Thirty Hours Journey - When we were expecting 16 hours 45 minutes

Yes, it turned out that our 16 hours and 45 minutes became 30 hours. Quite an epic story for this blog post.

A Good Start

We left the Qantas Business lounge in Heathrow at 11.05am and arrived at gate 25 at 11.15am. Boarding begins at  11.30am and as Business Class passengers were are invited on board first.

Our Plane at Heathrow

On this longest flight in Qantas' range they have 42 business class seats, in a 1-2-1 seating configuration. 28 Premium Economy seats in a 2-3-2 seating configuration and 166 Economy seats in a 3-3-3 seating configuration. So, going this far, there is clearly more of a focus on comfort for many of the passengers. 

Our Seats

Storms in Europe

Boarding is completed promptly, but then the Captain announces that due to storms in Europe there is a one hour delay before take off. 

Chris McDonnell, the plane customer service manager then announces himself to the 'guests', I being a cynical marketer wonder when passengers became guests!! Given our position in the plane Chris is less than three feet from me as he makes the announcement. Later he comes around business class and introduces himself to each of the passengers, he clearly has been on a marketing course as he has learnt all the buzzwords - how important we are to the company and how well we will be looked after... You know the drill. For my sins, I used to teach it! 

Selection of Food

Next we were asked to select the breakfast that would be served before we landed in Perth, so that it can be delivered in a timely manner later in the flight without waking people up to early, a very nice touch. 

We then make our dinner options as it is now 7.43pm Perth time. The Menu is designed by the Australian chef - Neil Perry.

Appetiser

Green leaf salad with Neil's vinaigrette

Starters

Sweetcorn soup with pancetta Crème Fraiche 

Salad of smoked salmon with steamed potatoes and gribiche dressing

Crumbed ham hock and smoked cheddar croquettes with fennel salad 

Mains

Pappardelle with rocket, parsley and walnut pesto 

Crumbled fillet of cod with potato purée, green peas and tarragon tartar sauce 

Kerala style chicken curry with coriander, cashews and cumin rice 

Beet fillet with garlic roast potatoes, beans and horseradish cream 

Desserts

Selection of cheese served with accompaniments 

• Yorkshire blue – A blue vein, cow's milk cheese
• Perl Wen Brie- A Welsh brie, cow's milk cheese
• Vintage Bruton Beauty – A vintage cheddar, cow's milk cheese 

Valrhona chocolate mousse with mascarpone, cocoa brownie and raspberries

Ice cream Seasonal fruit Chocolates 

I wonder what you would have chosen? In our case, I had the Sweetcorn soup and creme fraiche, the Keralan Chicken and the Cheese. Drew went with the smoked salmon, beef and mousse. At this point, not knowing how the seats worked we consulted each other thus:

Amenities

Drew checks out the films. He is planning on watching Civil War, Fall Guy and Furiosa - A Mad Mad Saga, though in fact he only watched Civil War preferring to read his Kindle. 

There are 4 toilets in Business Class for 42 people, that's the kind of ratio I like - a critical success factor for plane travel as standing in the aisle queuing, even in short haul, is no fun. (There are only four toilets on the rest of the plane). 

The fact the width of the toilets are twice that of the Economy Toilets is a less critical factor to my mind, but using it as a dressing room later, to put on my Qantas pajamas (or Jim Jams as the steward called them when delivering them) evidenced why extra space is helpful. 

It is interesting to note that even at this price, every seat in business class is full. [Co-pilot's note: The price has been redacted from the original post!]

On our way

After the delays we take off at 1.25pm (8.25pm) 

I change into Pyjamas - the first time I'm ever done this. On each of the other times I've flown Business Class, it was that I had been bumped up from Premium Economy due to a capacity issue on the plane, given we are paying for business class this time, it felt worth taking every benefit. [Co-pilot's note: I, dear readers, in a characteristic moment of sanity, rejected the offer of 'jim jams'.]

Not my best image!

It was easier than I thought to get changed and ready for dinner and sleep. I put my day clothes into the area of the seat that stows them and get comfortable listening to some downloaded podcasts on BBC Sounds. I started with the Archers and then Americast and then caught up with some plays I downloaded in September 2023 and hadn't had time to listen to before now. Due to licensing issues many weeks the BBC adds plays/books/dramas with only 30 days before they become unavailable. I always prioritise listening to these, not to miss them. Meaning those with longer licence times (over a year, which seems to mean forever!) can end up in a very long queue. 

