I interrupt my Toddler Flies series for a quick look at Canberra airport's new terminal.

With the release of our new intranet my frequent flights down to Canberra from Sydney have probably come to an end. I'm not going into the details of the flights as I've written plenty of other trip reports on this leg. Hopefully you can just enjoy the photos.

Both flights were with Qantas on their old 737-400s and both were very pleasant, but far too short! It was perfect weather for flying.



View from Gate 16



Our aircraft, a QF 734



Looking towards T2



Asiana 772 old livery, just as we flew her in 2004!



A good start on the livery, but the font is so old!



Cathay's 100th aircraft



Could do with a wash!



Chucked a U-ey above the airport



Line of clouds stopped at the coast



The menu has changed. Bars (without honey!) rather than muffins. Nice.



Back over the coast at Wollongong



Gorge-ous scenery



Lake George has water again!



I missed you...



...you big puddle



Turning in



Landed!



The old Canberra terminal in front of the new



Looking up towards the Virgin Blue gates



Terminal transition



Glass jetbridges



Docked at the gate



The cool airconditioned air smelled like a whitegoods showroom



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Inside the terminal



Descending past the security gates



Red glass wall.

After a day in Gungahlin it was time to fly back to Sydney. I was hoping to catch an earlier flight on the Q400, but a very slow short cut by the taxi driver put paid to that idea.



Taxi rank



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The terminal entrance obviously needs some more work



The Qantas check ins have not been upgraded to the new technology



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There are good views out to the tarmac thanks to the big glass windows



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I'd imagine that the Qantas lounge is new. Wasn't going to waste my complimentary pass to find out



The only shops are this large Relay newsagent and a cafe.



My flight home



Angled big glass windows. Gate 14 is actually a tarmac gate



Lots of glass everywhere



Arrivals and departures screen with news ticker



734 interior shot



Passengers on the 738 had to use stairs and enter via Gate 14.



Taxiing



Civic and Black Mountain



Gungahlin



We were told that the flight back was so short that we wouldn't be allowed to use electronic devices at any time.



Maybe it was the later flight (I usually fly back around 5pm) but this time we were given a large ham and egg mayonnaise sandwich instead of a packet of chips. Quite a decent snack.



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Campbelltown area



Holsworthy Army Barracks - I think the runway is for helicopters. Look at the coords of an adjacent facility -34.007517, 150.952720 in Google Maps and you can see an aircraft mockup - presumably for commando training.



My house is down there (somewhere)



Beautiful views of the Georges River area as we descended



Georges River, Botany Bay, looking towards the Sydney CBD



Over the Royal National Park and over the coast



An Air New Zealand 744 getting ready to depart Sydney



As we taxied to Gate 1 we passed the Qantas maintenance sheds.



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Qantas A380 VH-OQC



Journey's end



The new Qantas Next-gen check in has left the area very sparse

I was very impressed by Canberra's new terminal. It was clean and airy with pretty good views. The toilets even had Dyson Airblade hand dryers (though please note that these existed in Japan long before Dyson brought them to the West!). There may not be much in the way of retail or food, but that's probably a reflection of the demand. The airport is convenient enough that there's not much point arriving early enough for a meal.

Qantas provided typically enjoyable flights with some beautiful views. I've grown from loathing these flights with my fear of turbulence to loving them.

You can see many more photos at the photo gallery. I'd give you a list of previous trip reports, but the search function isn't picking up my latest posts!