2018 – Part 55 – Cairns to Ayers Rock

2018 – Part 55 – Flight Report Qantaslink Cairns to Ayers Rock

Our time in Cairns was over quickly, and we had an early morning flight to Ayers Rock.  This flight would take us from lush, humid, tropical weather to the arid, dry and sandy environ of Ayers Rock. Let’s get to the airport.

Trip Plan

Unlike our flights between Tasmania, or up the east coast, flying to Ayers Rock is driven by tourism.  Why?  It’s closest to Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, and the iconic red rock.  Next closest airport?  Over 400 km north in Alice Springs.

Cairns Airport

The drive from our hotel to the airport was simple and short.  Upon returning our rental vehicle, we made the walk over to the check-in area to check our luggage.  Cairns domestic airport terminal is a single storey.  Rental cars are strategically located by the arrivals area.  When you return the vehicle though, you have to make a 5 minute walk to the far side of the terminal to enter into the departure area of the airport.

As expected, arriving before 6am the departure hall was empty.  This flight was only a handful that depart early in the morning.  We brightened the gate agent’s morning as we had luggage to check for our flight.  They were quickly tagged and left on the conveyor belt.  The Qantas counters are at the far end from security as it appeared that these counters were the closest to paid parking.

Just like Hobart, we were through security quickly and into a communal waiting area for all flights.  The upside of this design, with all passengers passing this area, shops and restaurants were already open for travellers.  This was our first domestic flight where we would be served complimentary drinks and a meal.  In anticipation for that we didn’t stop to grab any food and instead walked through a few stores before sitting in the main area to await our boarding call.

Cairns domestic departure area

Cairns domestic airport

Feeling of another early flight

The downside of this waiting area was the lack of natural light.  This didn’t matter much as we arrived at the airport before sunrise and I didn’t notice the lack of light until we started to make our way to the plane.  As well, our flight departed from gate 16, and there is hardly any seating near the gates.  With four gates clustered together, my guess is that the lack of seating is to eliminate crowds of different departing flights that would slow the boarding process.

Our boarding call was at 6:25am, and as our boarding passes were scanned a beep different from others went off.  The gate agent looked at our assigned seats and remarked “oh we can’t seat you there.  It’s not a full flight and we need to balance the plane.” Um, okay.  The agent quickly printed out new boarding passes, “Don’t worry it’s an exit row.”  AWESOME!  With new boarding passes in hand, we headed to the plane.  For Cairns, our way had us exit the terminal building onto the apron and walk along the side of the building until we arrived at our waiting plane.  With the sun now over the horizon, getting one last chance to walk in the warm humid air of Cairns, and see the lush green vegetation on the hills was a memorable way to conclude our time in Cairns.

Flight

Qantaslink QF1851, Boeing 717
CNS-AYQ (Cairns – Ayers Rock)
Schedule
Departure: 6:45am
Arrival: 9:10 am
Seats 16A & C (Emergency Exit Row)

This flight was unique for many reasons.  For me, this was the first time being on a Boeing 717.  This plane was configured with all economy seating.  The seats were fine, and having the extra legroom for a flight of almost 3 hours was appreciated.

Qantaslink interior

Ready for take-off

As the plane wasn’t full — by my quick count it was 50% of capacity, boarding was completed almost as quickly as we were seated.  Shortly after getting seated the captain, Matt, did his welcome message and by 6:40am the push back from the gate was complete and we were on our way to the runway.

Take-off was without delay, and the views as we climbed were spectacular.

The seatbelt sign was turned off less than 5 minutes into the flight. 

Breakfast

Breakfast was served promptly by the cabin crew. The meal was simple, cereal, and yogurt.  Given that most people were sleeping on the plane, breakfast service was completed 40 minutes after take-off.  This gave me time to work on the blog, and to read.

Rear of Boeing 717

A unique design feature of Boeing 717 is at the rear of the aircraft.  Instead of having a second galley area, the rear of the aircraft has two tiny bathrooms, and two crew seats that are attached to an emergency exit.

The flight was smooth, and the scenery quickly changed from lush rainforest to arid desert.  Two and a half hours into our flight, descent to Ayers Rock airport commenced.  When this started, a few of the sleeping passengers near up struggled to open their eyes to peek out of the windows to see if the gigantic red rock was visible.

It wasn’t until we were close to landing did our next landmark to visit appeared.  I was pleased lining it up with the wing in one picture.

Uluru

Approach to AYQ

Approach to AYQ

Approach to AYQ

Ayers Rock Airport

Ayers Rock airport is tiny!  The upside of landing here is that there with a quiet airport we had no delay landing.  At the apron, the few ground crew were on hand and had the stairs at the side of the plane once the engines had turned off.  It was then a short walk from the airplane into the lone door into the arrival area.

The lone baggage carousel quickly had all luggage from the flight ready to be picked up.  It was at this point our choice in lodging became an excellent indulgent choice.

Read more about our trip by clicking here.