DJ552 PER-SYD 15th May 2009

Back when I was booking this trip it seemed like a really good idea to use the early (6am) flight back to Sydney from Perth so that I could then pick up a hirecar & drive out to the Port Stephens area for a few days on the beach before the long flight back to the UK.

Logistically, this ended up with me checking out of my 'hotel' in Cotteslow on the coast around 3.30am & then driving very carefully back to the airport in Perth - the hirecar (booked thru Europcar; they have a good discount for Virgin Blue flyers) was described as suffering 'Undercarriage damage' at some point in its early life, and had a really rather disturbing banging from the front suspension every time you went over a bump ; also, since I had had a few beers the evening before (little creatures in Fremantle - yum yum) I was doing my best to avoid attracting the cops who had been described to me by a local as 'A bunch of bl**dy b****rds' in the cheery Australian way.

Thankfully not a cop in sight & I drop the 'big black banging wagon' off, promising to make a small donation to the god of travelers once I felt a little better.

Checkin is open, and the airport is slowly coming to life around me - kiosk checkin hangs at seat selection so I go & do it the old way. Get seat 9a & one of the boarding passes that looks like a till receipt. Straight thru security & time to sit down for an hour & eat the apple that I have been saving for breakfast.

Boarding is quick & easy, flight is pretty full - no tellies fitted on this one, radio was available I think but I just sat down & dozed for the five-ish hours - feeling almost human again by the time we arrived. Trolly must have gone past a couple of times, I don't remember.

We were told that we are a little late arriving due to some bad & unreported weather, but the captain attempted to make that up with the quickest taxi around the airport ever - nobody even dared to think of standing up until we arrived at the gate !

Once there we are quickly off & baggage arrives quickly too - no problems with Virgin Blue on either of these trips, it all seems to work well.

Booking in advance, I paid $AU 298.08 for the return flight SYD-PER-SYD, $AU 5.45 in cheeky credit card surcharge, $AU 14.54 for one bag in the hold both ways, and $AU 30.93 in tax, total $AU340. Not a bad price at all.

Thanks for the return TR, seems like a good price.

Maybe all pilots should use the same tactic when taxi-ing, definately stop those any pax who insist on getting up as soon as the plane has touched down.[}:)]

quote:Originally posted by OxfordNick


also, since I had had a few beers the evening before (little creatures in Fremantle - yum yum)


[^]And what a beer Little Creatures is. Love the stuff from the days when I worked in Oddbins, we were the only people to sell it in the UK back then.

We now have a Little Creatures brewery here in Melbourne too.