QF 128 Hong Kong - Sydney A380 J

QF 128 Flight Report : Hong Kong - Sydney

I chose Qantas on this trip not because it offered the best service or the best schedule. Quite the contrary - they only offer 1 daily flight to Hong Kong, sometimes 2, while Cathay had 4. But they were the cheapest, and in this economy, flying the cheapest Business Class would be a prudent idea.

The best thing about flying Qantas is not just the Oneworld mileage I could earn, but to be able to fly the A380 for the first time. I almost had the opportunity to do this 2 years earlier for a trip to Singapore, but it did not materialize in the end.

The Business Class check-in counters were not busy for this red-eye flight. Once past security and immigration, I caught sight of this large jet being prepared for tonight's service.







I then proceeded to the nearby Qantas Lounge near Gate 16. The huge facility was very busy tonight. The washroom was particularly spacious and clean - better than the Cathay lounge's toilets.













I wasn't interested in feasting on the ground before my flight.



Boarding commenced a full hour before departure. The extra time was necessary, since there was a secondary bag check on the airbridge. All passenger bags had to be searched. There were plenty of agents to handle the passengers, but given the A380 seated many, even the premium cabin's line was long. Business Class was full today.













Qantas' Business Class meal service had a lot more choice than Cathay Pacific. I had soup on the plane for the first time with them in 2008, and I didn't hesitate to try it again this time.









I had little sleep that night. Qantas advertised their new lie-flat bed for their A380 planes, but I found out the hard way that "flat" also meant angled. Being quite sensitive to these little things, I would lean towards flying Cathay next time.

Breakfast was served prior to landing. The portions were very generous. I particularly liked the Chinese option - with congee, dim sum, and noodles. The noodles didn't taste good, but the rest of the meal filled me up quite well.













The skies greyed as we descended into Sydney. There wouldn't be a blue sky and skyline view today.





















We went past Sydney's CBD towards the south, then turned 180 degrees for a landing northwards.



















Another plane was ahead of us coming in for a landing.











Welcome back to Sydney!























Once we parked at the gate, I started snapping photos of the emptying Business Class cabin. It seemed a nice day in Sydney after all, with plenty of natural light to illuminate the plane.















Full report : http://www.globalphotos.org/qf-hkg-syd.htm