2018 – Part 60 – Ayers Rock to Sydney

2018 – Part 60 – Flight Report Virgin australia, ayers rock to sydney

Our time around Uluru and Kata Tjuta had come to its conclusion after two nights.  As we gathered in the resort’s main area to wait for our shuttle to the airport we were informed that our journey to Sydney was delayed. 

Delayed?!

A nice touch at Longitude 131, is that online check-in can be done by staff.  I didn’t want to distract myself from the natural beauty of the park and resort, and gladly had them check-in for us.  It’s best to opt-in during the check-in process at the resort.

After a leisurely breakfast with some celebratory mimosas, the manager informed us that poor weather in Sydney had caused major delays for flights, including ours.  Ever hopeful, he said that we’d depart for the airport a little later than planned with the intention that the delay might not be as bad.

Virgin Australia Communications

Checking email when you’re a 3 hour flight away from a major city hampered by ability to access the internet.  I do want to point out that Virgin Australia did a good job of sending updates via email.  Initially the email merely stated the potential for delay due to weather.  Then follow-up emails were sent when the delay was certain to occur on the morning of the trip, and the final email was an update estimated departure time.

The delay?  Three hours.  Why? Not only was the weather in Sydney filled with rain and wind, the airport was operating with their sole east/west runway, as opposed to the two north/south.  Once I saw this, my hope to have a leisurely afternoon and evening in Sydney vanished.

We completed our check-out from Longitude 131, and joined another couple in the shuttle to airport.

Check-in

As mentioned when we arrived from Cairns, Ayers Rock Airport is tiny!  After our short drive to the airport, past the main resort area of Yalara we arrived at the single storey terminal.

At the time of our arrival to the airport, check-in for the Jetstar flight to Sydney was in full swing.  Virgin Australia was open, and one couple was in front of us to check-in.

With our luggage tagged and checked-in, we were presented with an express pass for security.  We received this as I had booked us in “Economy X” that provided extra legroom at the front of the economy section.  The pass was well intended, however with 3 people in line for the single security checkpoint, it was definitely unnecessary in this situation.  After a few minutes we were through security and into the small airside portion of the airport.

Airside

The airport had a straight forward layout.  All planes were accessed by either of the two doors to the apron.  Airside space had a small gift shop, cafe, washrooms, and two waiting areas.  All scheduled flights to Sydney were delayed due to weather and this resulted in the seating filling to capacity during our time in the airport.  As we arrived ahead of most passengers for our flight and most of the Jetstar flight we easily found seats in the second waiting area (the one labelled “Viewing Area”) that was off to the left of the gate area.

Bagged Lunch!

A final treat from the resort was that we were provided with a bagged lunch as we didn’t have time to be served lunch before departing for the airport.  The lunch came in two small bags, and complete with a note.

The lunch had several snacks along with a tartlet and a tasty and filling muesli bar.

Planespotting

Traffic isn’t busy at the airport, however it was hard to miss the airplanes when they did taxi to the terminal.  Here’s the Jetstar A320 that left for Sydney before us, and a Qantaslink that was headed to Cairns that arrived before our flight.

Flight

Virgin Australia VA1628, Boeing 737, “Bondi Beach”
AYQ-SYD (Ayers Rock to Sydney)
Schedule – NA
Seats 3E & F (Economy X Row)

Once our flight landed and arriving passengers had left the plane, the gate agent made the call for pre-boarding.  As this flight was late arriving, every departing passenger was ready for boarding.  Economy X provided us with zone 1 boarding along with the only couple seated in business class for the flight and a few frequent flyers.

Virgin Australia decor is definitely different from Jetstar and Qantaslink.  The coloured plexiglass between economy and business added to the contrast.

Economy X Seat

I pre-purchased Economy X seats to ensure my knees would not be massaging the passenger seated in front of me.  The extra leg room was everything as advertised.  A nice touch was that the overhead compartments had labels on them stating that the space was dedicated for Economy X passengers.  Storage wasn’t a concern as there were a handful of passengers in Economy X seats.  Overall the passenger load seemed to be only  50-65%.  The upside was that boarding was completed quickly and we were ready for our flight.

Seats were fine, and with the rest of the row empty I sat in the aisle seat during the flight to provide us with more space during the flight, planned to be 2 hours 20 minutes.  Seats are leather covered, and with individual air nozzles we had them to try and cool our bodies — we always seem warm.

The in-charge provided their introduction and our flight was underway once the safety demonstration was completed.

Taxi is quick and simple.  The pilots returned to the runway, taxied to the end to take off on 13 side of the runway.

Turning to take-off

Almost ready for take-off

Take-off was effortless and quick.  Our climb and flight path took us on a gentle turn giving us an excellent final view of Uluru as the plane turned towards Sydney.

Now if you’re interested, we did take a few more pictures of Uluru as the plane climbed.  Flip through at your leisure, or let the timer provide the slideshow:

Five minutes into the flight the seatbelt sign was turned off.  One of the crew quickly placed a magnetic bar, instead of a curtain, to separate business class from the rest of the plane.

For us the 2 hour flight passed well.  We were provided with a snack, however it that couldn’t escape the shadow of our boxed lunch from the resort.

Onboard Entertainment

No unruly passengers, instead Virgin Australia provides entertainment via an app to your tablet or smartphone.  I’m glad I downloaded the app before boarding as the app provided flight information in addition to a selection of TV shows and movies to watch.

Flight map on the phone

Flight information

App screenshot

Once the sunset, the mood lighting in the cabin took over.  I’m definitely not accustomed to a purple glow as we flew towards Sydney airport.  It was still damp when we landed in Sydney.  We were off the plane quickly and once reunited with our checked luggage we headed to our home for the next week.

Sunset

VA 737 at Sydney

Read more about our trip by clicking here.