Barbados to Brisbane

[spiggy_topes]

Trip report: Barbados (BGI)-Brisbane (BNE), 9th-11th April 2009

An absolute killer flight, this: 36 hours, over 4 flights. Fortunately all in Business or First, also I’d finished up earlier than planned so was going back home to spend at least part of Easter with the family. No photos as I didn’t have a camera, also I feel ridiculous taking pictures of everything!

Taxi from the Bridgetown Hilton at about 5.00 am after shower and coffee, having slept rather better than expected (following a decent meal, some red wine, an amusing but extremely filthy stand-up comedian from Montreal on cable, and half a Stilnox). Still dark in Barbados but a full moon setting in the west. Check-in was straightforward: walked up to the business class queue where there were only a few people in front, issued four boarding passes all the way through to BNE. Airport was pretty quiet at this time of the morning, the only major traffic being my American Airlines flight to Miami. Went up to try to get in the lounge (which I’d visited last year before the same flight) but was politely told AA had stopped using it. So, no free breakfast. Bought a cup of tea instead with my last Barbadian coins and sat in the departure gate doing my paperwork for the US.

AA602: BGI-MIA (757) Business class, seat 5B

Went expecting the worst, as a colleague in Barbados had flown a lot of segments on American Airlines in Y recently and had nothing good to say about them (45-minute flight delayed 2 hours because of a faulty coffee maker, kept thirsty while the plane stopped on the tarmac for 2.5 hours, etc etc). But this flight was fine – on time, 'omelet' with veges, coffee, etc. Lots of Barbadians on the flight, which was full – clearly the recession hasn’t hit yet. Did the Times quick crossword and read a Stephen King novel. Movie was ‘4 Christmases’ on overhead monitors (didn’t watch it).

Arriving into Miami was expected to be the most stressful part of the trip. I always get intimidated by the form-filling, the long queues, the officials in black uniforms and so on - not to mention that you now need to register electronically (like Australia) before travel.

So - Delighted to find my APEC card got me right through the Diplomatic channel in about 5 minutes flat, saving about an hour’s worth of stressful queuing (it’s gate 36 at the far left side). The card was put into some sort of reader and the rest was as usual for the US (fingerprints, photo) – and for once they understood what ‘in transit’ meant. (A colleague who suffered an industrial accident in his youth and has only nine fingers told me he’d been through Miami a few months ago. The fingerprinting software couldn’t understand he was missing a digit and crashed, to the consternation of Homeland Security. I imagine they’ve fixed that now…)

Collect bags, through Customs and hand them back in for onwards flight to LAX. Still a shambles, but not as bad as last time, when I passed a bag for LA under a barrier and saw the TSA woman slowly drag it away by the zipper lanyard… Through security (again), fortunately in the fast channel, where two women were each carrying a pet (one dog, one cat) in carry-on bags – wonder if they’re allowed in the cabin? I’m allergic to cats and would not be happy with one next to me.

An hour to wait, so flashed the QFF card and wandered into the Admiral’s Club. Bit quieter than the main concourse, but it’s a shame you have to pay for everything except basic coffee – we complain about the QP but it’s luxurious compared to the US. Found a PC and checked my email – nothing urgent. Sat for a while charging my laptop and reading, then went down to the gate.

AA203: MIA-LAX (757), business class, seat 5A

Full flight again, but a window seat this time (usually I get an aisle but the gods of the booking system are fickle). 20 minutes late taking off but the pilot says we’ll make up the time. Nice views of Miami as we take off to the east and slowly come round to the west as we gain altitude. Stewardesses clearly ‘experienced’ (nothing compared to BA though) but efficient and friendly, and I sink two bourbons with ice and a glass of red over lunch. Choice of shrimp (prawn) dish with rice, or something called a Reuben Sandwich, which proves to be an enormous toasted sandwich with cheese, a thin layer of coleslaw, and an inch (literally) of sliced beef – I could only eat half of it. The unfortunates in the main cabin have to buy chicken rolls at $10 US each.

I’m seated next to a Japanese gentleman, who shortly after takeoff gets out his personal stereo and starts playing it at such a volume that I can hear it even through my own Ipod earbuds. Not wanting to put up with it all the way to LA, I very politely ask him to turn it down – and he does, with an apology! Full marks to the Japanese for good manners.

Movie is ‘Marley and Me’ – something about a dog. Dozed a bit, looked out the window at one point and saw Meteor Crater near Flagstaff, Arizona, very distinctive - it's an impact crater from 50,000 years ago. Amazing.

