Qantas A380 Economy Sydney - LAX

The plane arrived into the domestic terminal and after de planing I followed the signs towards gate 15 to transfer to the international terminal. I handed my second boarding pass to the agent who was manning the gate and made my way downstairs towards an already waiting bus which left one minute after I hopped on board.

The trip towards the international terminal was a very scenic one as we passed a variety of planes such as Qantas, Lan, and Air India's 787. As we pulled into the terminal entrance I gazed at Air India and questioned why the Star Alliance logo was plastered on the side and though I was hallucinating until I remembered that they recently joined the alliance.

The terminal was busy and I was getting hungry so I made my way inside departures and faced a very long line for the regular immigration queues to which I puled out an express card path and breezed by way towards an immigration officer. There was a sea of men in black sports uniform which were causing quite a commotion with people taking pictures and asking for signatures which turned out to be the Juventus soccer team who were on their way to Singapore.

I needed a sim card and remember there was a booth offering international sims in the terminal to which I handed over $60 for a unlimited 3gig sim on T-Mobile.  You would probably call me crazy but I needed a sim and was happy to pay for convenience at the time.  I headed towards the gate area just to suss out what I would be dealing with later on and after seeing the gate was like any other gate I turned around and made my way back towards the lounge and passed a set of massage chairs where I saw a very well groomed American who held a Qantas boarding pass to which I asked if he wanted to be guested into the lounge.

Heres how the conversation went:

Me: Hi, I see you're flying Qantas.. did you want to get guested into the lounge?
Him: Why???
Me: I have a guest spot and thought I would do a nice deed...
Him: I don't need no lounge and like the company of these massage chairs.
Me: uh.... okay....  have a nice day. (cue scene of Homer Simpson slowly backing into the green bushes)

A shot of the Asian airlines.

Okayyyyy didn't expect that but whatever, no more nice deeds for the day as I went upstairs past the first lounge and walked down towards the QP "Qantas Pub".  I found a quiet spot in the back area by the computers,  and made my way towards the buffet where there was a selection of breakfast food as well as a selection of salad and alcohol.

Food of champions?

Breakfast that morning.

It was quite busy in the lounge with one of the Cathay flights delayed so a lot of people were lingering around and signs of frustration were written across their forehead. I began to dose off and before long I awoke twenty minutes before boarding time which gave me just the amount of time to freshen up and make my way towards the gate. 

I found myself back at gate 8 with a massive crowd of people floating around waiting for the manual passport check to open to which I made my way to the front as a line began to form behind me. A few minutes later I  handed my passport over for a inspection as I observed the immigration officer cross check my name to a list which didn't have my name on it as I made my way to the priority boarding line.

Waiting to board.

I turned around and saw a never ending line of passengers, moments like this is when status comes in handy.

Wheelchair passengers disappeared down the jet bridge before the announcement for First, business, and status passengers commenced as I made my way towards the the agent and then down the bridge towards door C where there was a overhead screen stating sections and rows of where to board which was which was the dedicated upper deck entry.

A member of staff stopped me with an explanation of "they're not ready for boarding" as I watched passengers board through door A and B. A few moments later the staff member was given clearance to allow upper deck passengers to board as she wished me a enjoyable flight and with that I made my way up towards the whale. As I got closer to the door I saw two smiling staff members in the Qantas uniform greet me and direct me all the way down towards emerald city.

Stop right here sir.

When I heard of emerald city I imagined myself following the yellow brick road all happy and lovely dovey towards my seat until my friend explained that the mini economy cabin upstairs which consists of five rows is rewarded the name as it's usually reserved for Platinum (One World Emerald) passengers to select at time of booking and is usually blocked off and opened up towards last minute for other passengers which I was very fortunate to be able to select.

Business sky beds.

I found my seat and placed my bag in the overhead compartment and did notice what the others have said about lack of overhead space was true, later passengers who boarded had trouble finding space as crew directed them towards the premium economy overhead. My heart was beating as I sat in my seat without the seatbelt done up chanting in my mind "please have a shadow" numerously as passengers were boarding and to my luck I had a bright smile form across my face when the doors were closed. Fantastic,  a lovely shadow next to me which meant I could spread out and not have anyone climb over me to use the lavatory as well as having extra space for 14 hours.

My seats for the next 14 hours.

I managed to snap up some pics of the "emerald city" before other guests arrived.

The lack of overhead space was entertaining to watch as guests stood there confused.

