Aircraft

Still travelling, so that’s where my head’s at today.

At 10:30 I will take a taxi to the airport here in Cairns. I have been listening to the planes flying low over our building for the past two days, reminding me that my journey isn’t over yet. The cloud ceiling has been really low and yesterday the airport was apparently in chaos, diverting planes to Townsville. Ozzie’s can’t seem to handle any sort of weather.

Today I’ll be on one of the big jets that float over this city, veering out over the Great Barrier Reef and heading, well, today it will be to Darwin for me while a lot of my fellow passengers will continue on to Singapore.

I’m flying with Jet Star in an Air Bus A321. Impressed Harry? I know what sort of plane I'll be in! I think it is the Air Bus that he figures is a pretty good plane: made in Germany. I don’t think we have any shares in the company though, although these past few years I think I have earned a few!

This is the largest Air Bus in the A320 ‘family’, developed for short and medium range flights but they have lots of civil aviation ‘families’ and even build planes for the military. It’s not an old company, but it's a big, reputable one.

The A321 is about 150 feet long and has 185 seats: three on each side with an isle down the middle. I hope they serve lunch.

The flight to Darwin is abut 2 ½ hours.

From Darwin to Kununura, I’m to travel with Air North Regional on an Embraer jet: the E 170, tomorrow. Vas’s employer booked and paid for a hotel as there are no other connections. Wikipedia says:

The Embraer E-Jets are a series of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range, jet airliners producedin Brazil. Announced at the Paris Air Show in 1999,and entering production in 2002, the aircraft havebeen a success.

I figure success is a good thing in an aircraft, especially one with me in it!

North Regional flies to quite a few places in the north including Broome, Darwin, Elcho Island, the Gold Coast, Mount Isa, Millingimbi, and of course Kununura. I have never flown with them before – will let you know how it goes.

When I was travelling to Mornington Island, Gununa, on a weekly basis, it was always with the Cairns based Skytrans airline on the De Havilland Canada Dash 8 – 100 series.

The plane could hold 36 passengers, but there were usually only about 20 on board. With two seats on each side and a wide isle down the center, the flight attendant could deliver a nice sandwich and a drink quite easily. I was really surprised at the good service to such remote locations,very civilized: a lovely illusion in so much of the far north of Australia.

Skytrans services most of the major, major being relative, centers from Bamaga in the far north Queensland to the capital of Brisbane.

Flying ‘short haul’ with Quantas in Oz, I was on the North American made Boeing 767. Boeing has been around for a while and the 767’s are ok. They have a nice, big substantial wing right in the middle of the aircraft, not one of those tiny things sticking out of the tail. Sure it blocks the view, but it is much better for confidence building. There is that faint hope that it could glide for a bit, should the engines.. never mind. Two seats run along each side, with three in the center. A little crowded but for a couple of hours, with lunch, a big screen movie and snacks included, all good.

From Vancouver to LA it was a 737: same same but different: three on each side, full plane, no service, no lining up to use the toilet, bossy male stewards, but what the heck, it’s a short jaunt as well.

Making the 14 hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney in Boeings 747, referred to as a Jumbo Jet when I was a kid, I was not positioned well. Still don’t know why I didn’t check my seating and get a window or aisle. But on long haul flights there is usually a little more room and I had a little telle on the seat in front of me that worked, so all good.

These big boats hold about 400 people: three seats on each side and four in the middle. I was in the middle.

Everything I saw, everything I have ever seen (except that one time we were upgraded coming back or going to China that time Maggie!!!) was of course from the economy seats. Business class is amazing, but I have no idea what First Class is like, or what’s upstairs. Wouldn’t mind finding out at some point, but I’m not holding my breath.

There is no ‘business’ or ‘first class’ seats in the Beachcraft airplanes that fly out of the really, really small communities around Oz. Vas, Brian and I flew out of Balgo in what they referred to as a ‘twin engine’ six- seater I think they chartered from Altitude Aviation. The seats in the back were teeny tiny and the one the pilot sat in was included in the count.

The three of us were comfortable. It was a little noisy though and the pilot had many jobs: he gave the little talk about doing up our belts and how to escape should we go down. He even told us where our life jackets were, there in the desert. Hmm..

The Beachcraft did not feel as substantial as the old Beaver Aircraft that Harbour Air flies all over B.C. But it was a lot heavier than Michael’s little Cessna. Everything is relative.

There wasn’t a movie on that flight either, but flying low over the red earth of central Oz is entertainment of itself.

I better head out..and I have to remember to get a window seat!