This was no ordinary flight for me. According to my flightmemory, it was my 950th flight ever. In addition, it was my 275th flight with Qantas and my 24th on an Airbus A330.

Booking: 9 out of 10

Qantas’ booking engine is very streamlined. Six steps take you from enquiry to payment. If you are logged in as a Qantas Frequent Flyer, then the amount of information required to be typed in is minimal. Thanks to Skyscanner, I found the same fare on another website for $249 less. This saved me almost a third of the fare. It has annoyed me in the past that unlike Department stores, airlines don’t like to match fares. Since 2012, Qantas has offered a price guarantee: if, after purchasing a Qantas flight, on the same day, you find the Same Qantas Fare (including fare conditions) for a lower, publicly available price on an Australian website, we’ll match it. Frequent Flyers can also earn 1,000 extra points.  The site I bought from was not Australian so no bonus for me! – just a nice fare saving.

After booking and paying for me seats on the external site, I chose my seats back at qantas.com. Exit row seats were available for 90 dollars which I could not be bothered paying.  I opted for a seat as close as possible to the front of economy. I initially got  25 two rows behind the front Economy Row. 23, I looked every couple of days to see if the front row had become free. It did not.

Check in: 7 out of 10

I found Qantas online check in a little frustrating. It is supposed to be a five easy step process! For a  start,  why do I have to enter the same personal information for migration authorities every time I check in? Why cannot Qantas use my already entered name, and store my date of birth and passport information. I get tired of typing in passport number multiple times.  I also found that I could not complete the check in on my Ipad as a check box refused to respond to my response. After multiple times, I switched to a lap top and started all over again.    Still no seats available in row 23, sadly.

The use of the online check in meant I bypassed all of the queues at Sydney airport. The Economy line was crazy long. Even business class check in lines were long. Thanks to an express card obtained from a roving check in agent I got from airport entrance to Qantas lounge in just nine minutes.

Lounge: 7 out of 10

I was interested that I was recognised by three of the lounge staff. This was probably the result of some of those 275 flights! The Qantas business lounge was full. I commented on this to one of the staff and he told me this was the direct  result of the change of Qantas hub from Singapore to Dubai. He noted that the Asian flights now depart earlier in the morning, along with the Dubai flights. As a result there is now a mad morning rush in the lounges, followed by a lull until the US bound flights depart and then the afternoons are quiet. When I was in the lounge, seats were scarce, it was noisy and there were lines for the food. It was not exactly a restful expereince.

One of the the lounge staff changed me into a seat in row 23  and assured me that there would be no one next to me – he was right.

Boarding: 10 out of 10

I walked down to gate from the Lounge as late as I could so I missed out on most of the scrum. We were welcomed very warmly as we stepped onto the craft. I strolled to my seat in row 23 and settled in. Moments later,  I was greeted with a fresh orange juice, as was my neighbour across the aisle.  This is something I would get from time to time as Platinum customer. I was not sure how I won the honour on this occasion.

Takeoff

We departed a mere three minutes after the scheduled time. Take off was very smooth and we turned into the north-west bearing for Bangkok.

On board: 7 out of 10

I am not a fan of the A330, at the best of times. To me, it  feels  one of the more cramped of the Airbus family.   The 267 Economy  seats are arranged 2-4-2. They have a pitch (distance between seats) of 31″ and a width of 17″ . The 30 Business class seats arranged 2-2-2 have a pitch of 60″ and a width of 21.5.  Qantas has not had rave reviews over their economy seats. They are adequate. There are six lavatories  in economy and three in business class.

There was a tiny (and I mean tiny) amenity kit on each seat. The kit  includes a foul tasting tooth paste, cheap tooth brush and eye mask.  The kit reflects the continuing diminishing of  Qantas customer service. Once upon a time, there was more in the kit.

I asked a member of the Cabin crew if she could ask the pilot to sign my boarding pass for my 950th flight. I was very touched that Captain Pattison came down to see me and present me with a signed boarding pass.

Entertainment System: 7 out of 10

Both Economy and Business  have a seatback Audio and Video on Demand System. Qantas  has 20 Radio Channels, 120 CDS, 30 Movies, 120 TV programs including destination guides and 10 games. In Business, there are an additional 30 movies available. Found the selection, a little more disappointing than I have on previous occasions and found that I had seen all of the TV shows that I have any interest in. The system was a little slow in its responses when buttons were pressed.

While there is a power outlet in every business seat, there are no power outlets in economy which is a grave oversight in today’s world.   This distressed a fellow passenger who (almost tearfully) said that they had a full nine-hour work schedule to complete on the laptop and needed it charged. When the laptop’s battery flattened, the crew took the laptop and charged it in business class and returned it to the passenger who watched movies on it for the Rest of the flight! (not sure what happened to the work?)

