Airliner World – May 2018

(Nora) #1
http://www.airlinerworld.com 47

reiterated the historic nature of the flight
over the P/A, as with the Dreamliner’s
arrival, our departure was also marked
by a goodly gathering of flag-waving
Qantas staff – and that kangaroo! We
were held on the taxiway for a few min-
utes before moving off to the west to
join the queue for runway 09R.
There were 13 cabin crew on this
flight, one more than usual due to the
need to get staff more acquainted with
the Dreamliner; all were UK-based.
It was almost three hours after
take-off that the meal service reached
my location. We’d heard much of how
the airline had hired nutritional experts
to create a menu specially optimised
for ultra-long-haul travel, and how the
meals were designed to keep passengers
hydrated. However, if I am honest, back
in the cheap seats, the food seemed
rather bland to me. Perhaps I shouldn’t
have been surprised − everyone knows
only things that are bad for you
taste nice!
Below the 12in (30.5cm) IFE touch-
screens, but above the usual fold-down
food tray, the economy seat backs


incorporated a useful electronic device
tray, with a USB charging point imme-
diately alongside, but once the person in
front of me had reclined their seat, there
was virtually no room for manoeuvre.
I found it physically impossible to reach
the main power socket located between
the seats about a foot above floor level.
However, with such an early start, it
had already been a long day and by that

stage my thoughts were mostly
about sleep. Nevertheless, gazing out
of the tinted window at the world some
35,000ft below made me think of how
the long-haul travellers of yesteryear
must have felt. Yes, their seats and the
food must have been better, but they
would have needed to take out a
mortgage to be on board and the
hours – if not days – of engine noise

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce,
together with the flight
crew and VIP guests from
the Western Australia tourist
board were cheered by
airline staff as they
appeared at Heathrow’s
arrivals area in Terminal 3.

TOP RIGHT • Handshakes
all-round: Captain Lisa
Norman, commander of QF9,
celebrates the completion of
the inaugural service with
her crew.

ABOVE RIGHT • Initial flights
are being operated with full
fuel tanks, several economy
seats ‘blocked out’ and no
freight in the hold until the
carrier refines the service
and proves the operational
range of the aircraft.
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