Hello! It's been a while, 2025 is here and its time for another Trip Report. This trip was to attend the Rydges Sydney Airport Plane Spotters Open Day which occurred on the 17th January 2025.
Flight Details:
Airline: Qantas
Flight Number: QF591
Route: Gold Coast - Sydney
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Rego: VH-XZB (12 years old)
Seat: 26F
As I did last time flying to Sydney, I booked with Qantas.
At the time of booking the flights Qantas came in at the cheapest price of $129.00 each way. Jetstar were cheaper with their basic fare but once you add checked in luggage and a window seat to the booking, the cost of the fare was more than Qantas.
The check in process at Gold Coast Airport is a simple one. Using one of the kiosks to print my bag tag for my checked in luggage.
Qantas still use ground crew at bag drop compared to Virgin Australia who use a self serve baggage drop system.
After the bag drop, I joined the queue at the security screening point which took around 15 minutes. Which isn't too bad considering as there were 7 flights planned to depart within the hour.
My flight was departing from Gate 11 and was on time at 06:00am - Walking towards the gate I noticed something different with my plane compared to majority of the Qantas Boeing 737s and that was the winglets. VH-XZB is now upgraded with Split Scimitar winglets.
Im not one to drink coffee, but I love sitting in the terminal early in the morning as all the coffee drinkers need their fix. The terminal has this distinct smell of coffee and I LOVE the smell.
Last trip report, I become competitive with Jetstar and Virgin Australia to see who was the first to depart out of the three airlines. Last time I lost, so I was even more competitive this time to be first to depart. Did it happen? You'll have to keep reading!
At 05:25am an announcement came over the speakers that Jetstar were boarding. This was not the start I wanted!! 05:29am the next announcement came, this time it was for VA500 to Sydney.... Then FINALLY at 05:35am Qantas 591 was ready for boarding. At 05:39am I was onboard the aircraft, this time, boarding from the rear stairs.
As I said in my last trip report, there is definitely a premium feel to the Qantas seats, I'm not sure if it was the fabric seats compared to leather that you find on Jetstar and Virgin Australia. Leg room is enough for someone of my height. 5' 11.
The competitive side of me wanted to be the first Sydney flight to depart out of the Gold Coast. Once again, like last time Jetstar came first, followed by Virgin and then finally we pushed back at 06:05am. Maybe next time I'll fly Jetstar!
As we taxied down towards Runway 14 for our departure at 6:10am. Our regular friend VH-OIH waited to taxi behind us carrying the next group of mad people to jump out of their plane.
The morning departure out of the Gold Coast always gives you stunning views regardless of which side you sit. What I did notice was how green and vibrant the farms below are, but with the amount of rain we've had in the past few months, its no surprise.
After a few minutes the seat belt sign was extinguished and it was time to relax. Something I love about Qantas and their 737 is the free Wi-Fi onboard. All you have to do is connect to the Wi-Fi network watch a quick 15 second video and you're good to go.
The Wi-Fi speeds averaged 15.7mbps download, enough to waste time on FaceBook, stream music and even to watch your flight land live on SydSquad!
At 06:32am breakfast was served. This flight, the offering was a Smoked Ham & Egg Hollandaise Ciabatta, with my choice of Orange Juice as the drink. I don't want to jinx it but I'm yet to have a bad experience with the food on a Qantas Flight.
Not long after breakfast was served, We started to see the clouds that would become the story of the weekend.
At 06:55am we were advised by the pilots that our flight was being slowed down by Sydney ATC and we would need to do one holding pattern turn. This added roughly 10 minutes to the flight time to help with the large amount of traffic entering Sydney.
We started our decent into Sydney and visibility was extremely poor as we started to go through the thick rain clouds.
Today's approach was over the city for a Runway 16L arrival. Sydney CBD, Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge are to the left of the Aircraft.
Touching down at 08:34am (Sydney is 1 hour ahead). 4 minutes behind schedule, which isn't a bad result considering our slow down by ATC. The full flight time was 1hr 23mins.
