Re: The End of the Line in Hokkaido Part 1: QF33 SYD - KIX

I found your comments interesting about your thoughts on flying. It’s something that I have found too over the years. My passion for civil aviation is just as strong as ever and I love reading these trip reports and any article on the subject on line or in print. However regarding an actual flight ...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - November 2018

Qantas has opened in upgraded MEL domestic lounges today I was at the MEL Qantas Club on Tuesday and I can't say that I was particularly impressed with the lack of external views and the limited food selection (although the sweets matched my taste...Not sure what that says about me!). Found a fairl...

Re: 2018 Australian Domestic LCC Experience | Tigerair Australia - A320-232 | Melbourne (MEL) – Canberra (CBR)

Hi VapourTrails, reading your reports is such a pleasure. You've made me regret not putting more detail into mine! Loved the photos, especially of the evening. I've never flown Tigerair before so it's good to read such a detailed perspective on the experience of flying with them. About the only thin...

The End of the Line in Hokkaido Part 1: QF33 SYD - KIX

Yes, it's time for the yearly trip to Japan! So what's different? In December 2017 Qantas began flying direct between Sydney and Kansai International Airport (Osaka). Osaka has become my preferred gateway to Japan from Australia, not least because it seems to have smoother approaches than Narita. I'...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - October 2018

Just received notification that, due to the Lion Air crash, all Australian government officials and contractors have been instructed not to fly with Lion Air or any of its subsidiaries, including Malindo and Batik Air and to book alternatives, regardless of cost.

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - September 2018

Footy finals madness time of year again. Melbourne is playing West Coast in Perth on the weekend (Peliminary Final). Some Melbourne supporters are flying to Perth via Singapore. At $1000, it's cheaper than the cheapest MEL-PER fare going for the weekend, $1200.... Some folk have paid up to $1500 fo...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - September 2018

Video of AN-124 arriving at Rockhampton ahead of a major military exercise https://twitter.com/7NewsSydney/status/1040198656438153217 Ah Rockhampton, a city that seems to struggle to maintain services "punching above it's weight". The only international visitors it gets are those there to...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - September 2018

QF742 wrote:

MEL-KIX could be an interesting route for JQ to try. Although there’s a fair bit of new capacity MEL - Japan.

Re: Mariner has passed away

So very sad to hear of Mariner's passing. His writing was always interesting and well thought through, a model for which we should all aspire to replicate here and elsewhere. I remember studying Breaker Morant in high school so many years ago, one small piece of evidence that David's works are a par...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - August 2018

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the latest Sydney Airport 20 year plan released on Monday proposes to use the current T2 and T3 domestic terminals for some international flights, whilst retaining T1 as the primary international terminal. There are further roadworks and pickup point changes p...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - August 2018

All in all a very uneventful results release. QF look to have changed their hype strategy around these, this time at least. What's the point today? The only thing they could say that could get them more media is if they announced that potatoes and whole raw onions would be featured on the Qantas me...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - August 2018

Pertinent to earlier discussions, according to this tweet from Australian Business Traveller : Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says both Qantas and Jetstar would fly out of the new Western Sydney airport, although Sydney/Kingsford-Smith would be predominately Qantas and Western Sydney would be predominately J...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - August 2018

And again you can argue that JL would want to do MEL-HND over SYD-HND but if you go ask people in JAL they would tell you otherwise. (My friend working in JAL in Tokyo said his management has to be crazy to prioritize MEL over SYD to fly into HND) And BTW JAL's only Australia office is in Sydney as...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - August 2018

As for app chat, but is it a bot or a person? I asked the customer service on the phone and they said it was a person not AI.. :scratchchin: I really wouldn’t know .. anyway I just want to get on the aircraft and get to my destination on time! :yes: The chat apps have people behind them, although t...

Re: 21 years ago - Ansett A320 Sydney to Brisbane

This post has brought back some real memories! The boarding video was a great find. I loved the Enya ads for Ansett, they really made me want to fly high above the world. The only thing that came close were Jetstar's "Let's Fly Away" tracked adverts, although the visuals in those were neve...

Re: JAL May Launch new (Long-haul) LCC by 2020

The ability to fly Jetstar from Australia to Europe or the US via Japan would, in my opinion, be quite attractive, given the popularity of Japan as a destination. Although Jetstar has a larger catchment in Singapore they have to compete against Scoot and AirAsiaX. But Jetstar doesn't seem to be part...

Re: Visiting VH-OJA at the Wings Over Illawarra Airshow

Hi allrite Thanks, was looking forward to seeing another of your trip reports on here before too long. :thumbsup: Hehe, well I had to make up for that last non-compliant shell of a TR to Singapore earlier this year but everything else has been driving. Thanks for showing us this event. This, and th...

Re: Visiting VH-OJA at the Wings Over Illawarra Airshow

HARS is such a national treasure. I had a brilliant time there myself climbing through all the aircraft. And what a treat to have a 744 on display so close to Sydney. The HARS volunteers are exceptional people. Great post and pics! Thank you! Pretty exciting to that HARS will also be getting John T...