Dinner

The service for dinner begins at (3.15pm UK) 10.15pm Perth time. With the very tasty fresh salad and wholemeal bread

Drew's

Haydn's

I then get served my soup. It was creamy and lightly peppered, with a astringency that I like from the Creme Fraiche. A good start. 

 

and Drew his salmon, this was nicely salted. The salmon was fresh and the salsa had a citrussy overtone, he says it was really tasty.

Then it is time for the Keralan Chicken Curry, I know, before my sister mentions it, but I had chicken curry for dinner last night too - but the flavours were very different. The one in London being a Bengali style curry and this one being filled with the delicate spices of the Southern Indian Kerala. The cumin rise was tangy and green beans crisp and delicious.

Drew had his Beef. He says it was well cooked, but not overdone, it was nice - just the way my mother used to cook it! The potatoes were roasted with a salty garlic flavour, perfect for Drew. The green beans were al dente and again tasted really fresh.

Finally come the cheese and biscuits for me, what an excellent selection of cheese they were too, each distinct, yet tasty. I ignore the sweet bits on the plate, but enjoy the crunchy toasted bread before eating the cheese itself - I like my cheese unadulterated and this was a perfect example of that.

 

Drew had the Chocolate Mousse, which looked very decorative. Drew says it was a light mousse with a very raspberry sauce through it and a bitter chocolate shaved over it. The sweet raspberries and the bitter chocolate complemented each other really well.

Bedtime

At 11.30pm I set the bed up for sleep. This is a somewhat strange experience, very different from previous business class flights (all ones where the airline upgraded us) on Virgin Atlantic and KLM as the seat not only goes into comfort mode but also sinks, so you seem much nearer the ground and then it slides forward so it connects with the bottom of the bed under the area in front, very clever. I apologise for the photo, the effort of taking a selfie is bad enough, the effort of taking it when at an angle, to ensure enough of me is in shot, was even worse - the scowl is me trying to hit the photo button, I was feeling very happy indeed, but it doesn't show.

Off-set seats mean you are not putting your legs under someone else. Rather you are under the cupboard area (armoire) of the person in front. Of course, this means someone must be under your cupboard!! But there is no sign of this. 

I go to sleep at 12 midnight (Perth time, which I'll stay with at present) and wake at 2.00am (time for a pee) then 4am and finally at 6.10am. I found it a very refreshing experience and I had a longer night's sleep than I do most nights at home, a great success. 

New direction!

When I wake and go to the toilet I see a man laid out in the galley, where snacks and drinks are available throughout the flight, with an oxygen mask on. The poor man is in need of medical attention! 

When I get back to the seat I turn on the moving map and it now says, time to destination 42 minutes and names the destination as Bengaluru! 

My first reaction in a slightly dreamlike state is, is Bengaluru the original name of Perth, no that is Boorloo. It then dawns on me that Bengaluru is the original name of what Brits call Bangalore and, the map shows that we have turned around over Trincomalee, Sri Lanka and are now headed back there!

 [Co-pilot's note: There is an aside, dear readers, that puzzled me at the time. But that, having read the above, I must have answered. I awoke to see our valiant blogger waddling off, as he went to the toilet and a few minutes later returning with a bag of crisps and a glass of sparkling water - and, as stated above, he pointed out the change of route to Bengaluru. I expressed surprise at this and he said: "Ah, that makes sense, there is a guy up there being resuscitated."

The question I have, dear readers, is did he reach over the guy being treated and ask the cardiologist to pass them along!! The mind boggles!!!]

{Blogger's Response: It is very simple, we had been alerted to the availability of snacks and drinks earlier and I'd seen where they were when visiting the toilet after my first two hours of sleep. This time I went directly to the snacks - Somerset Cheddar Crisps, really tasty - when I saw the people next to me, who I assumed were sitting on the floor as a change from their seats, were in fact applying pressure to a man's chest and oxygen to his mouth. I suspect, if I'd seen them first I might not have carried on, but it was to late by the time I spotted them. Also, they weren't actually in the way of the snack area, so others benefitted from it after me.}

I go to the dressing room and change back into day clothes just before the steward comes through business class advising everyone to do just that. I'm glad to miss the queue. 

