You know that earlier in the year I bemoaned Jetstar and having to travel on budget airlines. This trip I made a firm decision that I wasn’t going to fall into that trap again.

To be honest, the price difference wasn’t that much, and especially for the first flight, from Melbourne to Sydney, there was no way I was going to risk a Jetstar or a Tiger Airways. I had a tight schedule, I needed to get into Sydney, check in at my hotel and get to the Doctor Who festival when they opened the doors at 9am. My flight was at 6am. The predicted time of landing was 7.25am however that was covering bases, the flight time is closer to an hour (with no time zone change for those not familiar with Australia).

Checking in at 5am is a breeze, and as it was domestic there wasn’t passport control or long lines. The aircraft was a Boeing 737-800, with 6 seats across, 3 each side of the plane. It was mostly but not completely full. There was a decent breakfast, decent leg room and an on time departure.

Cabin crew were pleasant without being over the top. I wanted to sleep but couldn’t sadly. Arrival in Sydney and baggage claim was quick and the train into town was great too, I don’t have any complaints. Even on a short haul flight I had an entertainment system!

Qantas cops a lot of criticism here in Australia, mostly for service and the dropping of routes in favour of codeshares and Jetstar which is operated by Qantas. However, the two airlines are continents apart. I think Qantas still does a pretty good job, and I was perfectly happy on this flight. The landing was a little bumpy and I’ve never been in a plane racing to its air-bridge so frenetically, but at the end of the day not only was I on time, in fact 10 minutes early, but I never stressed that time was running short. That’s all I asked.

So, thumbs up from me for Qantas! What are your experiences? Please comment! May the Journey Never End!