I was more determined to get on the final 767 flight operating from Melbourne to Sydney on December 27 2014. But that proved impractical in that I had to get to Melbourne from Adelaide and then back to Adelaide from Sydney. A day trip was impossible and staying overnight just added to the cost. The next best option was QF686 that was scheduled to be operated by a 767 and fly back to Adelaide on the same day a couple of hours later. Fares booked for AU$95 each way. However about 10 days before departure date it happened again... Deja vu...

Qantas took the 767 off the route and it's now a standard 737-800. Bugger!!!. There goes my chance for a last ride on the 767. Remember Qantas pulled that stunt earlier this year?. The Unwanted 737-800 Qantas ADL-MEL-ADL (by Ryan h Nov 5 2014 in Trip Reports) http://www.jetspotter.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=14276
Thought about going through the hassle getting a refund, but going on the flight would a lot easier than pleading my case for a refund. Another member from the West Beach Aviation Group Ian, here in Adelaide had booked on the flight as well, once he heard the news, he was wondering how to get a refund, but haven't heard whether he went through the process.

Wednesday 17 December 2014
Adelaide (ADL) - Melbourne (MEL)
QF686 737-838
VH-XZP
21A

Despite the 767 not operating the flight, I will at least fly on the new 737 in the retro colors, so that sort of makes up for it.

Got a friend to drop me at the airport about 12 PM.

ADLTerminal by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-2 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-3 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-4 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

ADLTerminal-5 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Plenty of time for some spotting. Security was no issue. No queue and didn't make anything beep. Since I had checked in the night before, there was no need to do it at the airport.

Grabbed lunch and waiting for the retro to come. Met Ian in the terminal. Like me he had thought it was easier to go on the flight rather than messing about getting a refund.

JetstarA320-232-VH-JQG by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VGN by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VGN-2 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VGN-3 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

JetstarA320-232-VH-VQQ by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VXE by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VXE-2 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-VZM by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantaslink717-2BL-VH-YQW by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantaslink717-2BL-VH-YQW-2 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

RFDSPC12-VH-FDE by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Once VH-XZP landed, went to gate 20 for boarding.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-2 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-3 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-4 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-5 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-6 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-7 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-8 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-9 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Was one of the first on with the parents with kids etc. I'm a bit slower than everyone else and a bit unsteady when jammed into a crowd. One of the first on.

The interior is still fresh and new looking.

Also flying on it now means the seats still have their padding and are still comfortable before the padding gets squished and everyone else farts on it.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-10 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-11 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Legroom.
Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-12 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-13 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-14 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-15 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Eventually everyone else boarded. Load would be 95%. thankfully the seat next to me remained empty but aisle seat was occupied. Occupant wasn't talkative and looked like he had been up all night or has a hangover.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-16 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-17 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-18 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

We got going fairly quickly and take off was from runway 23. A smooth take off and climb. A little light turbulence not far from Adelaide but smooth apart from that.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-19 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-20 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-21 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-22 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-23 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-24 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-25 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-26 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-27 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-28 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-29 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-30 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-31 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-32 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-33 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-34 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-35 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-36 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-36a by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Cheese and crackers were offered with tea, coffee and soft drinks offered.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-37 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-38 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-39 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-40 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-41 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-42 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-43 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-44 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-45 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-46 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

A bit bumpy on approach to Melbourne, landed on runway 16.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-47 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-48 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-49 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-50 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-51 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-52 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-53 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-54 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-55 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-56 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-57 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-58 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-59 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-60 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-61 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-62 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-63 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-64 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-65 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-66 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-67 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-68 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-69 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-70 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-71 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-72 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-73 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-74 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-75 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Once we arrived at the gate, most people got up and were standing there for a good 10 minutes before the door was opened. Why try to be the first off?.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-76 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-77 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Waited for the crowd to get off had a chat to the captain, I think he was a bit disappointed it wasn't a 767 too.
Had my photo taken sat in the captain's seat.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-78 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-79 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-80 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-81 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-82 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZP-83 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Spent the time in the terminal until it is time to get on the return flight.
Saw one 767 parked at the gate and another arrive, plus many 737s.

Qantas767-338-VH-OGM by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

South Australian Spotter

Soon it was time for me to head over to gate 10 for my flight home.