Qantas has no on-board wi-fi. They cancelled the wi-fi program after a six month trial which saw five per cent of passengers using the wi-fi. Interestingly, Qantas’ new partner Emirates is continuing to roll out their wi-fi.

Meals: 8 out of 10

The crew provided a very attractive menu card, soon after take off. I chose a beef dish which was very nice. Fresh fruit available with drinks from the galley throughout the flight.
A small pizza sub was offered just before landing. Good selection of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks, although the whites were not very exciting.

Landing

We had a very gentle landing into Bangkok, almost 30 minutes early.  I was met at the airport by a greeter service -part of the Fast Track service. They got me from gate through customs and immigration to the railway station entrance in seven minutes! (I had no checked luggage) I will use that service again!

The Verdict

My Flight Rating: Overall 80% (4 out of 5).

My Overall rating of Qantas: 4.7 out of 5 (based on my 275 Qantas flights)

Skytrax Rating of Qantas : 4 star

Positives: Staff, punctuality   Negatives: Entertainment system, wi-fi
Would I fly them again? Yes!

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LAX-SYD on A380

Farewell BA Bangkok – Sydney Trip Report

 Turkish Delight -Great Trip + Best Economy Meal Ever

Norwegian Air Shuttle  began selling tickets for their New York JFK and Bangkok Boeing 787 services on Thursday November 8 for flights from May 30th, 2013. Some very cheap seats were available -and they were selling fast.

The carrier will fly between Oslo (Norway) and Stockholm (Sweden) three times a week. Seats on Norwegian’s 787 will be nine across 3-3-3 in economy class with a 31″ pitch. The airline is also introducing a Premium Cabin on the 787,  configured six across 2-2-2 with a 46″ pitch. Up to now, the airline has been all one class. All seats will have an individual entertainment system. Meals are included in the Premium fare and with the Flex fare. The meals can be pre ordered  for an extra fee by passengers travelling on the airline’s lowest fare.

Headquartered in Bergen, Norway, Norwegian is the second largest airline in Scandinavia and serves more than 115 airports in 30 countries. The airline started as a small regional carrier in 1993. In 2002, it adopted its current name and began its expansion with destinations and passengers numbers rapidly climbing.  The airline transported 15.7 million people in 2011 compared with 5.1million just five years before.

The carrier currently operates 68 Boeing 737s. Their livery is white  with a distinctive red nose. Each plane has a famous Scandinavian on the tail including author Karen Blixen, explorer Helge Ingstad and artist Edvard Munch. Currently, 47 of their aircraft are WiFi equipped. By March 2013, their entire 737-800 fleet will have in-flight WiFi.  Norwegian makes available its wifi free of charge for all passengers.

The airline has eight Boeing 787s on order.  It is purchasing three and leasing five. The delivery of their first one will be in April 2013  followed by the second  June 2013 and the third one in November 2013. Four more will be delivered in 2014 and  the final one in 2015. The new 787s are part of a massive fleet expansion at Norwegian. Norwegian Air Shuttle have orders and options for a further 222 new planes including:

•  100 Boeing 737 MAX-8
• 22 Boeing 737-800
•  100 Airbus A320 neo

These orders represent the largest order in European aviation history.

To operate the 787 services, they have formed a subsidiary: Norwegian Long Haul. I note that Rishworth Aviation have started advertising on behalf of Norwegian, for  Thailand based 787 Captains and First Officers. I assume that Norwegian are aiming to hire Thai nationality pilots to reduce their wage costs.

I have not yet flown Norwegian -nor the 787! Maybe I can try both in 2013 – If I can get a seat!

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787 September 2012 Update

This is the fourth time I have flown British Airways on this sector- and my last. BA will cease flying this route from this Friday March 3rd.  Qantas will terminate its Bangkok to London services on March 26th and its planes will turn around in Bangkok. Instead both airlines will “swap” passengers at Bangkok. The same thing is happening with their Hong Kong flights. Both airlines will maintain their services via Singapore (the “Kangaroo Route”). This shorter “hop” will be where all through Australia-London passengers will be fed. Passengers going via Hong K and Bangkok will be choosing to stop. I have some disquiet about how these reductions in service will help “sell” Qantas as a carrier which I have blogged about previously.

Competitors on the non stop Bangkok to Sydney sector are now Thai and Emirates. Air Asia, Malaysian, Singapore all offer one stop service.

This was the 22nd British Airways flight in my life.  I also flew their predecessors BEA and BOAC a lot. I have flown them in total enough miles to go around the world four times.

