For some reason, I decided to go to the other side of the world for Christmas. I may never do it again. Not because I didn’t like Australia (I loved it) but because it takes forever to get there. And spending 23 hours with your knees under your chin on a long-haul flight to the Antipodes will cure you of ever going further than Calais.
When you’re flying economy it’s of paramount importance to choose the right airline. I tried four for size: Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Jetstar and Air New Zealand. Cathay Pacific flew me to Hong Kong. The staff were friendly and smart but, alas, the Boeing 777 was neither. After that, Cathay’s business-class lounge, where I waited for my connection and drank all the free champagne, was a welcome comfort. The flight onwards to Cairns didn’t seem half so bad.
I’d been warned by Ozzie mates that Qantas is a nightmare both to deal and to fly with. For my flight from Sydney to Melbourne I tried to get an upgrade, but was told the airline received so many requests that it ignores them all. And no, I could not use its lounge. I snuck in anyway, drank champagne at 7 a.m. and ate a full English breakfast. In the end, the economy flight was quite pleasant.
Next, I went from Melbourne to Auckland on Jetstar, which had a problem with my luggage. I had bought an extra baggage allowance, but the computer denied it. After lengthy chats with call centres in Malaysia and Mumbai, a lady in the Philippines finally located my booking reference and told me cheerfully that I had, indeed, purchased a 40kg allowance, and I was ushered through check-in. Jetstar is such a cheapo carrier that there was no lounge, but its Dream-liner plane was surprisingly roomy.
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