Landing on Runway 16L this is the longest taxi at Sydney Airport, it takes roughly 10 minutes from landing to gate arrival at the Qantas Domestic Terminal.
Parking at Gate 4, this was the first time I've seen a Qantas A220 in the flesh. Such a stunning aircraft.
After hoping off the plane, I headed to Baggage claim belt 4 and collected my bag and headed towards the hotel. But the weather had other ideas. The winds were blowing 30 knots and the rain was coming through sideways.
Unfortunately, Kurt and I had plans to stream before the Rydges Plane Spotting Event in the afternoon.
Instead I caught the train to Kurts house and hung out with him until we headed to the Rydges Sydney Airport to prep for the event.
As mentioned before, the main reason for my visit to Sydney was to attend the Rydges Sydney Airport Plane Spotting event.
With the amazing relationship we have with Rydges Sydney Airport, we were invited to co host their plane spotter open day.
The event was limited to 150 people and sold out within 5 hours of tickets going on sale. The event was held on the top floor of their hotel which has amazing views of the airport from the international side.
As part of the event we held a kids only trivia which included some amazing prizes donated to us by HobbyCo Sydney
We also had an adults Trivia and lucky door prizes thanks to Sydney Airport.
Our friend of the channel Heather also worked with Clare Pearson (CEO of Little Wings) to attend and had some amazing prizes on offer as part of the raffle to raise funds for Little Wings. The raffle was only open to those at the event and raised over $1100. Which was a huge success. A huge thanks again to Heather for organising this.
Photos of event.
If you are a member of SydSquad on YouTube you can watch back the event here:
Although the weather didn't play nicely for the day the views from the room and the event itself was an amazing time, I can't wait for the next one and to do it all over again.
Flight Details:
Airline: Qantas
Flight Number: QF598
Route: Sydney Airport - Gold Coast Airport
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Rego: VH-XZM
Seat: 14A
Unfortunately the weather didn't improve throughout the Friday, so I made the decision to head home early, the forecast for the Saturday was not looking any better so instead of sitting around all day not being able to stream or take photos. I felt like this was the best decision.
My initial flight was due to depart at 07:20pm, instead I changed it to the 07:00am flight. As I had the discounted fare, to change the flight, it would cost $99 plus the price difference of the fare. This would have cost me $297. Instead of paying the additional $99, I booked a new fare which was $198 and cop the loss of the other flight on the chin.
When booking the night flight, I compared the prices with Jetstar and Virgin for a similar time, once again their prices were more than what Qantas had on offer. So I flew Qantas home.
Setting my alarm for 04:30am, I woke up, got ready and waited for the shuttle to take me to the Airport. The weather was still horrible with strong winds and rain hitting the window of the hotel all night long.
The shuttle arrived to pick us up at 05:40am, 5 minutes later I was dropped off at the Qantas Domestic Terminal
The Qantas terminal always feels a little empty but to best honest, its a nice feeling and somewhat relaxing. Unlike Gold Coast Airport, the Check-In process is self serve kiosk and bag drop. Which I prefer as you do save time by not lining up just drop off a bag.
After proceeding through security, I looked for my gate number on the departure board and headed to Gate 8. Boarding would commence at 06:35am
The weather still had not improved as I went and checked out my aircraft to take me back home. This time it was VH-XZM
Sitting at the gate waiting for the boarding to commence, the crew arrived at roughly 06:20am to prepare the aircraft for our flight and boarding.
At 06:34am the boarding call was made for our flight, I was the 2nd person on the plane and got to my seat very easily!
This flight I decided to treat myself and fly in an emergency row seat, this was an additional $35.00.
The extra leg room is quite a difference and definitely worth the additional costs if you want to stretch your legs out, especially if you have a window seat and don't want to bother those next to you when you want to get up.
More rain started to fall as the plane continued to load up with passengers, the flight was at full with no spare seats, so loading time took a little bit longer while everyone found a spot for their carry on.
