Discovering whether I truly am "the reason they fly" I put Qantas service to the test after nearly a year of only flying Virgin Australia domestically.

Flight Details
Date: 15 October 2012
Seat: 54E
767-338

Flight rating
3 planes out of 5

Luggage allowance

Carry on baggage

2 x 105cm (41 inches) bags or 1 x 105cm (41 inches) bag plus 1 x 185cm (73 inches) non rigid garment bag or 1 x 115cm (45 inches) bag.

A weight allowance for carry on baggage applies at 7kg (15 pounds) per piece.

Checked Baggage

Economy
Non frequent flyers/Bronze - 1 piece up to 23kg (50 pounds)
Qantas Club/Silver - 1 piece up to 32kg (70 pounds)
Gold/Platinum - 2 pieces up to 32kg (70 pounds)

Business
2 pieces up to 32kg (70 pounds)

Check-in

Log onto www.qantas.com/checkin for online check-in options

Travelling with no check in luggage ensured a streamlined check-in procedure utilising the automated check-in booths.

Bag drop is also an automated process now with the Sydney Qantas domestic terminal offering a variety of weighing stations before guests take bags to the bag drop station.

Lounge access
The Qantas Club is located on the second floor opposite Gate 49.

Cabin conditions

Cabin Configuration - 2 - 3 - 2

The cabin was clean at first glance but seemed quite old in general at 21.2 years old.

Old food was strewn between the seats alongside the window and the side of the plane which seemed to have not been cleaned in a while at least.

Seat comfort

The seats were in good condition and the material was clean.

Under seat storage seemed more limited than newer storage but legroom was ample.

Seat pitch is 31 inches in economy and seat width 17 inches. Business class offers a seat pitch of 35 inches and seat width of 20 inches.

Onboard catering
A white chocolate and strawberry Byron Bay Cookie was served complimentary along with tea, coffee and mini bottles of Mount Franklin water.

Cabin staff service

Flight attendants were professional, courteous and prompt with service. They were all immaculately dressed.

On asking why audio was not working on the inflight entertainment system, the issue was rectified within minutes.

Inflight entertainment

With no television screens behind each seat, passengers are limited to viewing the cabin televisions which offer the Nine Network's morning news on short flights taken between 5am and 1pm weekdays.

This was followed by a short "Can of Worms" segment and "Big Bang Theory".

An additional 16 radio stations are also on offer ranging from talk to comedy, classical to pop music.

On-time performance

Taxiing time - 17 minutes
Departure - 8:57am (AEDST) (22 minutes late)
Arrival time – 9:05am (AEST)

e-Travel Blackboard Tip
Regardless of an iPad not being considered an actual computer, take it out of your bag at security to be scanned separately just in case the security personnel on duty deem it necessary to scan.