Taking a quick break from the Cathay Pacific widebodies to fly the busiest route in Australia! Qantas currently flies 3 different types between the two cities: the Boeing 737-800, and the Airbus A330-200 and A321neo. Since only 1 of these types is currently in Infinite Flight, the task necessarily falls upon Qantas’s domestic workhorse and the best-selling member of the 737 NG family, the 737-800.
Server: Solo
Airline: Qantas
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Origin: Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, Mascot, Australia (SYD)
Destination: Melbourne Airport, Tullamarine, Australia (MEL)
Flight Number: QF439
Route: YSSY-YMML
Seat: 3A (Business)
Time En Route: 1 Hour 27 Minutes
Ready to board at Gate 9 for the quick flight over to Melbourne. Our aircraft today is a 737-800 registered as VH-VXM and named “Mount Hotham”, one of 72 active airframes in the Qantas fleet.
Pushing back into the alley between Terminal 1 and the Qantas maintenance hangars. The business class seats are broad and comfortable, with leather cushions instead of vinyl, a nice touch on a narrowbody domestic flight.
Taxiing by Terminal 1 and a sea of Qantas and Virgin Australia tails. Among them is an A330-200 wearing “City Flyer” titles that arrived from Melbourne earlier this morning.
Taking off from Runway 25. First time departing from it!
Climbing out over Caringbah, an outer suburb of Sydney on the coast of New South Wales
In cruise over the Australian Capital Territory at 38,000 feet. Got to have a decent lunch for such a short flight.
Intial descent near our namesake mountain, after a brief time at our cruising altitude
Touching down at Tullamarine, to paraphrase the Redgum song “I’ve Been to Bali, Too”
Taxiing by the International Terminal and the northern pier of Terminal 3
Deplaned at Gate 24 at Terminal 3. Business class on the Qantas 737-800 was a wonderful experience and is arguably the best way to get between Sydney and Melbourne.
