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Monday morning, 14 April, my wife and I were driven back to Townsville where we were to catch our return flight to Sydney. We arrived at around 11:10 a.m. with scheduled departure 11:40. We checked our carry-ons in because they just exceeded the weight limit (we didn't have any normal luggage so it was no big deal). We said goodbye to my parents and then entered the boarding area where boarding began at around 11:25. We were given seats 17E and F, with which I wasn't terribly thrilled. In the 717 these seats are directly over the wing. On the way up we had row 4 seats and were hoping for the same luck, but not this time. Our flight was almost fully booked, with possibly a handful of empty seats. In the 3 seats directly behind us were 3 jovial Kiwi's (new zealanders) who I guess were on holidays. Unfortunately, they decided to let everyone within 12 rows of them know everything going on between their ears (by the sound of it, not much!!) And of course this went on throughout the whole flight. I initially assumed alcohol was to blame, but I wasn't too sure after a while.
We pushed back and taxied to runway 01 (the only one in TSV) and took of to the east. We climbed out over the ocean for a little way and then turned back toward the coast and I suppose a beeline for Sydney.
After climbing for about 20 minutes, the seatbelt sign was extinguished and it was announced that a light lunch would be served. Each passenger was given a lunchbox that contained a good-sized whole grain roll with chicken salad on it (tasty!), crackers and cheese, a bar of chocolate with almonds or hazelnuts and a small container of orange juice. I enjoyed everything except the crackers and cheese and gave that to my wife.
Following shortly after lunch was the serving of tea and coffee. I opted for a hot cup of coffee that finished off lunch nicely.
We enjoyed clear, smooth skies until around Brisbane, where the sky clouded up at 20 000 feet or so. About 40 minutes out from Sydney, the cloud thickened and rose above our cruising level of 31 000 ft. We encountered sporadic turbulence after that. About 15 minutes before our scheduled touchdown, we began our descent. The pilots used a fairly steep rate of descent as well as the occassional hit of moderate turbulence to give us a somewhat hairy ride down through the clouds. We broke out of the cloud around 10 000 feet and from there cruised over the city, did a 180 degree turn out over the ocean and landed on 34L.
We arrived in SYD about 10 minutes early, with our total flight time being just 2 hours.
All in all it was another pleasant flight on the greatest airline on earth, Quantas.
We pushed back and taxied to runway 01 (the only one in TSV) and took of to the east. We climbed out over the ocean for a little way and then turned back toward the coast and I suppose a beeline for Sydney.
After climbing for about 20 minutes, the seatbelt sign was extinguished and it was announced that a light lunch would be served. Each passenger was given a lunchbox that contained a good-sized whole grain roll with chicken salad on it (tasty!), crackers and cheese, a bar of chocolate with almonds or hazelnuts and a small container of orange juice. I enjoyed everything except the crackers and cheese and gave that to my wife.
Following shortly after lunch was the serving of tea and coffee. I opted for a hot cup of coffee that finished off lunch nicely.
We enjoyed clear, smooth skies until around Brisbane, where the sky clouded up at 20 000 feet or so. About 40 minutes out from Sydney, the cloud thickened and rose above our cruising level of 31 000 ft. We encountered sporadic turbulence after that. About 15 minutes before our scheduled touchdown, we began our descent. The pilots used a fairly steep rate of descent as well as the occassional hit of moderate turbulence to give us a somewhat hairy ride down through the clouds. We broke out of the cloud around 10 000 feet and from there cruised over the city, did a 180 degree turn out over the ocean and landed on 34L.
We arrived in SYD about 10 minutes early, with our total flight time being just 2 hours.
All in all it was another pleasant flight on the greatest airline on earth, Quantas.
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