Arrive at LAX 20 minutes late. Wait…and wait…and wait for luggage. Eventually the carousel stops without a sign of my suitcases, so it’s off to the lost luggage office. After a long wait in the queue the clerk tells me that because I’m going to Brisbane and the bags will have been transferred automatically. This is new to me – last year I had to take the bags to Tom Bradley Terminal by hand. All part of the fun and glamour of international travel…

Quick walk outside to the TBI terminal, past the taxi touts, glad to get some fresh(ish) air. Quite tired now. Up to the security screening queue, which is a disaster area – lots of staff milling around, one machine in operation, poorly designed traffic flow, exit past the metal detector blocked by people putting shoes back on, etc etc. Big dustbin full of discarded 500 ml bottles of water. It all seems positively third world compared to BNE.

Then on to the First lounge, which is pleasant and uncrowded, and has a decent selection of food & free booze and free WiFi – not a bad place to spend 3 hours.

More to follow if anyone finds this worth reading!

[drron]

Love the title spiggy.I think your bags are fine.last time BOS-LAX-BNE I was told the same and confidently expected NOT to see my bags in BNE but out they came about midway through the unloading.Wonder when they would have come out without those priority tags!
Hope you had a good time in Barbados.

[spiggy_topes]

Thanks drron - I guess I'll find out in 15 hours time in Sydney! At least the really critical stuff (laptop, memory sticks, contact lens stuff) is in my backpack.

[samh004]

I'm enjoying your trip report so far. You can continue if you like.

[spiggy_topes]

QF12 LAX-SYD (747), First class, seat 3K
The flight is called about 30 minutes before departure; there’s quite a crush of people waiting to use the lift from the Qantas lounge, so walk down two flights of stairs. Up to gate 123 at the end of the terminal, a final check of my passport against boarding pass (this must have happened at least four times), and into the plane, which is a 747 tonight, not the A380 which also flies this route. Later I realize I still have the bottom part of the visa waiver form in my passport, wondering if this will cause problems next time I enter the US.

Although the First cabin has 14 seats there are only six passengers here tonight, and the CSM mentions there are quite a few empty seats throughout the plane. The very pleasant stewards bring out a little plate of nibbles and a glass of champagne, which somehow gets refilled twice more before take-off (deliberate on my part, a few glasses help me sleep). They also bring out menus, an amenity pack and at my request an extra sleeper suit for my wife (she likes them). Rollback is on time and off we go – despite carrying several hundred tons of fuel the 747 pulls itself into the air quite energetically, there’s a shuddering as the nosewheel retracts, and the 14 hour flight has started. The blinds go down as there’ll be nothing to see until we reach Sydney. The Customer Service Manager (head steward?) comes round to shake hands and have a brief chat, also to give out landing forms.

I’m feeling really tired now and have little appetite, so just have two starters (broccoli soup and a palm heart salad – not sure what that is but they taste fine) and a couple of glasses of shiraz. Then the stewardess makes up the bed while I get changed into the sleeper suit. Having had a couple of overnight flights in Y in the last month, it’s very pleasant to be able to stretch out full-length and get a few hours of sleep - no earth-shattering snorers in the cabin this time.

Awake again after about four hours, very thirsty, and shaken around by turbulence. Can’t get back to sleep – my body clock thinks it’s mid-afternoon - but it’s ‘only’ seven hours to Sydney now. I reset my watch’s time and date (Good Friday lasted about 4 hours this year due to crossing the International Date Line) and watch ‘Valkyrie’, which has an excellent mostly-British cast and a gripping story; a steward brings me a pot of tea while watching it. Try to watch ‘Australia’ which I missed at the pictures but give up after twenty minutes - the characters are just too unbelievable - and pull out the laptop. The really nice thing about these 747s is that they have 120/240v universal power sockets, so no need for a special charger.

Hours go by in the dark. Reading an e-book on my laptop, doing a little background work for a new project. 2 hours out from Sydney I’m offered breakfast – not particularly hungry but have a bowl of fruit and some of the hot items (egg, spinach, potato cakes, etc). Land into Sydney just as it’s getting light. Straight through passports (that APEC card again), bags appear against expectation, fast track customs, through to the transfer desk. Americans bickering loudly on the domestic terminal bus, everyone looks tired as they’ve all come off overnight flights. Two hours to wait in the Qantas Club – the lady at the transfer desk kindly offered me an earlier flight but my pick-up arrangements are already in place. Lounge very quiet but it is Easter Saturday.

Flight to Brisbane is called – last leg now! Against my usual habit I board early, then wonder why I bothered as all the rest of the passengers get on and slowly shuffle past. Completely routine flight with another bowl of fruit and some pastries offered. Flight lands on time, Bob the driver is waiting with a handshake, and I’m home, having had about 4 hours sleep in the previous 40, but happy that there won't be any more long-haul flights for a couple of months.

[drron]

One of lifes great feelings-seeing your bags when it was thought all hope was lost.
Maybe one day I can experience QF F.I live in hope.

[JohnK]

Very enjoyable trip report spiggy_topes.

The unfortunates in the main cabin have to buy chicken rolls at $10 US each.

Interesting that you refer to the WHY cabin as the main cabin. The impression I get from most people travelling in premium cabins is they each feel they are in the main cabin of the aircraft....