Another special livery today with VH-XZJ in the latest aboriginal livery operating the flight.

MELTerminal by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

MELTerminal-2 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Wednesday 17 December 2014
Melbourne (MEL) - Adelaide (ADL) Adelaide
QF697
737-838
VH-XZJ
26F

Again boarded early and found 26F with no trouble. Again aisle seat was occupied but middle empty. But you are nervously watching the few stragglers hoping none take the middle seat.
Guy in aisle seat was more interested in reading the newspaper. Load would be 90%+.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-2 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-3 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-4 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

The crowd is still to come...
Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-5 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-6 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-7 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Short delay while an aircraft behind us moves off.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-8 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-9 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-10 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Another smooth takeoff from runway 16. We did not taxi right to the end.
Smooth climb out but flight crew did warn there may be a bit of turbulence.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-11 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-12 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-13 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-14 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-15 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-16 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-17 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-18 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-19 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-20 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-21 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-22 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-23 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-24 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Very little turbulence in the cruise.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-25 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-26 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-27 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-28 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-29 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-30 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-31 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Meal options were a hot choice, beef stir fry or the cold option was salad.
Had the beef and it tasted quite nice. Was surprised that the hot option was offered on a short flight like this.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-32 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-33 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-34 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-35 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

It got a little bumpy during descent, but final approach was smooth.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-36 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-37 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-38 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-39 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-40 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-41 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-42 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-43 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-44 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-45 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-46 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-47 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-48 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-49 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-50 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-51 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-52 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-53 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-54 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-55 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-56 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-57 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

When we landed I thought 'hmm this better stop before the end of the runway'. as there is a smelly waterway that you could call a river at the end of the runway I rather not end up in. Stopped with plenty of runway to spare but that was my impression.

The waterway in question. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patawalonga_River

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-58 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-59 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-60 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-61 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-62 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-63 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-64 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-65 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Seemed a while taxiing to the gate and once we stopped, people started grabbing there bags and again didn't get far for about 10 minutes.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-66 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-67 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-68 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-69 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-70 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-71 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-72 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-73 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-74 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-75 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-76 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-77 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-78 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-79 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-80 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-81 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-82 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-83 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-84 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-85 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

again one of the last off and had a quick chat with the flight crew.

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-86 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-87 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-88 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

Qantas737-838-VH-XZJ-89 by ryanhothersall, on Flickr

No checked in bags meant it was straight out to the carpark where my ride home was waiting.

Service wise can't fault Qantas, but these last minute aircraft changes really annoy me, happened twice now. Getting the two newest special liveries sort of made up for it.

Great TR  . How did the meal taste? We're both aircraft reativley new? Was the price good for the ticket? Anyways great TR and thank you for posting  .

Quoting lesfalls (Reply 2): Great TR . How did the meal taste? We're both aircraft reativley new? Was the price good for the ticket? Anyways great TR and thank you for posting .

Both aircraft are quite new, having the Boeing Sky Interior.

Meal on the return flight was good, was not expecting a hot meal on such a short flight.

Fares at AU$ 95 each way I thought was good for a full service airline.

Firstly good to see a report out of ADL, not often it happens!! Maybe I should do some of my travels.

Seems like we get stuck with 737s out of Adelaide all the time, I guess not big enough to justify a 767.

As much as I like the retro jet, I half wish they went with a retro style interior as well, however, I guess not the most appealing thing commercially.

$95 is very cheap for ADL-MEL, I usually only see those types of fares on Jetstar.

Quoting imray (Reply 4): Firstly good to see a report out of ADL, not often it happens!! Maybe I should do some of my travels. Seems like we get stuck with 737s out of Adelaide all the time, I guess not big enough to justify a 767. As much as I like the retro jet, I half wish they went with a retro style interior as well, however, I guess not the most appealing thing commercially.

I would like to see more ADL trip reports.  

I wish they had of done the interior retro too.  

More costly to fit the interior as well.

We had the occasional 767 at CBR, I sort of miss them there. Luckily we are not all 737s, there seems to be more variety these days, not Airbus though!

~~~

Hi Ryan h

Thank you for compiling this TR. I love your photography, quality is A1. You have added my favourite 738 -XZJ. 

The retro combination you have done is quite special. I haven't flown on these (yet) but your TR's up here recently have included a few on my flown aircraft list.  

regards =