The plane: B787-9: The legendary Dreamliner.
Class: Economy.
Price: The trip was just one leg of my four-flight Auckland-to-Perth trip. You can get on to Economy Class return tickets for Auckland to Perth starting from $1253.
On time: We left 15 minutes late but made up the time en route
so landed in Melbourne on time.
My seat: 51H — an aisle seat fairly near the back but the leg/knee room was generous. Qantas have configured their (slimline) seats in a way that gives 3cm more legroom than the A380.
Fellow passengers: Perth is now part of the London-Perth-Melbourne route, so many of my fellow travellers had just completed the epic 16.5 hour non-stop flight from London to Perth.
Perhaps it was a good sign that no-one seemed particularly tired or grumpy — maybe that extra legroom (and the Dreamliner's healthier cabin pressure and humidity) does make a difference.
How full: I could only count a handful of empty seats.
Entertainment: The 787-9 has an awesome 12-inch touchscreen video display which worked perfectly — unlike many of my recent in-flight touchscreen experiences. The film selection was impressive and the built-in tablet/smartphone stand, high-power USB socket and universal AC outlet meant passengers' tech needs were well catered for.
The service: Friendly and helpful without being overbearing.
Food and drink: Perhaps because it's part of a longer, international flight the food was impressive for a three-and-a-half hour domestic crossing of the island continent. The choices were simple but knowing they'd been designed by nutritional biologists made them seem instantly more healthy than they probably really were. As for the accompanying drink, I stuck with the South Australian shiraz — having discovered a new appreciation for the grape during an all-day wine tour of the Margaret River region south of Perth the day before my flight.
Luggage: Check-in at Perth was wonderfully simple with no queue, a helping hand and my luggage checked through to Auckland. Customs was a bit of a rigmarole with two passports and security checks at Perth alone (and another at Melbourne).
The airport experience: The Qantas lounge in Perth was spacious and clean without having any mind-blowing pizzazz. That said the make-your own toasted sandwiches (with loads of delicious, top-shelf ingredients) is a brilliant idea.
