Qantas has two routes named for Australian macropods: the famous Kangaroo Route, from Sydney to London with a technical stop in Singapore, and the Wallaby Route, from Sydney to Johannesburg, getting its name from the shorter “hops” it made back when it wasn’t a non-stop flight. Even now, it’s about an hour shorter than the Singapore-London leg of the Kangaroo Route, even though it is the longest A380 route entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. Recently, Qantas has deployed the A380 on the Wallaby Route, replacing the 787-9, which in turn replaced the 747-400, adding it to a very short list of destinations that see the Australian superjumbo.
Server: Solo
Airline: Qantas
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800
Origin: Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, Mascot, Australia (SYD)
Destination: O.R. Tambo International Airport, Kempton Park, South Africa (JNB)
Flight Number: QF63
Route: YSSY-FAOR
Seat: 48A (Economy)
Time En Route: 13 Hours 30 Minutes
In line to board our aircraft as a summer shower passes through Sydney
Pushing back for the 13 and a half-hour flight to J-Burg
City on a rainy day down in the harbor, watching as the gray clouds shadow the bay
Reaching the Victorian coast over Melbourne
In cruise over the southern Indian Ocean
Descending into Johannesburg
Afternoon arrival at JNB
Parked at Gate E1