Flying to Cairns

We spent the last week in Cairns (pronounced cans) in far north Queensland where we tried out our new hats, and enjoyed sun, and surf, and a world heritage rainforest and reef. Our next few posts will be full of stories and pictures from our adventures. 

But first, just getting there was a new experience. Flying in Australia was different than what we are used to in a few ways. Our travel agent printed BOTH our departure and return boarding passes the day before we left. The agent had mistakenly booked our flights under Ann and Andrew Schulte. We asked that she change our names prior to leaving, but this would cost her a change fee and the difference in flight cost, so instead she assured us that no one would check our ID’s at the airport. And apparently, that is true, because we weren’t asked for identification even one time at the Melbourne airport or the Cairns airport. We checked our bags for free. We did go through a security scanner checkpoint, but we had our Kleen Kanteens full of water, liquids not in quart-sized baggies, shoes on our feet, and coins in our pockets.

We made our way to our gate where the public address system was not working but everyone just lined up and we boarded in one big orderly and efficient clump. There were no boarding classes, no red carpet privilege, just everyone taking their assigned seats in a matter of minutes. Because there was no fee to check bags, there were fewer people jockeying for overhead compartment space. The flight also wasn’t completely full. It seems like I haven’t been on a flight that wasn’t oversold in years. Behind us two people were actually stretched out across three seats. The flight was three and a half hours - the climate change would be like going from Seattle to San Diego.

Although there is no fee for bags, they do charge for all drinks and food on the plane. Flight attendants rented iPads for $12 on which you can do any number of things, including watch movies. Sodas and coffee were $3.50 and both cash and card were accepted. Because fewer people were served drinks, flight attendants finished with their duties early and appeared to be enjoying themselves at the back of the plane. Happy flight attendants! As I said, a very new experience.

More pictures and stories to come.