Qantas QF2 B787 Business Class Darwin to Sydney - a domestic international flight!

Qantas QF2 B787 Business Class Darwin to Sydney - a domestic international flight!

Show Video

hello and welcome to darwin northern territory australia today i'm going to fly on qantas flight qf2 from darwin to sydney what's so special about this flight is that despite being a domestic flight qf2 departs and arrives from an international terminal why that we can find out in this video let's go darwin is the smallest capital city in australia located at the top end of the country the city experiences a tropical savanna climate with a wet and dry season in july 2021 i flew on qantas link e190 business class from darwin to adelaide july the city's driest months being sunny and warm it's a popular holiday destination for people from the southern states now it's january the wettest months in darwin the city has become so much quieter but accommodations have also become a lot cheaper therefore it's still a good time to visit darwin i'm at the city's waterfront precinct it's just within a few minutes walk from the cbd the place features a number of restaurants bars a man-made beach and a wave pool for the local community and tourists of course the pool and the beach are stinger and crocodile-free darwin airport is located approximately 12 kilometers or 15 minute drive from the city the nearest bus stop is a seven minute walk from the terminal but takes around one hour to get to the city by bus including one transfer at casual arena therefore the easiest way to get to the city is by uber or taxi darwin airport is the busiest airport serving the northern territory in 2019 the airport offered direct flights to most major cities across australia as well as many destinations in southeast asia due to kobe 19 many airlines seized the international commercial operations out of darwin but also because of covet darwin has once again become a stopping point of the kangaroo route as a major operator in darwin qantas checking counters can be easily spotted both international and domestic departures use the same counters there's a priority checking lane for business class passengers and eligible frequent flyers [Music] the kangaroo route refers to air routes flowing between australia and the united kingdom the route found its name following kangaroos means of locomotion hopping and the flight hopped its way across to london in its early years qantas first flew the kangaroo route on the 1st of december 1947 using the lockheed constellation with stops in darwin singapore calcutta karachi cairo and tripoli from march 2018 to early 2020 qantas used its flagship aircraft a380 between sydney and london with only one stop over in singapore however due to covert and international border restrictions the service was hauled for nearly two years when all australian states and territories except western australia scrapped hotel quarantine in december 2021 qantas chose darwin over perth at the temporary stopover point for its sydney to london and melbourne to london flights qantas requires all passengers and crews to be fully vaccinated to travel on its international flights as i'm technically traveling on an international flight the staff at checking also checked my vaccine certificate all passengers have to go through security screening before heading to the boarding gates upstairs the departures lounge on the first floor is split in half the international gates are on the right hand side of the escalators and the domestic gates are on the left the two areas are only divided by screen door which means the international gates can also be used for domestic departures if needed the shopping and dining precincts on the domestic side include a souvenir shop a technology store a cafe a fast food outlet and a bar there is plenty of seating space throughout the terminal qantas currently has two lounges at this airport the contest club is for passengers traveling on both domestic and international flights and a temporary international transit lounge is now used for international passengers transiting through darwin if you are joining the kangaroo route from darwin then you have the privilege of using both lounges virgil australia used to have a lounge here as well unfortunately it was permanently closed in 2020 [Music] thank you thank you thanks welcome to my favorite quantus club lounge in australia the first reason for me to like this lounge is its size it is huge unlike sydney and melbourne lounges which can get really crowded on weekdays darwin lounge is usually pretty quiet and relaxing it has meeting rooms kids room and different types of chairs and tables to suit everyone's needs if you are an av geek then you have to walk all the way to the rear of the lounge and take these seats next to the window which offer a great view of the air north apron and half of the runway darwin airport is a military airport if you were lucky you could see f-35 jets taking off from the wrong way they are really loud yet very fascinating to watch the other reason for me to love this lounge is the food in my opinion it always offers the best meal options than any other contest club lounges the buffet is fully self-service for lunch there's usually a salad sandwiches soup a meat dish and a variety of desserts darwin is closer to jakarta and manila than to canberra due to its proximate location to southeast asia i figured the lounge here love cooking asian dishes that you don't normally find elsewhere [Music] for drink with juice different soft drinks barista coffee and tea alcoholic beverages are available after 12 noon voila let's see how good the food is