Scoot check-in for my 0145 flight to Sydney was swift without any queue as I turned up early. I stayed landside till I got hungry so I could have a snack of McDonald’s prawn burger and sweet potato chips.
On board the aircraft, the doors closed and I was surprised to see so many spare seats. It might have been about half to two-thirds full but that’s not enough spare rows for me to lie down.
I asked the crew whether they hand out the prebooked meal at the beginning or end of the flight; she said at the end about 3h prior to landing. I didn’t feel like eating and that’s what I was hoping (actually I was hoping for 2h prior).
Unfortunately, they started the meal service 4h prior, which another crew member said was their standard practice. That was smack in the middle of the flight which meant I only had less than 3h sleep out of the 7+ hours. Damn! Dumb, considering they did a quick round of saleable meals immediately after take-off (for which very few people had interest).
It was otherwise a lovely flight with a very quiet cabin overwing on the Boeing 787-8; very little engine and ventilation noise. I can’t remember it being so quiet on my previous 787 flights. Seats had power sockets but it’s the first time I’ve heard an airline charging for its usage!
We got the nearest gate arriving at Sydney and it took only a few minutes to get to immigration. Our luggage took longer despite the proximity. I trained down to Maze Backpackers for my nightstop.
I grabbed dinner in Chinatown. I chose lemon Tom Yum which turned out to be a dish I use to love (by another name) at my neighbourhood food court. I chose the small one for AUD6.90 as I had seen the portion sizes and it was the standard NZ size. Lucky I didn’t go for the big one!