Our flight was delayed thirty minutes as there was an issue and miscommunication with both governments as a Mr Curry was asked to alert staff member to his whereabouts.  The captain informed us that the runway was directly behind us so there wouldn't be a wait time to take off. The flight time would be 14 hours and 10 minutes but the captain spoke of a short cut he had that he would try and reduce the flying time which got me questioning how on earth is a short cut possible but I wasn't complaining.

The flight path.

I didn't realise we began pushing back until the safety video appeared on my screen as I relocated myself into the window seat. The engines began to power up as we began to slowly gain speed and accelerate down the runway which was paced like a slow motion movie. The whale got faster and faster and we finally began to climb into the sunny sky. I was surprised it was such a quiet plane and very smooth as she began turning and climbing en route to Los Angeles.

One world, three planes, two boeings, one airbus. 

Some shots of planes while pushing back.

Wahh.. Wahh... cry...  did I tell you guys that there was a family and child in the middle row next to me? The precious thing began screaming as all eyes in the cabin directed their attention to the family. I prayed to God and asked that the child wouldn't cry a lot though out the flight asI knew asking for the child not to cry would be delusional but the parents were all over their child and crying was kept to a minimum.

My attention went back to nature outside and watched as land began getting smaller and all there was around us was sky and sea.

Takeoff, turns and cruise to destination.

I forgot about the tail cam and remembered when flicking though the IFE options.

We finally gained cruising altitude as the seatbelt sign was extinguished to which the cabin crew sprung to life by handing out a menus and bottles of water and headphones to each passenger. I could smell the aroma of lunch wafting around the cabin as I checked out the menu and noticed the wellbeing option which caught my attention as I sat and decided what I wanted for lunch. An announcement came over stating that federal laws prohibit passengers to congregate in large groups around the lavatories which was a bit humorous but at the same time in place just in case.

 

A bottle of water inflight is your best friend.

I began exploring the seat and found that legroom was decent for a legacy carrier, my knees nearly touched the seat in front and had around 2 inches away from the seat pocket. The window seat had a nifty side bin located just under the window which was capable of handling a medium sized messenger bag or in my case I shoved the pillows and blankets into it until use which also functioned as a place I kept my drinks and lunch tray on.  I noticed just under the seat was an extra storage pouch which can accommodate a pillow although it would limit legroom hence I didn't find it practical but its always there if needed.

A shot of the space between my knee and the seat in front. 

The handy side bin. 

Storage pouch.

Twin seats.

Under each seat was a shared universal power plug which is the life and soul to powering devices in this day and age. There's also a usb power plug located at the tip of each arm rest which is must more convenient when charging most devices. 

Contents of in seat pocket.

A shot of the cabin before the curtains were drawn. 

The trolley was pushed towards the front of the cabin, I was still indecisive and made up my mind just as Paula and Luke positioned themselves next to my seat. I went for the chicken salad and Paula said if I was sure as it wouldn't be very filling to which I went with anyway.

Im glad I went with what I did as the chicken salad was really fresh, tasty and delicious. It was different from the standard hot meals and was accompanied by a side of blood orange and grapefruit which was topped by a rich chocolate mousse.

Chicken salad wellbeing option. 

Jacobs creek sparkling. 

The lunch service was performed in a flash as the flight attendants did a second round for drinks. I decided to go for a sparkling wine which was served ice cold and full of bubbles. Meal done and sparkling gone, I left the tray on the side storage bin and headed for the lavatory to change into a pair of sweat pants.



A lovely benefit of being isolated in the mini cabin was the benefit of having a lavatory to ourselves which was kept spotless and the fact that there wasn't much traffic going through the cabin.

I decided to pop into the galley to ask for a refill of water to which instead of refilling it from the tap, Angela used one of the large 1.5 litre bottles which was very nice of her.  In the galley I also met Paula and Luke who were so very down to earth and the most caring, lovely and attentive crew, we had the longest chat which continued long into the flight, I won't forget Maiwa who was in the business cabin and would pop into the cabin and galley to say hello. If there was one word that could be used to describe them it would be Qantas.

I understand everyone crosses paths with a hit or miss crew but damn, when its a hit crew they hit you straight to the point of being spoilt. I asked if they could open the security barrier and Paula went to the extent of showing how to open it just in case no crew were around once I decided to head back upstairs, to her credit she did say I could yell out to the crew who would be happy to open it up but knowing me, I opened it up myself.

Spiral in style down to economy. 

The self serve bar at the back of the main economy cabin. 