Back in the seat I reset it from bed to daytime mode and stow the blanket and seat cover/mattress under the seat in front, where my legs had been a few minutes before in my bed! A very well designed space. This evidence is that I'm better at sitting selfies than laying down ones.

Pillow, mattress and duvet stored where my legs had been during sleep

At this time, 10 hours into the flight we realise that the barrier between Drew and my seat goes down and we are visible to each other!! We could have just asked I suppose, but I don't think we missed anything critical, having learnt to wave and then lean forward to speak to each other 🤫 when we needed to. 

Bengaluru

As we land at Bengaluru Airport, the current time at Bengaluru is 4.38am (12.08am BST & 7.08am in Perth) and the temperature is 23⁰C. 

The ambulance, nurses and doctor arrive and escort the affected gentleman and his party off the plane. The plane needs refuelling, plus the flight staff will go over their 21 hour permitted flying time, so they will not be able to get us to Perth, the initial plan is to fly to Singapore and pick up additional crew from there!

The luggage of the passengers leaving the plane has to be removed, and Bengaluru Airport is not designed for unexpected planes to fly in during the early hours of the morning, which means we are here longer than expected. 

All the preparations are finally complete and the flight leaves Bangaluru at 7.09am local time 9.39am Perth time and 2.39am in the UK. 

The estimated flying time to Singapore is 4 hours and 18 minutes. The stewards come and offer us more tea, juice, coffee and pastries, Drew has one of the latter, I stay with fluids. 

The time seems to go by quickly as I continue to read or listen to BBC Sounds and Drew continues to read.

Singapore

At 2.15pm (7.15am BST) we land in Singapore almost 18 hours since we boarded the plane in London (17 hours and 45 minutes so far). The temperature here is 34⁰C! The journey has been calm and comfortable and the time has not dragged. Granted sleeping for 6 hours helps, but I've felt more tired and less fresh after four or five hour flights in the past than I do now.  

Leaving our plane in the heat of Singapore

Interestingly we are now in the same time zone as our destination, but still have many miles to travel. Details of 'onward travel arrangements' (as the Cabin Crew call them) will not emerge until the plane has landed. So we shall wait and see. 

It is 18 years since Drew and I were last in Singapore, I remember attending Mass here on a Sunday morning in a very ornate church. I also recall going to the Raffles Hotel and experiencing the tradition there of eating peanuts and throwing the shells on the floor. I also recollect evidence of my lack of physical dexterity, we went to a pewter museum which included an opportunity to beat your own item out of pewter. I have no memory of what the final item was supposed to be, but I know even the person doing the training had to laugh at how far from intention the actuality was in my case!

Singapore Airport

The efficiency and customer service focus of Qantas, doesn't live up to the flight experience when we de-plane at Singapore. First everyone has to go through security scanners to leave the plane and here, unlike in Heathrow, this means getting laptops out of the hand-luggage. We are then herded into an area until the whole plane has exited and told to sit and wait. 

Thirty minutes later the Qantas app comes alive and says we are going on a later plane to Perth. Four different ground staff members make five different announcements leading to queuing first in one direction, then in another and finally in a third. We do, when we get to the desk, get the detail of the new flight times and are told to go to Transfer Desk C at the airport to ensure our stowed luggage gets to the right plane.

Transfer Desk C is much calmer and better organised that the holding pen we experienced on getting off the plane. Within 10 minutes we had given our luggage tags to the young gentleman, had them checked and confirmed that the luggage would now be going on QF45, the flight we are on to Perth. The one downside, but a small one at this stage, is that our flight will be in Economy as all the other seats on this plane are pre-booked by regular passengers, so everyone leaving QF10 for Perth will be downgraded. Qantas will recompense us for this, according to the same young gentleman. Many of the other passengers on our flight were going on to Melbourne, where the flight terminates, or Sydney by changing in Perth. These passengers are transferred in Singapore to direct flights for Sydney or Melbourne. 

Qantas Business Lounge

With all the issues around the sick person on the plane from London, we had missed out on two meals. Business Class enables you to have a  cooked to order meal on awaking. 

