We were excited to be commencing our journey to New York State with this first flight to Sydney on a Qantaslink 717-200.  As it began to gently rain, the thought of warmer weather on the other side of the world felt so enticing.  We bid our beautiful daughters goodbye for the next couple of weeks and boarded our plane.

Airline and Flight #

Qantas |QF1510

Aircraft

Boeing 717-200

Departing Airport and Terminal

Canberra Airport, ACT, Australia

Scheduled Departure Date and Time

Friday 4th May 2018 | 6:30am

Flying Time

55 minutes

Luggage Allowance

Checked Luggage

• Domestic – Qantaslink services such as on this B717-200 flight to Sydney are allowed 1 piece at 23kg (50lb) unless you are a Qantas Club member or have higher Qantas frequent flyer status.
• International – If this domestic flight forms part of your international journey, then international allowances apply and usually become that of the most significant carrier.  For Economy passengers continuing on to North or South America and flying Qantas, then for the domestic part of the flight, 2 pieces up to 23kg (50lb) each is allowed.  For those Economy passengers continuing on to another country with Qantas other than North or South America are allowed 30kg (66lb) in total.  For Qantas Club members or higher status Qantas frequent flyer passengers than Bronze, then more generous allowances apply.

Carry-on 

All classes are allowed 2x105cm (41in) bags or 1x105cm (41in) bag plus 1x185cm (73in) non rigid garment bag or 1x115cm (45in) bag weighing 7kg (15lb) per piece.

Fun Facts

• Qantas is the third oldest airline in the world and Australia’s largest airline
• Qantas is an acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services
• Qantas is the founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance
• Qantas’ main hub is in Sydney, Australia

Website

The Qantas website is easy to use and provides plenty of details when booking flights including type of aircraft, flight duration, any meals and snacks, stopovers and even how many frequent flyer points and status credits you will accrue on your chosen flight.  If you pay by BPAY there are no extra costs incurred.

Check-in 

Check-in for Qantas domestic flights is from 24 hours up until 30 minutes prior to departure.  This can be done on-line or at the counter inside the airport.  You can check-in three ways:

1. Mobile check-in – by downloading the Qantas app you can check-in and access your digital boarding pass without the need to print it out.  Other benefits of this method include being alerted to when check-in first opens, access to real time flight data in case of delays and the ability to view any entertainment options prior to your flight.  You can also choose your seats.
2. Desktop check-in – by logging on to the Qantas website http://Qantas.com and entering your booking reference and last name to bring up your booking.  Select the Checkin/Print Boarding Pass button and remember to take your boarding pass with you to the airport.
3. At the airport – via the self-service kiosks or at the desk in the Departures area prior to passing through security.  Here you can also select your seat, enter your frequent flyer number, upgrade your flight using Qantas points and print out your boarding pass and bag tags so you can drop off any bags at the bag drop.

Seating

• Qantas’ narrow bodied B717-200 has a 2-3 configuration with rows of three seats down one side and two down the other.  I would have liked to be seated in the aisle with two seats however we were allocated seats on the other side.  The aircraft has 125 seats all which are Economy. There is another version of the B717-200 that has a small business class section.  We were seated in row 16 of 25.
• As this was a small aircraft and only a 55 minute flight, there were no pillows, blankets or headphones on the seats or handed out.  Despite the plane appearing fairly old it looked like it had been refitted with new seats.  They were made of blue cloth with a leather winged headrest which was adjustable.  There were no footrests on this plane.
• Seat pitch was 30 -31 inches (76-79cm), seat width was 17 inches (43cm).  So leg room was quite adequate.
• Trays weren’t folding on this older aircraft.

Cabin Comfort

As this was an older aircraft and only a short flight, you couldn’t expect the same creature comforts as in a larger newer plane flying across the continent.  However, legroom was adequate, seats were comfortable with adjustable head rests and the temperature was good.

In-flight Entertainment

Electronic Devices

• Electronic devices can be used whilst boarding using the aerobridge but not if you’re using the tarmac to board.
• Once doors on the plane have closed you need to then switch your device to flight mode

Power

There were no power outlets on this plane.

Reading Material

In the seat pocket was the safety card, a Spirit of Australia magazine, another Qantas magazine and an information card all about Qantas’ entertainment app which we hadn’t downloaded but didn’t mind given the short flight.

WiFi

There was no Wi-Fi offered on this flight.

Entertainment System

There were no screens on the back of the seat in front or hanging from the ceiling to provide entertainment, however you could access Qantas’ entertainment on your own device.  To do this you needed to download the Qantas app prior to flying, enable WiFi whilst in flight mode and then connect to the Qantas entertainment network.  This would provide access to hundreds of hours of movies, TV and radio.

Catering

Menus

As this was just a 55 minute flight, no meals were served so there was no requirement for a menu.  There was however a small complimentary snack and drinks handed out.

Food/Drinks

Once the seat-belt signs were turned off, apple and orange juice as well as bottled water was served together with a Dreamtime Tuka raspberry apple lemon myrtle crumble slice.  The slice was delicious.

Restrooms

The restroom was fairly typical of any found on a smallish sized plane.  There wasn’t much room inside and the grey basin was stained a yellow colour.

Service

The cabin crew were friendly and smiley on this short flight to Sydney.  We didn’t need to wait long before drinks and a snack were served.

Pros

• I liked that there was a choice of two or three seats together on the plane
• The snack was tasty
• The flight was quick
• Cabin crew were friendly and looked happy
• Arrived on time despite leaving 20 minutes late
• Better restroom than on the smaller Qantaslink Dash 8’s
• Has an air-bridge which is good when the weather is rainy like it was when we left
• Modern seats as aircraft has been remodelled

Cons

• No inflight entertainment unless you downloaded the Qantas app prior to flying
• No footrests
• Legroom not as good as on the smaller Dash 8’s
• Older aircraft

Conclusion

I would happily recommend this plane for a short flight such as that from Canberra to Sydney.  The crew were friendly, the snack was tasty and I liked the idea of having two seats down one side and three down the other.  Click here to see my next flight review to Los Angeles.