Re: Brief trip report MEL-CBR-MEL and thoughts on 737 vs A320 cabins.

["Skippy" <fowler9@skippy9spammeifyoudare.fsnet.co.uk>]

(cross posted to aus.rail & misc.transport.rail.australia-nz &
rec.travel.air)


Here is another case for the SpeedRAIL alternative. Would you have gone by
train if it was comparable to flying time. By that I mean the time it takes
to get from your house to the airport, check-in board depart land pick up
bag (if any) then get to your destination against leaving your home, getting
to the station, boarding the train, arriving at destination.

In this case the station is in the city centre (ok CBR will need a new
station but MEL is Spencer St).

If the journey was only 2.5 hours (guess) by train from station to station
would you change on such a short flight route?

Skippy

Leo Hamulczyk <pagophilus@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:M_de5.42682$N4.1571348@ozemail.com.au...
> On July 19 I wasted some frequent flyer points to fly MEL-CBR and return
the
> same day. Flight up was A320, flight back was 733 so I got to think about
> the similarities/differences between the 2 aircraft.
>
> Firstly, why does Canberra consider themselves an international airport.
Is
> it because of "international" flights to SYD?
>
> Got to look at Impulse's 717's at MEL. I noticed they didn't use the
jetways
> but used airstairs instead.
>
> AN160  06:25-07:20 A320. Seat 11C. Aircraft was undergoing overnight
> maintenance which took longer than expected, so we pushed back at 07:30.
> Plane about 20% full! I notice AN plays classical music (mostly baroque)
> during boarding. Nice, though the music could do with some speeding up.
> Breakfast consisted of omelette, sausage, and small round fried potato
> things, together with the obligatory roll with butter and marmalade,
orange
> juice. Flew over Albury. I was surprised that we got all the way up to
FL330
> on such a short flight. Weather at MEL on takeoff was medium-heavy rain
and
> we only got above the clouds somewhere between 25000-30000 ft. Landed
08:28.
>
> Went into Canberra CBD. Bought a few things. Weather was atrocious, so I
> headed back to the airport at 2 PM to sit and wait and watch planes.Saw
> Impulse with its Beech/Raytheon 1900D's arrive from and depart to SYD with
> on average 3 pax. How do they make money, when AN and QF fly SF3's and
DH8's
> respectively on this route, with the occasional jet, and pax loading on
> these seem quite good?
>
> Impulse really is a cheapo operation, with minimul (read ONE) checkin
agent
> who also doubles as the gate agent, no ground handling staff, not much
else.
> No tickets or boarding passes (only receipts).
> I also saw the KD CRJ which flies to and from BNE. The one on the day was
> VH-KJF "City of Launceston" (with JF painted on the front above the
> windscreen in big letters. Maybe JF needs to come down and get his photo
> taken next to it.) I noticed it was quite affected by crosswinds on
takeoff.
> Didn't seem all that powerful.
>
> AN 99 18:15-19:15 733. Seat 14G. This plane never came. It departed MEL
and
> returned with mechanical problems. We were kept not very informed, with
the
> boarding time constantly getting later on the monitor screen, until it
> disappeared, getting replaced with AN2099, which was flown in from SYD.
Only
> when AN2099 showed up on the screen were any announcements made. We had to
> get new boarding passes. Scheduled to board 20:40 with departure 20:55.
> Boarding ended up being 21:10, with departure around 21:30. AN announced
> that we could get a free meal upstairs up to the value of $10 by showing
our
> boarding pass. Flight uneventful. No details on altitude or route. Food
was
> seasoned rice with beef, roll with butter, mineral water. Got a nice view
of
> city lights as we flew over Melbourne and landed from the south.
>
> Thoughts on the A320 vs 737
>
> The 737 cabin seems slightly taller. I would have to go again and take
more
> notice of this, but the TV screens when lowered seemed lower on the A320.
> Cabin width difference is insignificant. 6 abreast is 6 abreast, on AN
> anyway. Seat pitch on the AN 733's could possibly be an inch shorter than
> the A320 but there isn't much in it. There are 4 business class rows on
the
> 733 as opposed to 2 on the A320. Seats quite comfortable on both. My knees
> either touched the seat in front or they didn't, depending on how I sat.
If
> I sat upright, all the way back, they didn't touch. If I made myself more
> comfortble, they did.
>
> I found differences in the cabin noise between the 2 planes. A320s have
> their typical hydraulic noises - gear up and down, flaps etc. Engine noise
> also prominent. 737s seem to have more aerodynamic noise - the air gushing
> past, with engine and hydraulic noises at a minimum. At beginning of
> descent, you can hear the engine speed decrease on the A320, you can FEEL
it
> more than hear it on the 737.
>
> Overall, there's not much in it. On AN, there's not much reason to prefer
> one over the other.
>
> Leo Hamulczyk
> pagophilus@ozemailDOTcomDOTau
>
>