (when the number of masseuses available is known) to confirm. The agent also told us that we were lucky to fly in when we could as the fog was causing a number of other flights to be diverted.

I took a seat and started the computer up whilst my wife went to one of the shower suites to freshen up. During this time I couldn't see much from the windows due to the intense fog but walked around this new (for me) and much talked about lounge. I have to say my initial impressions were excellent; very spacious, very bright and rather nice decor. Touches I liked included old style flap-flap departure boards (in place of TV screens) , a proper restaurant area (with decent kitchens visible) and also a number of white coated staff walking around making sure everyone's needs were met. Indeed once I sat down to use the internet, even away from the restaurant I was brought a couple of menus and asked if I wanted anything for breakfast.






Qantas First lounge at Sydney:
1) The seating areas facing the windows
2) One of the three flap-flap departure boards
3) Bar and kitchen area
4) Reception area
5) Restaurant

The lounge had an increasing amount of traffic, surprising for this time of the day, although the sheer size of it meant it didn't feel busy at all...Local news (which had a part feed to the US 'Today Show') highlighted the fog in the Sydney area and noted that a number of Qantas flights (from San Francisco and Los Angeles) had been diverted to Brisbane, almost 400 miles away! Wasn't anywhere closer available?

One hour and thirty minutes later my wife returned from the shower suite, but with only an hour to go until our flight boards and with breakfast and shower to complete I had a bit less time than I'd hoped. First stop was the shower suite, one was immediately available and it was a rather spacious, probably close to 150 sq ft. The facility was pretty decent, a rain machine shower, plenty of Kevin Murphy toiletries both in and out of the shower, and a rather complex set of toiletry needs were met by the contents of the drawers. It was excellent aesthetically too with lots of marble around.   

I returned from the shower to find the sun had risen and that things more than 10ft from the window were now visible!    I could see across to some remote stands beyond a couple of runways, as far as the BA 777 which brought us in from Singapore.

We took our bags over to a table beside the window to get breakfast. Our waiter, Peter, was a model of how waitstaff should be. Somehow he knew our names (caught a view of baggage tag or boarding pass perhaps) and took us to a table with offer for drinks, he basically seemed to show a superb and professional attitude. We requested an omelette each and I got an additional order of smoked salmon. This was brought out to us remarkably quickly, and tasted delicuously fresh from the kitchen. The lounge's kitchen use organic products and it certainly tested better than any lounge food I'd had before    I was left disappointed I wasn't there for lunch or dinner to see what they could really could cook up  


Spinach and ham omelette with side order of smoked salmon

After thanking Peter it was off to brush my teeth before walking down to gate 8 for our flight. As we approached the gate the first boarding call was made for Business Class and frequent flyers, it stopped us in our tracks as I realise I didn't have our passports to hand! Since I hate those people for approaching the podium without being ready I grabbed the documents and then showed them to the agent manning the premium line.

It was quite a long walk down the jetbridge to our aircraft, a 767 with old style bins and a relatively small business class cabin of just 30 seats. There were no other business class passengers onboard at this point but the flight attendant held back the line of passengers going to the economy cabin to greet us and bring a drink. Choice on the tray was either orange juice, champagne or water. We both opted for a water.


Shorthaul Business Class seat on this 767

A few other passengers joined us in business class but when the constant stream of passengers was down to a trickle there were still only seven passengers in the front cabin! It did give us a chance to spread out though. We had a couple of passengers in front of us and thought that with a touch of recline we might be a little uncomfortable. Indeed it seemed that maybe Economy was also quite empty as an announcement informed us that if one was looking to move to an empty seat then one should wait until takeoff to do so.

Pushback was delayed for some time due to a mechanical issue which appeared after the jetbridge had moved away from the aircraft, however, this was then compounded by a problem that materialised with the jetbridge that meant it couldn't be reattached to the aircraft! This left the mechanic unable to get onboard! Despite this the flight deck reassured us we could fly with the issue and so we were on our way.


Holding for runway 16R...the BA 777 we arrived on visible in the foreground with a hazy, foggy Sydney just visible in the background

Taxi out to runway 16R was quick and we were treated to a great view of a Pacific Blue 737 touching down right in front of us. Then it was our turn to head out and over Botany Bay and the Tasman Sea. From our perspective we got a great view of the city off to the left side as we departed.


Departing from Sydney Kingsford-Smith

The seatbelt sign was off remarkably quickly and so we moved back to utilise part of the remaining 23 seats in the cabin! I opted for 3A with my wife in 4A. The seats reclined a decent amount given their relatively small pitch and that coupled with a relatively short sleep on the SIN-SYD sector meant I was off for forty winks rather quickly....

The next thing I remember was some light chop waking me up a couple of hours later and finding a landing card for New Zealand and a bottle of water on my little drinks table. I could see the west coast approaching just ahead of us and got my camera out anticipating a magnificent view of the Southern Alps on descent.

Just as I was unzipping my bag the flight deck chose to do their little spiel noting our rapidly approaching descent into Christchurch and also mentioned the rather amazing view.

I was not disappointed by our first introduction to the stunning scenery of New Zealand. Wow, definitely up there with one of the most amazing sights I've seen from a commercial aircraft. We appeared to be almost skipping across the peaks as we dropped down into the Canterbury Plains. It was hard to try and fill out my immigration form with what was going on outside!






The stunning view as we crossed over the west coast of the South Island and the Southern Alps

With the Southern Alps cleared we turned in towards Christchurch, the captain only switching on the seatbelt sign at 5000ft as we came in on runway 02, pulling up at gate 26.


Descending into Chrstchurch

Being in an aircraft the size of a 767 at an airport like Christchurch did feel a little like being the 18yr old playing rugby against the 7yr old children! The airport was pretty small but had a real variety of aircraft types; from our widebody down to the small prop aircraft of Air New Zealand Link and the Canterbury Aero Club which sat just across CHC's sole runway.

The international terminal at least seemed very new and was bright and welcoming. This was matched by the immigration officers who, unlike some of their comrades in other countries were charming and friendly. It was certainly a start for what was continue on our trip around the South Island. As New Zealand and Australians had their own line it was a quick passage through immigration for everyone else (i.e. us!). Despite this as we approached the baggage belt our bags were already going round, fortunately the local sniffer beagle wandering around the belt wasn't too bothered by the contents of our bags.  

All that remained for us was to put our bags through a large X-ray machine and then we were free to collect our car and make our way south...

Verdict: Well I can't really comment much on the flight itself since I slept for about 90% of the in air time, I guess that is some form of testament for the comfort of Qantas's shorthaul seat  

Qantas's First lounge at Sydney is excellent. Quite possibly one of the best lounges I've been to on my travels so far. The dining is a real highlight and it really is not half bad restaurant quality food and with service to match (from Peter at least!). I'd like to try it out sometime for a lunch or dinner, the real mark of a good restaurant. It's also a really bright and airy, slightly modern yet functional facility with plenty of room so it doesn't feel too cramped. The shower suites are a great size and nicely fitted out too. I look forward to trying the Spa out before my SYD-LAX flight! Kudos to Qantas   

At first I was a little apprehensive about the shorthaul Business seat, after all it doesn't look like it is much more than about 40" pitch however it really does recline a decent amount and has a good sized footrest. Very comfortable! Fortunately our flight was very lightly loaded and so moving to seats with no worry about reclining passengers was easy. Having reclined the thing to its full extent I'm not sure I'd like to be on the wrong end of it, especially in a window seat with neighbour reclined too!