Cbr-mel On Qantaslink Dash 8-300

[carlousmoochous]

Hi, just found this forum and thought I'd say hello by posting a trip report I did on my blog a while ago of the Dash 8 service between Canberra and Melbourne. There are a few pics that go with this but they are on my blog so if you want to see the few pics that go with they are here: http://www.carlousmoochous.com/2011/inflight-qf2133-canberra-to-melbourne/

 

Anyway, Hello AussieAviator and here goes - hope you enjoy.

 

Route: Canberra to Melbourne

 

Flight: QF2133

 

Carrier: Qantas Link (operated by Eastern).

 

Class: Economy

 

Seat: 3A. As there is only 1 class on the dash 8, all the seats are pretty much the same. Row 1 is the exception where seats F and E face backwards. The centre arm rest retracts fully which is great when the seat next to you is vacant (as it is in my case).

 

Aircraft: Dash 8-300 (VH-SCE). I’m a personal fan of the dash 8 series aircraft, although I know many people don’t like seeing the propellers spin around. I however love the small 2 by 2 all economy cabin that feels offers plenty of legroom in every row. The prop noise is definitely noticeable, so if you have a hangover this bird wouldn’t be for you. Still there is adjustable air vents in each seat as well as your own reading lights and a mini tray table. There is a compact toilet at the front of the plane, so although this is a prop plane, its no four sestet trainer. Other than that the aircraft feels comfortable throughout. The airspeed on the dash 8-300 is a little slower than the 400 series and jets, so it will take a little longer to get to where you’re going however as they cruise at a lower level you get to cruise speed faster, thus saving some time on short hops.

 

Departure: Spot on time for departure out of gate 14. We took off towards the north before circling around Canberra and then climbing up over the snow dusted hills towards Melbourne. One of the best features of the dash 8′s is the quick take off and faster turns which often (like in today’s case) provide great views. The view across Canberra CBD was awesome and provided for some great photo ops.

 

InFlight Entertainment: There is no audio or visual inflight on the dash 8′s so the Australian Way and Spirit magazines are all there is to do. If you need something you can always bring an iPod with you. Ironically the background music while boarding was “taking off on a jet plane” which the cabin crew found very ironic and amusing.

 

Meal: As it was morning tea time we were served a snack pack which consisted of a choc brownie, deluxe nibble mix, some mints and a water. Tea and Coffee was provided (however as I drink neither I got a fresh glass of OJ). As always with the dash 8′s the crew offer mints after the meal (mentos this time) which adds to the personal service.

 

Crew: The best asset to the dash 8 is it’s crew. I have to say that the crew on this (and most other dash 8 flights I’ve taken) are by far friendlier and provide a much more personal service than mainline Qantas. The crew pass up and down the aisle several times and clean up when you are finished. I even got a top up of juice. If Qantas were able to replicate the QantasLink service and hospitality across all it’s flights it would be a much more popular choice.

 

Arrival: The captain (who may have had a few too many coffees by the speed he spoke at) advised that we were above Eildon and making our decent for an early arrival into Melbourne before landing towards the south (I got a view over our house as we came in which was nice). Gate 30 is at the end of the newer concourse however its not much of a walk across to the international terminal for my connecting flight to Singapore.

 

Overall: Overall a great, friendly and pretty smooth service down to Melbourne. This was the start of my trip to Malaysia for the weekend so will be moving from the smallest aircraft in the Qantas fleet to the largest so it will be interesting to compare the two reviews. Anyway, as I post this review I’m comfortably sipping away on my glass of bubbly in the business lounge, which is much more relaxing than the domestic lounge (and has a slightly better food and beverage offering).

 

 

[Guest David C]

What a great report .. Having never flown a Dash 8 , You gave me a taste of what one day I may achieve . I do like high winged airliners , having flown quite a few hours on Bae 146 and RJ 85 with Brussels Airlines and Air France in the past . Thanks for posting ,and I hope you join us in other discussions too .

 

Dave C

 

 

[HeadInTheClouds]

Don't you just love the Dash 8? One of my favourite commercial aircraft to fly on for sure!

 

Recently flew Sydney-Armidale on a 300 series and I think it would have to take the cake for best flight I've had so far. I find, even being tall, that the legroom is great and I found when I flew it was more comfortable than the 737-700 I flew on a day before.

 

I also find that prop planes seem to provide the most powerful takeoffs which 'feel' faster than jets, probably because with a jet they need to spool up first. On the flight I was on, during takeoff I was struggling to lean forward to look out the window. Also on landing, the pilot managed to take the first taxiway at Armidale (The only tar taxiway at Armidale...) so I would certainly call it a short field landing, full flap with what I though was quite a pronounced nose down attitude on approach. Touchdown was perfect and braking+reverse heavy! As in I would have fell off my seat without the belt..

 

Another good thing about this flight was that the crew served breakfast to the pilots, and when she did so I got a good view out the windows of the flight deck which is a rarity these days!

 

Definitely a fan of the Dash 8 series, probably the 300 more than the Q400. Seems to be more similar to me with what I usually fly (Ok not really similar with it being 2 seat and <600kg MTOW but still...)

 

Welcome by the way!