Re: Visiting VH-OJA at the Wings Over Illawarra Airshow

The age of OJA is really showing in that side on pic. That's my favourite photo of OJA. It looks more like a old seagoing liner than an aircraft. The 747 is, I think, the last major jetliner link to the days when flight was an adventure, not a commodity. I drove past HARS yesterday and was really t...

Visiting VH-OJA at the Wings Over Illawarra Airshow

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HUtRLpEn6OA/WvBqKkuEJhI/AAAAAAAGZ2A/VS-VN8rn9X0CzbH13XTlQDbeMPpLZ3GqACKgBGAs/s640/DSC04777.JPG South of Sydney, only about forty minutes away, is the city of Wollongong. Despite the proximity to Australia's major aviation gateway, Wollongong has the Illawarra Regional Air...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - March 2018

Was SYD closed this afternoon? There are significant inbound delays on pretty much all flights, and both QF452 and QF454 diverted to CBR. There was a storm band that came through late this afternoon with 90km/h wind gusts predicted. I don't think it was as bad as that but perhaps it was responsible.

Re: Updated: Qantas let one of 15 787 options expire, confirms 18 A321LR aircraft

Interesting that Japan is not mentioned with regards to 787 destinations. Currently Jetstar flies OOL-NRT, CNS-NRT, CNS-KIX. Then again, the Jetstar Japan network can serve onwards destinations like CTS and FUK.

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - February 2018

Qantas' new Indigenous livery aircraft has been unveiled: https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-unveils-special-indigenous-aircraft-livery/ https://www.qantas.com/in/en/about-us/our-company/fleet/emily.html The 787-9 is named "Emily Kame Kngwarreye" after the artist who i...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - February 2018

CPT I could definitely see CPT, even as a seasonal service - it is not as far as Europe (so less costly to run), there are huge African interests in PER, and CPT tourism is booming. Cheers, C. If every tourist agreed to bring a flask of water with them, plus one to share, I could see a lot of incen...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - February 2018

"Jetstar quits Auckland-Singapore route" I didn't think much of Jetstar's Darwin thinking either. The point is not to connect Darwin to the "big cities" of Asia - SGN or MNL - it is to connect the second cities of nearer -Asia (still huge) to Australia. Indonesia alone has more ...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - February 2018

QF says that even if nonstop SYD-LHR goes ahead SYD-SIN-LHR may remain http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/qantas-wont-ditch-spore-a-second-time-says-its-chief Joyce is saying that they (again, remembering RedQ) want to tap into Asian demand to and from London, no doubt utilising Jetsta...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - February 2018

A range of circumstances can disrupt the 'normal' schedules of aircraft. This fact alone is not unique to only QF. The ipad aircraft are used on int routes as a last resort. Perhaps the scheduled aircraft couldn't operate that flight that day, and an ipad aircraft had to 'step in'. Hey its better t...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - February 2018

Looks like QF A332s will expand international services with QF from around September 2018 with SYD-HKG, SYD-KX, SYD-BKK, SYD-PVG, and SYD-PEK all seeing A332s being operated in a 27J/237Y config, I can only assume this will be the 8 IFE fitted A332s - VH-EBM,EBN,EBO,EBP,EBQ,EBR,EBS,EBV. In January ...

Re: Qantas, AirAsia, food and trains in Sydney, Singapore and Penang

RoySFlying wrote:

Now that orang utan stretching out has the right idea.

Re: Qantas, AirAsia, food and trains in Sydney, Singapore and Penang

I personally find the seats on the ETS trains to be too hard and narrow for such a long journey. It seems that your trains are not much delayed which is common nowadays since there are major track rehabilitation works around Kuala Lumpur. From my memory, Gemas' train station is as large as the town...

Re: In the Shed: Skippers Metro Ravensthorpe - Perth

Hi Roy, I really enjoy your reports for the detail and history about the places you visit. I couldn't help but think how much I'd like to send some entitled flyers to places like Ravensthorpe Airport to suffer a lack of lounges and champagne. :devil: II've only ever once had the unfortunate collisio...

Re: Qantas, AirAsia, food and trains in Sydney, Singapore and Penang

Is Penang worth visiting? As always, that depends on what you like to do. I certainly prefer it to Kuala Lumpur. On Penang Island, Georgetown has some beautiful old areas that you can wander around. The food is fantastic and it is easier to find traditional hawker stalls around the streets and old ...

Re: Qantas, AirAsia, food and trains in Sydney, Singapore and Penang

I love the detail in your reports. I feel like I'm actually on the plane reading them. I read your train blog too - I recommend everyone read this. This was fantastic, and probably my favourite part of your blogs. Thank you! The train post took me a while to write. I was so exhausted after the trip...

