SYDNEY AIRPORT: Back to pre-pandemic Friday night hell

If you cast your mind back to pre-pandemic times, you will remember the hell that Sydney’s T3 – the Qantas Domestic terminal was, and is again.

I flew in from Adelaide on Friday, arriving at about 4:45 pm, at Gate 8, within that roundel of departure lounges which was full as a goog with the majority of departing passengers maskless.

The crush was mainly made up of departing passengers fleeing Sydney for the start of some schools’ holidays. Arrivals weren’t too bad if the shortish taxi queue can be read as a sign.

The flight was full, and business class chock-a-block. I used some points to upgrade, given that premium international Classic Rewards fares are about as rare as hens’ teeth at the moment. It’s a short flight, but that delicious cheese and ham toasted sandwich with cheese topping and a very tasty organic Barossa shiraz arguably made it worth parting with 19,000 points.

2PAXfly Takeout

This is another timely reminder to wear your seatbelt when seated. Holding you close to your seat will protect you from the sort of injuries sustained on this flight, when unsecured passengers flew to the ceiling of the aircraft, and then came crashing down once the ‘drop’ ceased.

The hope will be that this is an anomaly – a ‘freak accident’ in casual parlance. If it is a systemic error either mechanical or electronic, then this is a larger concern for the airlines that fly Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft. Let’s hope it isn’t. If it is, it will pile on the woes to Boeing’s existing stack.

A pleasant flight with good service helps balance all the bad press Qantas is garnering lately for its abuse of passengers with bad numbers for on-time arrivals and departures, misplaced, lost and delayed luggage, and cancelled flights.

The recent announcement of another 5% cut in flights, on top of a previous reduction of flights by 10%, when domestic demand is well over 100% of pre-pandemic flying, only makes sense to make Qantas more profitable. Profits will head up with more people stuck into a reduced number of flights at higher prices.

Qantas is spinning this as an advantage for passengers. It isn’t. It’s a further reduction in service, and will only serve to line the pockets of shareholders while draining those of customers. At least my shares might go up.

NOTE: 2PAXfly and associated entities hold shares in Qantas and a number of other travel-related entities. You will find a list here.