today i would have sat near the window but i need to charge my cameras therefore i picked a seat at a bar table one thing about self-service is that presentation wise i don't do such a good job as the quantity staff would do the spoon for the soup port is way too big half a scoop and my tiny bowl was already full the main dish today is lentil and gold curry with rice the goat is a little bit chewy but it is rich flavoursome and yummy goat has a similar flavor to lamb but it is not as ling making the dish a bit richer with rice it's very filling samosa with sweet chilli sauce actually matches well with the goat compared to some other qantas club lounges which serve roasted potatoes with sour cream and cheese for lunch gold curry and samosa is so much better once again story the presentation here tom yum is a traditional hot and sour thai soup in thailand the word tom refers to the boiling process and yam means mixed the soup is not as spicy as the tom yum that one of my thai friends cooked at home this is definitely for suiting those who can't handle hot stuff everywhere even though normally they should have prawns in the soup i still love the chicken pieces and the tofu in there the shower facility is available for all guests to use fresh towels and toiletries can be obtained from the landstaff there's also one accessible toilet and shower for those in need january is the wettest month for darwin the average rainfall is 426 millimeters with an average of 21 rainy days in comparison july's average rainfall is one millimeter and one rainy day the wet weather could certainly cause flight delays my qf2 flight from london had to hold a few patterns to wait for the storm to pass here it comes after being in the air for more than 16 and a half hours flying over siberia china the philippines and indonesia the dreamliner has returned to australian soil once again it must have been a very long trip especially for economy class passengers quantus bombing 787 has a total of 236 seats 42 business 28 premium economy in a 2-3-2 configuration at 166 economy in 3-3-3 configuration by the way have i told you that i'm flying business class today 30 hours ago i decided to beat 300 for a business class seat i've never flown on long-haul appointed business class before so i thought today could be the perfect day to do it my beat was successful and my seat was confirmed four hours ago it's time to head through immigration for security reasons i'm not allowed to film this area for domestic passengers departing from an international terminal a passport is not required for australian citizens you can use an australian driver's license or even an australian university id card as photo identification at checking you should have received a boarding pass with an orange d sticker which shows the immigration officer that you are a domestic passenger after confirming my identity the immigration officer put an exit stamp on my boarding pass as proof that i left from darwin when landing in sydney the boarding pass would be an important proof that i only traveled domestically globally non-aeronautical revenue contributes to 40 percent of a commercial airport's total revenue duty-free shops definitely play a big part to get to the boarding gate the airport deliberately makes everyone to walk through the entire duty free precinct to make people spend money as a domestic passenger however i was told by the staff that i'm not allowed to purchase any 2d free item welcome to the international site of darwin airport at the stopover here is only an hour long or passengers flying from london to sydney will go through immigration in sydney therefore the qantas club on the domestic side is not available for eligible passengers on this flight to enhance the overall experience of this stopover qantas temporarily took over the airport's catalina lounge and named it darwin international transit lounge [Music] the lounge has a warm and cozy atmosphere with a bar and buffet station all 42 business car seats were fully booked on this flight plus all the eligible frequent flyers it was actually a bit hard to find a seat at this lounge every single table was occupied in the end food at this lounge is prepared and sent over from the qantas club however as passengers generally only stay here for a short amount of time the food here is mostly light such as yogurt fruit salad sliders and muffins hot food options are angus beef pies and the tom yum soup my favorite quantus dessert is the dark chocolate brownie i always try to have one whenever i see them same as all the domestic flights a complimentary flywheel pack with a mask and two sanitizing wipes are available for everyone for passengers that aren't eligible for lounge access there's plenty of seating space around the boarding gate in addition to the duty-free shop there's a small cafe to purchase like snacks and beverages [Music] [Music] qantas boeing 787 business class flying on an international flight as a domestic passenger how exciting let's get on board the quantum streamliner has a total 42 business class seating a fabulous one two one configuration row one two row eight is located at the front of the cabin and there are another three rows behind the galley all seats have direct aisle access and can be reclined to a fully flat bed in terms of the window seats all the numbered window seats are closer to the window and are more private than even lambda window seats which are closer to the aisle my beautiful upgrade was only confirmed this morning 4a was the only window seat i could get it's an even numbered seat but at least it's still a window even though this is only a four-hour