The options were:

1. Lamb Flatbread with pine nuts tahini, cucumber and yogurt
2. Chicken and Leek Pie with Rocket Salad
3. Fresh Vegetable Crudities with baba ganoush

I'd had my mind made up for the Chicken Pie, but with the emergency it wasn't to be. Breakfast, which we had ordered hours earlier, also got skipped. 

So, it was a delight to be able to use the Qantas Business Lounge at Singapore, even though the end of our journey will be Economy we are still Business passengers, so still eligible for this benefit.

The lounge was large and cool, a perfect environment in which to chill. The food on offer was excellent.

Pasta con aglio e olio - we both had a plate of this tasty dish. As someone who eats garlic daily (a bulb between the two of us) and on occasion have added an extra bulb to a dish to enhance the garlic, I was amazed to find a dish which out-garlicked me. Even the Garlic restaurant in San Francisco, the Stinking Rose, doesn't use as much garlic as this - we loved it!

They also offered Lamb Stifado with roasted cauliflower and roasted potatoes. An earthy stew with lovely soft lamb and a thick, rich sauce. 

I also had a freshly cooked bao with braised beef, there were chefs on hand to facilitate the order with sambal chilli sauce and crispy fried shallots, absolutely tongue tinglingy good.

Drew didn't have the bao, but did manage a selection of desserts. A chocolate crunch, essentially a brownie with crunchy biscuits through it. A strawberry cheesecake (or two) and a mango yogurt with tapioca flour bubbles (like the bubbles from a bubble tea) through it. 

while I had a lovely selection of fresh fruit.

During the three hours we were in the lounge we also nibbled on their pretzels and crisps. So we replaced the food we had missed out on!

The lounge was very quiet when we arrived, but became busy in the last hour as three of flights leave Singapore for various parts of Australia between 7.30pm and 7.45pm. 

Back on a plane

We left the lounge at 6.45pm getting to the gate at 6.50pm. It then took us until 7.10pm to go through security. The plane takes off on time at - there is a sigh of relief that we are on our way again. 

We are served a meal on the plane, it is interesting to note the difference between economy class food and business class. Tin Foil food containers and wooden cutlery set the scene for food which is mass produced.

Drew opted for the Penne with red peppers, tomatoes and chilli. While this looked unappealing when it came, it tasted perfectly fine.

I went with singapore noodle with beef with pak choy and carrots. Given the wooden cutlery it was very soft, softer than I would ever cook vegetables or meat, but it will fill a little gap until the morning!

Drew had the dessert, a Magnum Ice Cream, he also add two Tim Tams, mine and his, with our cups of tea.

At 10pm with dinner over the lights dim. Time for us to read for the last 2 hours 45 minutes of the trip, Drew is already on his second book of the holiday. 

Perth

The plane lands at 12.30am, yes a flight that began on Friday the 6th of September ends on Sunday the 8th! Some kind of record? It certainly is for us!

It is 30 hours since we boarded in Heathrow and now we have arrived. 

We taxi to the gate and are in the arrivals hall by 12.55am and through passport control by 1.10am.

As I mentioned our bags were re-checked-in in Singapore, so they should be here, and indeed they are here. Mine arrives at 1.15am and Drew's five minutes later - who knows why they were so far apart, but other people we recognised from the first flight had the same experience. One couple with four cases had them arrive over 15 minutes. 

We went straight through customers, every fourth group (or individaul) were being checked in what looked like a random selection approach, we were behind someone who was selected so were able to go straight through. 

So, after an epic two days we are in Perth, Western Australia. Given it is 1.25am, we didn't try and sort public transport for tonight, as per our original arrival plan. Though there is a night bus, we decided against the wait, so we taxied into Perth city centre, it cost us Aus$60, just above £30, but the city is a 25 minute drive from the airport, even in the quiet of the night. 

We arrived at the Holiday Inn at 1.50pm and were quickly checked in. 

The end of the day

Time for teeth brushing, it has been a while as my oral B app reminds me (i.e. Friday morning and it is now Sunday morning) then bed at 2.15 am. We had avoided sleeping on this last leg of the flight, tempting though it was, so we have a good sleep tonight, let's hope it works, tomorrow's blog post will let you know if it did or didn't.