Alex Robertson flies Melbourne to Perth on flight QF485.
Plane: Airbus A330-200. I like these planes: roomy, modernish, quiet and comfortable. It just feels like the right size of aircraft.
Class: Business Class.
Flight time: The schedule says 4 hours 10 minutes. We left 36 minutes late at 9.51 am and managed to land 3 hours, 55 minutes later. I guess the schedulers have to keep something up their collective sleeves.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.Seat: Seat 3K (turn left at the airbridge, Mr Robertson) about halfway down the Business cabin on the right-hand side: great views over a very brown-looking Victoria and the Southern Bight through my two windows. Wide-enough for a rugby player 20 years past his prime and plenty of amenities for the Business traveller: power, phone and pull-out table (I'm writing this on the flight). The seat has a fancy touch control that adjusts the rode and rake moving from bolt-upright to virtually flat-out. There's storage for Africa (or is that Australia?) and the pod design allows for as much privacy as you could hope for on an aeroplane. The seat belt is a sash type, just like in your car.
Safety video: The pre-flight safety check is a showcase of all things great about Australia: stunning beaches, fantastic cities, bucolic bliss, cutting-edge arts and all-out action and adventure. Very classy and slick and nothing like the whimsical, off-beat Air New Zealand videos.
Passengers: The full Business Class section is populated by older, well-to-do, well-presented and relaxed-looking Australians probably escaping hoonsville over F1 weekend. I didn't get to see much of the normal people.
How full: There must be a lot to like about Western Australia, because this flight is full.
Entertainment: The touch-screen on the wall to the pod in front worked very well. The usual music, TV, games, radio and news/weather offerings are present. The movies are fantastic, with a section for the latest releases, an encore of the best of recent years including two Hobbit films, classics such as Interstellar, The Hangover and Juno, Award-winners with a who's who of Oscar recipients, European and world cinema, family films, Australian classics from The Man From Snowy River through to Swinging Safari and even a James Bond selection. Four hours is just not long enough.
Service: It's first thing in the morning so thankfully no Champagne is on offer as we sit down. But a glass of cranberry juice will do just fine. The ratio is four attendants to 28 Business Class travellers and they work really hard to keep us all happy. I have a very chatty attendant who takes time out to talk about various flying experiences and seems genuinely interested in my next few days' travel: she's either really professional or just another warm-hearted Aussie. I'll take the latter, thanks.
Food and drink: The Neil Perry-designed menus are a winner in my book. The breakfast menu is a two-course offering: I take the Greek-style yoghurt with sour cherry compote, which is sweet, sour, and moreish. Danish pastry, scone and toast are also on offer. The next course is a choice of seasonal fruit, granola with maple and vanilla, bacon, egg and gruyere toasted sourdough sandwich and I have the scrambled egg, grilled halloumi, potato gratin and wilted spinach served with Perry's spicy tomato relish. Warmed-up will never beat short-order, but the spicy tomato relish makes up for any failings. Tea, coffee, fruit juice and water as you'd expect. No wonder they make Business Class seats so big: too much food!
Toilets: The downside to being fed and watered so much is the frequent visits to the loo. Good job they're well looked-after then. They even have faux-marble tiling on the floor — fancy!
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.Airport experience: The self-check-in had me bamboozled and I had to get help. Then the magic eye couldn't read my luggage ticket until I fiddled- around for a while.
Otherwise, the barista coffee in the Qantas lounge was perfect, the food offerings too much and the make-your-own vegetable juices so good I had to have two.
Final word: Australia's a big country and this is the perfect way to get across quickly. Can I do this more often, please?