Located downstairs were lavatory's and a self serve bar which consisted of soft drinks, fruit, biscuits and crackers. I popped my head into the cabin and saw rows and miles of economy which the crew were just concluding meal service and it made me glad I was seated upstairs. I noticed the downstairs cabin of the A380 was very large and the side walls seemed to have a square kind of feeling. 

Miles of economy. 

I went for a stretch down towards first class, crossed through the galley where more crew said hi and stayed for a chin wag and caught up on gallery gossip. It was only five hours into the flight and I was feeling restless so back upstairs it was while some folks at the back decided to get curious and pop their head upstairs but were met with barrier so they made their way back down. 

Settling back in my seat and praying the little one in the row beside wouldn't cry I began watching family guy and not long after Luke walked passed and handed me a pair of business class pj's, an amenity kit and noise cancelling headphones which melted my heart. It was the generosity and care demonstrated from the crew that set them apart and shown they've certainly gone above and beyond to make my return on Qantas a memorable flight and took it up a notch to the extent that everyone of them would often stop and ask if I needed anything when walking by. A few sparkling glasses later, a sip of red wine and some munchies it was time for sleep, my eyes couldn't stay open as we crossed the international date line. 

I woke up for a three hour nap and was feeling restless so I popped back downstairs for a wander and  saw crew were distributing pizza slices as a snack which left a heavenly smell drifting around the cabin  which made my stomach churn as I made my way back up the stairs past the snack bar which didn't have anything that appealed to me so back into the galley where I asked if there was anything to munch on to which Angela told me to return to the seat and she would bring something out soon. 

Beef and harissa sausage roll with tomato relish. 

It seemed that pizza was already delivered to customers in emerald city while I slept so Angela came out a few moments after with a small plate which had a hot beef and harissa sausage roll. I asked her no pizza and with a cheeky giggle she said this would taste much better than pizza. She was right, one of the best gourmet sausage rolls I've eaten... the first sausage roll I've had inflight and it was delicious and hit the spot which somehow caused food coma to take over and put me into another nap. 

I was awoken by slight turbulence and lifted the window shades to reveal a beautiful sunrise as we cruised to destination. I learnt while in the galley that breakfast would be at 0630 local time and by luck it was nearly that time for food. A quick pop into the galley for a top up of water and a coffee was the kick start of the day as the guys were ready for their trolley run. 

Spinach and pumpkin fritatta with pork sausage and baked beans. 

Breakfast was pumped out to starving guests who demolished their food in the timeframe of ten minutes which seemed like a eating competition. The food was hot, tasty and substantial as the sky outside began getting brighter which meant the flight was coming to an end. Trays cleared and rubbish collected, we were near our destination when Ian, the inflight supervisor came by to introduce himself and say hello. I counted 3 looks of confusion from fellow guests as we moved our chat to the galley just to keep things low key..... yeah right... in the duration of 14 hours one person getting looked after constantly by four crew was special indeed, seriously Don't You Know Who I Am or in my case they knew who I was!  :P

The familiar thank you for flying with Qantas and cabin crew prepare for descent announcement came over which somewhat made me sad. It was such an enjoyable and amazing flight that I didn't want to be over but I was glad it was coming to an end as I don't know how much longer my sane level would uphold if the flight was any longer. I thanked the crew for their love throughout the flight and returned to my seat as crew began to prepare the cabin, Paula emerged from premium economy where she stopped by and asked me if I watched Desperate Housewife to which she said Charlie Carver was sitting in the last row, no idea who he was until I googled him, he's not even that hot Paula!!!

The whale with the kangaroo began descent as Angela popped by my seat and handed me a in flight duty free bag which contained a bottle of Gemtree Shiraz, more love and presents to wrap up a spectacular journey and indent the beautiful crew onboard. 

 Another plane in the distant sky. 

 The whale family at LAX.

We landed with a thump as the quiet engines let out a roar as we slowly came into a very long taxi towards the terminal. I was finally back in the land of the free as a five year absence was put to an end. I switched on my mobile and sat patiently waiting for the T Mobile card to activate. I waited on the plane, I waited before immigration which was processed really fast under ten minutes! I waited for my bag which happened to be the last one to come out on the carousel, and at that moment I was cursing the the check in agent for not putting a priority tag on as well as T Mobile for not activating my sim. 

I quickly exited the baggage hall where the last stop was customs who glanced at my bag and then back up at me to ask "how much cash do you have?" before allowing me to continue outside to meet my brother. Welcome to the United States.