flight each seat still comes with a printed menu a pillow a duner and a mattress topper there's plenty of storage space in business class each seat has a whole overhead compartment to itself from my experience in july qantas no longer offers pre-departure drinks in domestic business class as this is an international flight i was greeted with a choice of champagne steel or sparkling water before departure cheese the seat has a pitch of 46 inches and width between 23 and 24 inches i definitely can comfortably fully stretch my legs there's a storage space next to my seat for small items the tray table is large and stable there's a panel for seat controls a usb plug and a universal power point interestingly unlike the economy seats the headrest in business is not adjustable each window seat has control over two dimmable windows overhead there are two air vents and two reading lights thank you loyalty thank you for your support and thank you for your attention have a great one [Music] [Applause] [Music] so the boeing 787 stakeholder feels so much smoother than aircraft such as a boeing 737 this is because the wings of the boeing 787 are made out of carbon fiber material which is more flexible and helps dampen the turbulence after takeoff the cabin manager walked to each seat and personally greeted everyone by their last name which instantly gave me a very warm feeling the entertainment screen that qantas installed in business class is a 16 inch high definition touch screen quantity doesn't offer wi-fi streaming on any of its international flight instead it provides an entertainment system that stores more than 2500 hours of movies tv shows and documentaries the system is updated at the beginning of each month the latest james bond movie was released in november 2021 in australia and qantas had already got moving in its january update i'm really happy with the system qantas acknowledges the fact that people like to check the flight path during flight therefore whether you are at home screen or watching a movie if you touch the airplane icon at the bottom of the screen it will take you directly to the moving map feature which shows you the flight path time to destination speed altitude and current time the screen can also be controlled by a remote which is hidden away in the armrest now let's explore the control panel for different seating arrangements there are five preset seatings you can choose to put your seats upright for takeoff and landing set your seat in reclined position for takeoff and landing recline with leg rest top recline to a fully flat bed or turn on the massage function ultimately you can use the panel to adjust the seat to your own favorite position the panel also controls the brightness of the reading light and allows you to turn on the do not disturb sign for the crew to know if this is your first time sitting in this state there's a two minute video in the entertainment system showing you all the features the headphones offered in business provide adequate sound quality and noise cancelling they are not top notch but they do the job it's finally meal time to me the most exciting part of flying business class is food the qantas international business menus offer a contemporary selection of locally sourced seasonal dishes with a focus on choice on long-haul flights the menu provides the option of lighter style dishes through to a full dining experience at any time four hours is considered short for intentional flight therefore qantas offers a simple two course lunch for flights from darwin to the east coast depending on what you feel like for maine there are light options such as soup parsley and salad and the more filling option of tomato baked chicken with rizzoni at the back of the menu is an excellent selection of wine from boutique producers to iconic brands from across australia new zealand and france the crews are trained in all aspects of the wine service they should be able to answer any questions you may have each main dish also comes with a selection of bread and some green leaf salad [Music] with the um i'll just move this for you with the broccoli and the rizzoni i'll just put that there for you is it all right all right thank you this is my first time flying qantas international business so i have to try the chicken my first impression is that the dish looks very colorful green red and white i do love the presentation and i do think the meal quality is a step up from its domestic business service let's dig in compared to grilled chicken the tomato baked chicken is a lot less greasy which makes the dish very healthy the chicken was perfectly cooked the breast was tender and easy to cut through the generous amount of sauce on the chicken has kept the meat juicy it has also made the whole dish flavoursome and colorful rizoni is a form of shortcut pasta shaped like a large grain of rice the sauce mixed quite well with the grizzoni as well overall i think qantas has executed this dish perfectly i really love it all the crews on board were professional yet also very personal and easy to approach they walk through the cabin every few minutes to make sure that everyone is happy after finishing my chicken my plate was cleared quickly and i was asked if i would like to try another main dish do you want to taste any of the other um like the tomato soup or can i try the soup yeah can we take that for you i'll get one of those for you there you go would you like any more pepper or salt or anything oh it's all sure or good the rose capsicum soup is the lightest main dish on the menu i'm a big fan of the soup at quantity lounges they always have lots of flavors in them