 

EDIT: Now I just need to take a flight on a Dash 8 100/200 series.... Or something smaller like a Saab 340!

 

 

[Guest avi8tr]

You have inspired me to write about my recent trip on the A380 but I slept like a baby and have no idea what happened for most of the flight!

 

Only been on the Q400 once from Brisbane to Rockhampton, pretty much as you described it is what I remember. I do recall not realizing that we had even touched down so the pilot must have done an exceptional job.

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Nice report. Very well done :) Welcome also :)

 

 

[carlousmoochous]

Hey thanks everyone for the comments and friendly welcome to the site. Glad you enjoyed the trip report. Plenty more to come too - watch this space :)

 

The dash 8's are great birds - one of my favourite. Although the Q400 is noticeably quieter than the 300, still they are all great to fly in - much closer to earth = much better view :) . Haven't been on the 100/200 series in a long time (and I'm not sure they are in service in Australia - correct me if I'm wrong). I'm keen to try the Skywest ATR birds now they are on the east coast to compare. I also did a trip report on the Horizon/Alaska Dash 8's on my blog too - slightly different service but still a great plane to fly on. I'll post it here soon.

 

 

[HeadInTheClouds]

The Dash 8 100/200 is still in service on the Sydney-Lord Howe Island route as it can get into the short runway. I think it is also in use on routes such as Sydney-Moree but correct me if I'm wrong.

 

 

[Ignition]

I havent flown on any Turboprop aircraft yet... Seems like I am missing out on a fair bit

 

 

[HeadInTheClouds]

Turboprops actually feel like flying... Especially with the faster acceleration they have and the fact that in a smaller plane you can feel the slight yawing movements. It's also familiar when they do propeller checks on the first flight of the day.

 

To me, sometimes bigger jets take away the feeling of flying, and it ends up you are just sitting in a seat that happens to be at forty thousand feet. And I haven't even been in anything bigger than a 737...

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

The turbines in a turbo prop still need a bit of time to 'spool up' from idle. Like the jets you open up the power levers to about 40% and let them catch up then continue to Take Off power setting.

 

Turbo Props will initially accelerate the aircraft quicker as the props are more efficient at lower speeds.

 

I loved flying the Twin Otter great aircraft and always wanted to fly a Dash 8, but not much chance of that these days.

 

 

[mnewbery]

Slightly off topic. I was quite fearful flying around Malaysia on the MASwings ATR-72 because of the known crash history regarding the stall-spin characteristics especially in icing weather. You'd think that Malaysia would not be host to icing weather but it has some quite high terrain. I should not have worried because, like Australian turbo prop operators, everyone was "on the ball".

 

So I'm happy that Virgin has chased up the ATR-72 for its regional routes. I've passengered in the twin-otter in Vanuatu, the BAe Jet Stream J47 and Metro Three (Swearingen Metroliner III) out of Canberra and every type of Dash-8 out of places you'd rather not be. I think that flying Dash-8's between Canberra and Brisbane or Melbourne and Canberra is 'quaint' bordering on offensive. Its not the lack of in-flight service or the assumption that the cabin crew are somehow reserve grade (they are not). The ticket for a seat on a Dash-8 is the same retail price as for a 737-800 or A-320 (IMHO) but significantly more profitable and significantly slower on the longer legs.

 

Is the turbo prop better for me? About the same - a bit more noisy and slow but I entertain and feed myself too. Is it better for the airlines? Obviously or the airline(s) wouldn't be doing it. You have less choice with cruising altitudes too so sometimes the weather and turbulence is on the nose not below you.

 

Looking out the front window of a twin otter from row 10 while flying into Baerfield airport Port Vila was quite interesting. The co-pilot forgot to draw the blinds at the top of the descent. When I looked forward I saw no sky at all, only airfield. That scared the number-twos out of me but I rationalised the two guys at the pointy end didn't want to die either and that was just the way the twin otter flew. It seemed like an elevator ride straight down but that wasn't the unsettling bit. Because the flaps were fully out and the props were fine pitched they worked like parachutes and caused the plane to slip and skid on short final. The pilots played with it but the landing was smooth.

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

I'm gong to have my first flight on a QF Dash 8 in afew days. Exciting! :)

 

 

[mnewbery]

Hopefully not too exciting

 

 

[carlousmoochous]

I think the Dash 8 is a great bird and should be used a lot more, especially out of Canberra where the demand isn't really there for too frequent 737 services. Some new destinations could be opened up or expanded (e.g Tassie, mid north NSW coast) with them and save having to connect :) The syd route is often faster on the dash 8 than the 737 as you don't spend as much time climbing. Also a few bumps and watching the clouds zoom by makes it more interesting :D

 

Glad you guys liked the trip report.. will post a new one up soon. Cheers

 

 

[sixtiesrelic]

Mnewery, the thckest and most persistent ice I experienced in over twenty five years flying aeroplanes was between 18,000 and 24,000 feet over Indonesia. Of course it occurs anywhere in the tropics, in cloud at those heights.

 

At night it is accompanied by pretty spectacular St Elmo's fire (in the form of micro, purple lightning bolts, like we see inn thunderstorms) dancing all across the windsheild.

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience on the Q400 :)