Today I continue my journey back down south. I’m doing two legs today. The first is with QANTAS from Darwin to Cairns. My departure from Darwin is at 06h15 in the morning, which is an ungodly hour to have to get on a plane. However, in this case, it couldn’t be avoided. In a way, I was lucky to find this connection. Most other flights heading south leave Darwin after one in the morning, which I really don’t fancy.

Getting to the Airport

According to Google Maps, it’s a walk of eleven minutes from the Mercure Darwin Airport Resort to the terminal building. According to the signs along the pavement, it’s eight minutes. In reality, it takes five minutes walking at a leisurely pace, even with my suitcase in tow. There is also a complimentary shuttle on demand from the hotel, but I very much doubt you’d be any faster with that.

Check-In

I’ve already checked in on the app. However, I’m checking in my suitcase for the leg to Cairns, simply because the Embraer 190 is very limited for space in the overhead bins. One thing I really don’t understand at airports, is why the self-service tagging and drop off cannot be done in one go, at the same machine. Here in Darwin, I first have to scan my boarding pass at one machine to print the tag, then attach it to my case and schlepp it over to the drop-off conveyor. Supposedly, it improves passenger flow. The fact that it’s entirely inconvenient to passengers, is obviously only a minor consideration.

The Darwin Airport QANTAS Lounge

Much to my surprise, there’s actually a QANTAS lounge at Darwin Airport, and it’s rather large, too. What’s more, it’s open in the mornings from 04h15. The lounge is quite busy. More or less around the same time as my flight there’s another E 190 departure to Alice Springs as well as the B 737-800 service down to Melbourne.

My first stop is the bar, where I ask the barista for a flat white. While she’s on that, I make myself some toast to keep me going until breakfast on the plane later on.

Boarding

Boarding for the flight starts at exactly 05h45 for our 06h15 departure, with a call for passengers in group 1 to come forward for priority boarding.

The Cabin & Seat

There are three rows of Business Class on this aircraft. The seats look rather new and the pitch is good. There is no cabin divider between the Business and Economy Class cabins. On this morning’s flight the seat load is 9/9 or 100% in the Business Class cabin. The final headcount is 96 passengers.

The Service & Crew

There are two young female cabin crew today, and they’re brilliant! For example, once boarding is completed, the purser hands out small bottles of water. However, the passenger on 1A has fallen asleep already, so she doesn’t bother him. Later on, though, after we take off and she notices him awake, she brings him a bottle.

We take off in complete darkness. The runway is quite far away from the terminal, so that even the ramp lights outside don’t do anything to light up the cabin. It’s a spectacular climb out, though, watching the sun slowly rise on the horizon.

The Meal – Breakfast

It takes about thirty minutes after take-off for the breakfast service to begin. The breakfast service is from a trolley. Even so, hot drinks are not served until the end of the meal and the trays have been cleared away, which is a bit unusual. There are three options for breakfast: a granola bowl with milk, a smoked salmon bagel, or a full English breakfast – which is what I have. It’s a substantial meal. On the tray is the hot meal and a large tub of yoghurt. The crew also places a slice of sourdough on the side plate.

The main dish consists of a beef sausage, two hash browns, two fried eggs and fried leeks with spinach.

The sourdough is rather nice, but given how thinly sliced it it, I think it wouldn’t hurt to offer each passenger more than just the one piece. That would also make it seem a little less of a waste than to have a whole small jar of jam for just the one slice.

Once I’m done, the tray is quickly removed and the crew bring me the coffee I’d ordered with milk.

For the rest of the flight, I spend my time napping. It was an early start this morning…

Arrival in Cairns

Thirty minutes out of Cairns the pilot comes on the loudspeaker to announce the top of descent. As she passes through the cabin making her final check, the purser hands out small bottles of water. The view outside is interesting. On the left there is the ocean, whereas on the right there is a wide range of high hills that are completely covered in lush vegetation (mental note to come here next time I visit Australia…).

As we taxi to our stand, I notice this Shorts Belfast parked up on the other side of the runway. The aircraft is fully white, and although it looks intact, I’m not sure it’s still airworthy.

Aaaaand… we’re parked on a remote stand. Woohoo! I step off the plane and walk the short distance to the terminal. It’s only a bit warmer here than it was in Darwin yesterday, I think, but it’s certainly a lot more humid.

Conclusion

I rather enjoyed this flight on QANTAS Link from Darwin to Cairns. Having a dedicated Business Class cabin with a plush, comfortable seat is always nice, especially considering that the flight time from Darwin to Cairns was over two hours this morning. Coming from Europe, where usually a blocked seat is just about the full extent of the onboard Business Class experience, it’s also quite unusual to have a narrow body with a dedicated Business Class seat. I was also a bit surprised that QANTAS should have such a nice lounge in Darwin.