Fun Fact: Did you notice the window blind is positioned at the bottom of the window? I believe the reason for this is due to the lack of space above the window due to the emergency door and its unlocking latch.
Qantas 737-800 Safety Card
At 07:06am we were pushed back and on our way to taxi towards Runway 16L, passing the iconic Sydney Airport Tower and over General Holmes Drive.
Usually when departing a large airport like Sydney or Melbourne, its quite uncommon to not wait for another aircraft landing. This time around, there was no holding and we were straight out! Departing Sydney Airport at 07:16am.
As we climbed through the cloud it was a bit of a bumpy departure, with the cloud being as think as it was when we landed.
Not long after we were above the clouds and blue once again dominated the sky and the flight was no longer bumpy!
As the flight smoothed out, the breakfast service started and I had my meal by 07:45am this meal was Corn and Cheese Fritters with egg. Once again, my choice of drink was Orange Juice. By surprised by throughly enjoyed the fritters which I didn't think I would, I must of been hungry!
Ten minutes later we we started our decent into the Gold Coast but with a right turn over the ocean near Coffs Harbour to avoid a storm.
We then followed the usual track over Byron Bay and could start to see the Surfers Paradise skyline along with Northern NSW and Southern Gold Coast.
We started the track past Tweed Heads, Coolangatta which means a Runway 14 arrival. Usually if you are landing on Runway 32, you will make a left hand turn at Kingscliff and head inland. Being on the left hand side always gives you amazing views of the Gold Coast beaches.
I've mentioned on my Gold Coast streams sitting on the left hand side of the plane on a Runway 14 arrival, you get the best views of the amazing beaches as you fly over Currumbin, Tugun and Bilinga beach.
As mentioned earlier, we departed at 07:16am and landed onto the Gold Coast at 07:16am with the one hour time difference. It felt like I went back in time and didn't lose any time!
A huge thanks for Brendan and Judy Berry for these photos as they watched me land from their room at the Rydges Gold Coast Airport. Check out Brendan's website here: https://madaboutplanes.blogspot.com/
As we parked at the bay, we parked next to Jetstar's brand on A320neo, this was the first time I've had the opportunity to see it up close. The new livery looks fantastic on the A320.
I disembarked the plane at 07:27am letting majority of the passengers off first, not being in any rush as I still had to wait for my suitcase. Baggage was on the belt within 5 minutes of getting to the baggage collection within the terminal.
Once I got my suitcase, It was time to get a special arrival into the Gold Coast and that arrival was the return of Hong Kong airlines who are flying their A330 into the Gold Coast for Chinese New Year.
Summary:
This is the first time I've flown Qantas on a return flight and overall, I can't fault their service, the check in and boarding process was pain free. Onboard experience was met with friendly and helpful crew, with tasty breakfast and comfortable seats.
Its a weird thing to say, but I felt almost refreshed and relaxed after travelling with Qantas, I don't know if its due to the food provided on the flight or something else, but I walked away feeling extremely satisfied with my whole experience. Moving forward if Qantas is a reasonable price compared to the others. I think that will be my choice.
Although the weekend wasn't the weekend I had hoped for, it was still an enjoyable weekend of meeting so many new faces. I had such a great time at the Plane Spotting open day held by Rydges and can't thank the team enough for their amazing support of SydSquad and their hospitality. A huge thank you to everyone who attended and also all of those who helped raise over $1100 for LittleWings. It was a pleasure to meet everyone who attended and I feel extremely grateful for the support you give us. Looking forward to the next one!
Matt
-The Rydges event looked so fun. I was in the chat when it was happening, we all had a good time. It was nice that you could be there but a bummer you couldn't stream due to the weather. That was awesome that Little Wings and Heather could be there and support the event and Sydsquad was able to raise more money for them! Love your pics to/from the airport, esp the close-up of the skimmie winglets. Thanks Matt for sharing! 😉
Cindy aka SYDndy @ 34L