accompanying the soup is a small piece of good baguette and olive tapenade the whole dish is vegan the soup has a spicy aftertaste i guess the intention is to keep people awake for the arrival into sydney after long 24 hour flight from london the green salad tastes fresh and natural certainly a very refreshing side dish overall both the chicken and the soup were incredibly delicious i feel like each ingredient in each dish had its own purpose i cannot wait to feel like honestly her business again to try out more meals on board when sitting at the window seat that's closer to the aisle you need to have a very long neck to see the scenery down below for dessert i chose the cheese plate i'm once again very impressed with the crew's attention to detail the two kinds of cheese that they serve on board are brie and cheddar breathe the dessert cheese with a runny texture and earthy flavor and cheddar is a hard cheese that has a slightly crumbly texture with a sharp full and fine taste if you would like to have more biscuits more cheese or anything else just simply let the crew know they always do their best to accommodate you as expected there's no amenity kit nor qantas business class pajamas offered on flight from darwin to sydney however the crew was more than happy to make the bed for me with the press of a button each business seat can be transformed into a two meter long fully flat bed due to the staggered seating the footrest is a bit narrow but i still find it to be sufficient enough to move my feet while lying down the bed is also wide enough to turn my body when sleeping the mattress is soft and the tuna is very warm if i were flying long haul i'm sure i'd be able to fall asleep very easily so between the two business class cabins there is a small self-service snacking station a similar snacking station can also be found at the rear of the economy class cabin there are three level trees for business class passengers one at the front of the plane behind the cockpit door and two in front of row 10. all toilets are about the same size the space is decent the flush and the tap are sensor activated to avoid unnecessary contact with your hands i have now figured out why a remote is still needed in business class as the seat can be 2 meters long when fully reclined the screen will be too far to reach when lying down therefore the remote could make changing channels a lot easier lastly the safety information card and in-flight magazine are stored at the seat back pouch next to the entertainment screen we will be landing on the runway 165 to see the southerly runway so hopefully get some nice views of sydney harbour and the city skyline on approach if you don't declare truthfully it may result in a penalty sore throat or are having difficult breathing please tell a crew member now this will protect you your family and other members of the community time passes quickly when you're enjoying the flight it's time to get ready for landing to put the seat back to landing position all you need to do is press the corresponding button in my opinion what makes qantas stand out from all the other airlines are the crew and their friendly servers just before arrival the cabin manager walked over personally thanks and said farewell to every passenger from boarding till disembarking the entire crew have kept a very relaxing atmosphere for everyone on board the business class seat is private every seat has direct aisle access and they all face the front of the plane the bed is comfortable to sleeping and the meal on board was delicious and healthy i absolutely loved every second of this flight qantas currently has 11 boeing 787 dreamliners in service flying from brisbane to san francisco los angeles and new york melbourne to london san francisco los angeles and new york sydney to san francisco dallas vancouver johannesburg and in the future sydney to santiago and brisbane to chicago my qf2 flight was really full which is why from june the current sydney darwin london dreamliner service would return to sydney singapore london using the flagship airbus a380 aircraft domestically you can constantly find the boeing 787 flying on services between sydney and melbourne it's my pleasure on behalf of the entire crew to welcome you to sydney as i mentioned before the quarantine authorities will meet the aircraft here and we do ask you please to remain seated from my experience last week this can take approximately 10 minutes before the authorities allow us to disembark the aircraft if you're arriving home into sydney or australia i should say this evening of course welcome home to you of course any of you visiting we do wish you a pleasure today including [Music] welcome to sydney it's been two years since i last visited terminal one as a domestic passenger i'm not required to fill out the incoming passenger card i don't need to show my vaccine certificate nor proof of negative covet result and i'm not allowed to use the smart gate as immigration the border officer checked my driver's license then put an entry stamp on my boarding pass at the biosecurity and quarantine station unfortunately the staff had to take my boarding pass away after that i was free to enter sydney so this is my unique experience on board one of qantas domestic international flights on my way out of terminal 1 my only thought was i couldn't wait to travel internationally again [Music] intent thank you so much for watching this video if you find it interesting please don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe to my channel for more flight and train reviews i'll see you all in my next video

2022-03-03 20:14

Show Video

Other news