Qantas, AirAsia, food and trains in Sydney, Singapore and Penang

After arriving back home from Launceston I only had a week's rest (work) until the next trip. Even though I had vowed to never again fly to SE Asia in January we were heading for a week's food and fun in Singapore and Penang. Eschewing the low cost options of Scoot and AirAsiaX we booked return flig...

Re: Catching the 747 to Launceston and the 748 back

Reminds me when I asked on a forum where are Air India's 787s deployed to, and one smart ass mentioned Kolkata to Port Blair and back. AI787, AI788. LOL! LOL! For some reason, I cannot access the pictures here, but reading the report from your website's link worked! :) Please see https://photos.app...

Re: Catching the 747 to Launceston and the 748 back

I really enjoy your writing style and the great pics. Brought back some happy memories of my very short time in Tasmania when I was backpacking. Thanks for sharing. Mark Thank you! We saw lots of backpackers exploring Tasmania, including one fast asleep on a park bench which seems to have been his ...

Re: Experiencing Malaysia Airlines’ brand new A350-900 Business Class

Interesting that MH put First Class in the aircraft considering their position in the market. Would be nice to be doing the SIN-PEN run on a A350 next week, but alas, it's A320s for us.

Re: Catching the 747 to Launceston and the 748 back

No photos showing. :( Oops, my very bad. I guess the Google Photos permissions are not set correctly. It's too late for me to edit the post. To view the photos please see: https://photos.app.goo.gl/aR8ZTqtFrqHpKBs13 You had me going for a minute with the 747 and 748, :wink2: Mind you, Alliance used...

Re: Taking the Metro: Skippers Aviation Perth - Ravensthorpe

Nice photos, though the window tinting gives them the look of old film snaps from the 70's or before. Skippers have an interesting range of aircraft. Their name conjures up thoughts of a fish and chips takeaway or Gilligan's Island!

Catching the 747 to Launceston and the 748 back

A 747 flight to Tasmania? And not even to Hobart, but the regional airport of Launceston. And with Jetstar? What??? Okay, I'm being deceptive. The flight number of our Jetstar Airbus A320 from Sydney to Launceston in Tasmania's north was JQ747. And it was JQ748 back on the return route. Please see t...

Re: Weekend Palembang exploration on Scoot

Great photos! Looks like you saved your stomach for the meals on the ground.

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - December 2017

In the distant days when we talked here about possible mergers and takeovers of Qantas some speculated that Cathay Pacific would make a good fit. Yet it seemed like there were big cultural differences to surmount between the two. I wonder if the so called "Swire Prince" top level managemen...

Re: The Compass Points of Japan's Railway network with Jetstar

Hi allrite Wow! You've put so much work into that report, but it is all worth it. Thank you! Writing was the easy bit, the multimedia was the trouble and then I developed my WordPress theme for it because, well, that's my job. And now my host is running out of bandwidth from it all...*sigh*. I thin...

Re: The Compass Points of Japan's Railway network with Jetstar

Fantastic mate! Japan's been on my travel radar for a long time and much more so for the railways than for the aviation, I must confess (though JAL's continued use of the 767 is far from disappointing). Thank you! I suspect it's the best country in the world for train travel. Others may have longer...

Re: Japan Jaunt to Tokyo (Work Trip on JAL Economy)

Great report. I've come close to booking this flight a few times from Singapore on Qantas points. The "Japanese" options in the lounge didn't look particularly Japanese to me!

Re: The Compass Points of Japan's Railway network with Jetstar

very interesting journey, i read your reports JRNEWStour. Japan is fascinating and the further you go from Tokyo and Osaka the better it gets :) Thank you! Yes, Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo all set too full of tourists now! Yes, I am a tourist, but I like to pretend I'm not. :) Give me sometime where q...

The Compass Points of Japan's Railway network with Jetstar

To visit all the compass points of the Japanese railway network has been a long term dream of mine. I have passed through forty-five of the forty-seven prefectures in my fourteen years of visiting the country, but I had never made it to the farthest extents of their railway network. With JR Hokkaido...

Re: QF changes SYD-DXB-LHR back to SYD-SIN-LHR from April 2018

It's noteworthy that the press release says that Emirates cannot put its code on Qantas Singapore - London and Perth - London services for regulatory reasons. If there is no codesharing on these routes then it must follow there is no pooling of revenue. So there is an element of Qantas and Emirates...

Re: Australian Aviation Thread - August 2017

Had an enjoyable flight on the QF1546 this week, but was surprised to see they served hot food in Economy. By this I mean beef sausage roll, quite a large serving, along with tomato sauce. Not sure what the vegetarians and vegans had. Sausage rolls are always the most popular items at staff morning...

Re: Amsterdam Short Hops: KLM Cityhopper E190/ E175 (Schiphol Spotting)

Enjoyed the report as usual! I'm not a big fan of the E-jets as I find them quite sensitive to turbulence compared with other aircraft. The Vueling livery had me confused for a little as I thought I had seen it during my visit to Gladstone in Qld. But that was a different set of dots in Skytraders!