Booking: 10 out of 10

The British Airways website is very clear and very easy to use, It loads quickly. Booking and paying is a breeze.  Entering my frequent flyer number, and choosing my seat was simple. I chose an exit row aisle seat. Love it!

Check In: 10 out of 10

I checked in online and was really disappointed to find that I had lost my emergency exit seat. Worse I now had a middle seat almost at the back of the plane. I looked for seats near the front of the cabin and could not see anything that a 185cm 6’1 frequent flyer would find comfortable so row 51 it was.

On arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, I made my way to the clearly signposted British Airways Gold/Business Check in counter where a very friendly check in attendant greeted me.  I mentioned politely to her how disappointed I was to have been relegated from exit row to back. She said “Let me have a look. Well sir, the plane is very full. We have moved you to  another class of srevice. You are in row 18.” In other words, the magic words: “you have an upgrade”. Row 18 on this 747 is in British Airways call “Club World” *Business Class) . Thank you BA!

Lounge: 8 out of 10

Bangkok Airport’s British Airways/ Qantas Business lounge is airy, pleasant and comfortable. The showers were very nice. Food included little mini lamingtons  which made this Australian  very happy.  The lounge could not be faulted.  

Boarding: 8 out of 10

Finding a gate at Bangkok airport always seems a challenge for me. I have been there so many times and I still manage to lose Boarding gates! So I arrived a little stressed at the gate. After that, Boarding was pretty smooth but on the plane itself, the pace felt very frantic. It was a clearly a fully laden flight and passengers and crew seemed to be everywhere. I was glad to be offered a welcome drink! I asked for Sparkling wine but was told I could have champagne instead. (When I last flew Business with Air New Zealand, I asked for a champagne but was told on the ground they could only serve me Sparkling Wine!).

Unlike Business Class on Air New Zealand, Virgin and Qantas, no cabin crew member welcomed passengers on board individually. Crew on these carriers show passengers the ins and outs of the cabin. Not sure if BA don’t do it or if the heavy passenger load precluded it.

On Board: 8 out of 10

The 747 felt old. The interior fittings in Club World (Business) looked dated. My seat was great, however. There were a total of 52 seats in the Club World cabins, all 180-degree fully flat sleeper seats. The window seats all face the rear, as do the E & F seats. The seat has a 20″ width and 73″ pitch. On Qantas 747 on the same route you get 21.5″ and 60″ . Thai gives you 20″ and 55″ on their 747.

I chatted to my seat neighbour, before we raised the privacy screens. He was not convinced about flying backwards.

I initially found the BA service a little out of character. I could not place my finger on what i found jarring about the crew attitude. They won me over when I asked for a sparkling water, however. The cabin attendant leaned forward and said “we don’t have any.  It looks like they drank us out of it from London. It was a very full flight.” He said “I have looked“  Ten minutes later, he was back with a bottle from First Class. Very nice!

Safety: 10 out of 10

I feel I have seen the BA safety video many times now. Is it memorable or dated? Crew took safety briefing and checks carefully. 

Meals: 9 out of 10

Following my doctor’s noting my iron levels are low, I chose steak or my main course, Again, there was the slight jarring of service. Bizarrely, my flight attendant could nt recommend  a wine to accompany it. and even when prompted did not know the difference between the wines on this trolley. The steak with a  nice French red was perfect.

I found out later that British Airways have snacks available for club world passengers including sandwiches, smoothies and chocolates for access through the flight.  They didn’t mention it and I regret I didn’t check it out.

Entertainment: 8 out of 10

British Airways has  ”HighLife Entertainment’s Audio and Video On Demand (AVOD)”. In ClubWorld the flat TV screen is  26cm (10.4 inches). It rotates out in front of you and allowed lots of room to adjust it. noise canceling headphones are, of course, provided.  The 100 movies and TV programmes included lots of Downton Abbey, an excellent Mockmentray about Monty Python’s Life of Brian but one episode only of Mike and Molly, one of Modern family, one of Big Bang and one of Parks and Recreation! There were also 50 music CDs and audio books and 20 games which I didn’t play.

The Verdict:

My rating: 91% (5 out of 5)

Positives:   Meals, Lounge, Check in, Seat

Negatives:  Boarding, lack of Personal welcome

Would I fly them again?  Yes, especially if you upgrade me again- but alas it won’t  be on British Airways on this sector for a while

My last Trip Report: February 14: Malev – Rome (ROM to Budapest (BUD) Boeing 737

I am in Bangkok, Wellington, Palmerston North, Auckland and Melbourne this week. 8005 miles (12 808 km) to be flown with four airlines: Air New Zealand, British Airways, Qantas and Virgin Australia.

Trivia: I will fly my 820th flight of my life!   I will also have my 40th Air New Zealand flight!

Where are you this week? Hope its a great one!