After four years our return to New York has finally arrived. Things are a bit different this time. Qantas has a new flight, QF3, which departs Sydney and goes via Auckland and then direct to New York. Our last few trips have been from Melbourne via LA and then onto New York. We will be travelling on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, only five months old. The new flagship plane in the Qantas fleet.
First we have to get to Sydney.
The fun begins.
For the last few days the weather reports on the news have indicated severe thunderstorm activity in Sydney and Canberra and generally the east coast of Australia. These reports enter my consciousness vaguely as we prepare for our Canberra to Sydney flight on Thursday afternoon. The weather in Canberra is perfectly fine on Thursday, as we head out to the airport earlier than planned: around 5pm for our 7pm flight. On arrival at the airport there appears to be a little bit of chaos. Flights have been cancelled, including ours, and every other flight from Canberra has been delayed. The reason. Extreme and severe thunderstorms in Sydney, from around midday. Thankfully our flight to NYC isn’t until tomorrow morning so irrespective of what time we get to Sydney tonight we should be fine. So we enjoy some time in Lounge: champagne and a spicy chicken burger and some reading.
Eventually our flight is called at around 8:15. It’s a slow process of boarding and taxiing out of Canberra, all the Sydney flights are boarding and leaving now. We take off at about 8:50. We Landed in Sydney at 9:45, we then transfer to the Rydges Hotel and settle in at around 11.00. Our bags take ages as Sydney as the airport is still in chaos. There are hundreds of people waiting to board planes and hundreds more waiting for baggage. We eventually escape the airport into the relatively cool evening and we walk to the hotel some six hours after we left home in what is a very painful start to our journey.
The next morning we’re up at 5am and head across to the airport just after 6am. To our surprise the airport is almost empty and we check our bags and proceed through security and passport control and are sitting in the Qantas first lounge by 6:30am. Our Flight is due to board at 9am.
The first lounge is a tranquil hideaway from the hustle and bustle of the busy duty-free stores downstairs. The Lounge offers expansive views of the airport. We are mesmerised as we watch planes take off, land, and taxi. Each aircraft is tended to by an army of support craft. Much like sharks are supported by remora, each aircraft is inspected, cleaned, fuelled and loaded in a symphonic wave like dance as aircraft arrive and depart.
As we enjoy breakfast, we talk about the logistics involved, running an airline and an airport.
We move from the restaurant in the lounge to comfortable chairs and continue to watch the mechanical ballet unfold below us as we enjoy more champagne and hot chocolate.
We chat, read, sip and watch the world go by for a couple of hours. Mardi books in for a spa treatment and before we know it, it’s time to board.
We wander from the lounge back into the now bustling and frantic airport. It is now a cacophony of sounds: multiple languages, kids yelling excitedly, tourists pointing in varying directions: some confidently, others confused as everyone darts around looking for their gate, their plane, their escape.
Our escape comes in a shiny 787 attached to its long feeding tube at gate 37. Or gate “the longest walk”. As we arrive and check in, the ground crew member speaks into her walking, talkie. “I have the last two, we are now all boarded”. As we enter the plane, souls 237 and 238, the doors are closed and we taxi our way out of Sydney bound for New York, Auckland a pit stop on the way.
The Auckland leg is quick and easy, the pit stop is exactly that. Landing into New Zealand is always spectacular, the geography of this ancient land is just wondrous. Before we know it though, we are back on the 787 bound for NYC, 16 hours away.
The long flight is comfortable, the service excellent and we both manage around eight hours of sleep. Despite the public trashing of the Qantas brand recently, they do everything right on this flight. I am supported with orientation on board, attentive staff and on arrival just wonderful ground assistance. We are escorted through immigration, baggage claim and to our taxi. We arrive at our hotel about two hours after landing, the cab ride taking 90 minutes.
The AKA on 44th has been our home away from home since 2010. Julio immediately remembers us as we arrive at the front door at 6pm. It’s like we never left – fours years has gone so quickly. We check in, relax, grab some dinner…the adventure is now ready to begin.
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