Qantas Business Class : QF662 Adelaide to Brisbane B737-800

I've been doing a bit of flying about the country lately on Qantas Domestic. Being a bit of a 'status freak' I have been working my way up to Qantas Platinum for no reason other than just because I can.  So on a couple of days in December with my double status credits promo offer soon expiring I did a bit of hopping around on the Flying Kangaroo.

This post is about flight QF662 from Adelaide to Brisbane. I flew in to Adelaide on Jetstar on a super cheap deal to start my Anyseat Award flight to Townsville via Brisbane. For those who read the Australian Frequent Flyer forum this kind of award is referred to as a 'JASA'. Its an award seat but it earns points and most importantly status credits.

The Adelaide Airport Terminal 

I had a couple of hours to waste before my lunchtime flight so it was off to the Qantas Club. This is a pretty big lounge but it does not include a separate business class lounge like this found on the major east coast airports. It's food offerings at lunch are standard Qantas Club fare like cold meats, salads, soup and bread. There is a very decent wine and beer selection too, although I think they only serve alcohol from noon onwards.

Qantas Club Adelaide - this is only half of it

I happily admit to being a total plane geek so I was pleased that there was quite a nice view of the regional apron, home to some turboprops. I took a few snaps:

Sharp Airlines Fairchild Metro 23

Regional Express Saab 340B arriving

Alliance Fokker 50

Regional Express Saab 340B

After a light snack,  I headed off to the gate early to have a bit of a look at what was happening on the main apron.

My flight QF662 will be boarding shortly at Gate 22

The boarding Gate

A Boeing 737-400 parked nearby

 Business class boarding was soon called and I made my way to seat 3F, unfortunately I had not managed to secure my preferred row 1 bulkhead seats. The Qantas business seats on the 737-800 are perfectly comfortable but the seat pitch is awful in row 2 and 3.

Baggage Loaders at work

As you can see it's basically economy legroom

 I was disappointed to find business class was full so I had someone sitting beside  me, meaning no easy way out to the lavatory during the flight without interrupting my seat mate. Never mind! Welcome juices were soon offered by our flight attendant and away we went.

Goodbye Adelaide

 After takeoff a packet of nuts and drinks were offered. I had a glass of white wine.

The South Australian countryside

Lunch was soon offered, there was 2 choices and I had a potato salad with Gorgonzola and cold roast beef. It was really tasty actually and the wine topups were frequent.

Lunch

 In the photo above you can see I have my Asus eeePad hanging from the seat in front of me. My own personal audio video on demand system which I take with me on all flights! Who needs airline systems when you can bring your own huh? This particular 737 only had an overhead screen for entertainment but some of the new ones in the Qantas fleet do feature personal screens.

Once lunch was over I made small talk in the galley with the awesome cabin manager and his female colleague. They were very interested in the reason for my flight and when they found out I was status running they thought it was fabulous. We chatted at length about the Qantas inflight service and how we all thought the Qantas Summer of Safety cricket themed safety video was simply awful. These two crew were a delight throughout the flight and an absolute credit to Qantas!

By the time we finished chatting we were on descent so it was time to head back to my seat. The captain had mentioned on the PA there was some storm cells around Brisbane and they provided some great views as we approached.

Storm Clouds

 The landing was routine and as I exited the crew wished me well and thanked me for flying Qantas. I was addressed as 'Mr SURNAME' the whole way by the way, and they memorised it very early on. It's flights like this that make me keep coming back to Qantas domestic, they truly have some brilliant flight attendants.