Australian air travel
I am sitting in the main departures hall of Terminal 4 at the Melbourne airport. My flight is slated to depart in about an hour and 45 minutes, and, true to form, I have arrived way, way, way too early by Aussie standards. It seems my gate won't even be assigned for 75 minutes!
While I am not one to cut it close for a flight, I think I do need to be a bit more Australian in my approach to flying. Domestic travel here is a radically different experience than in the United States.
For example, my experience on Thursday night in Sydney went something like this... I worked late towards a deadline at the office, not leaving to walk home until after 7:00. My flight was scheduled to depart at 10:00, and by American standards I would have felt pressured; not the case here. I got home around 7:30, cooked dinner, packed my bag, and considered the best way to get to the airport. While I am a staunch supporter of public transport, and the train trip from my house takes less than 15 minutes, I had to consider alternatives.
The train line from the city to the airport was privately developed under a long-term agreement with the government. While the city trains operate on it, and all station on either side of the airport stops are public, the two stations servicing the airport are private. The company charges an exorbitant "access fee" at the station, making the 15-minute trip cost around $18; a comparably distanced trip on Sydney trains should cost $3.
With the proliferation of ride hailing services, and my proximity to the airport, I can actually get there much less expensively and in roughly the same amount of time as taking the train. Therefore, I opted to catch a Taxify (an Uber competitor), which picked me up at 8:00 sharp. At 8:19, I was not only at the airport, not only through security, but at my gate. The cost of the trip? $10.
Security for domestic flights is not like in the United States. Firstly, I was literally the only person going through security when I arrived. Domestic passengers are allowed to bring liquids through security, aren't required to show boarding passes or identification, and don't take off shoes or jackets. It's really just a matter of dropping your stuff on the conveyor belt and walking through the metal detector.
Likewise, my experience today at Melbourne was literally effortless. From getting off the Skybus from the city to sitting in the departures hall, it maybe took five minutes to go through the entire process. Coupled with inexpensive domestic fares, it is really easy to travel within Australia.
One additional interesting component about flying here is that many airlines load from both the front and back doors, meaning a walk across the tarmac for planing and deplaning, and also an expedited process. Not too shabby.
As promised, now an update on last week in Sydney:
Last week was a busy week at work, as you could probably tell by my dash to the airport. There wasn't too much of note during the week, though I did manage to catch up with a friend for dinner at a great Japanese restaurant not far from my place, so I definitely will go back there!
On Monday, I got my flu shot (or "jab," as they call it here) as we are heading into winter. I also got a few good runs in last week, though the mornings are getting a bit chillier than I like.
Other than that, there wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, which was probably for the best, given my full-on weekend in Melbourne. I look forward to a few interesting events with work and school this week, as well as a visit from my Brisbane friends Ashley and Brant on the weekend.
Now, to get some reading done as I still wait for my gate to be assigned.
While I am not one to cut it close for a flight, I think I do need to be a bit more Australian in my approach to flying. Domestic travel here is a radically different experience than in the United States.
For example, my experience on Thursday night in Sydney went something like this... I worked late towards a deadline at the office, not leaving to walk home until after 7:00. My flight was scheduled to depart at 10:00, and by American standards I would have felt pressured; not the case here. I got home around 7:30, cooked dinner, packed my bag, and considered the best way to get to the airport. While I am a staunch supporter of public transport, and the train trip from my house takes less than 15 minutes, I had to consider alternatives.
The train line from the city to the airport was privately developed under a long-term agreement with the government. While the city trains operate on it, and all station on either side of the airport stops are public, the two stations servicing the airport are private. The company charges an exorbitant "access fee" at the station, making the 15-minute trip cost around $18; a comparably distanced trip on Sydney trains should cost $3.
With the proliferation of ride hailing services, and my proximity to the airport, I can actually get there much less expensively and in roughly the same amount of time as taking the train. Therefore, I opted to catch a Taxify (an Uber competitor), which picked me up at 8:00 sharp. At 8:19, I was not only at the airport, not only through security, but at my gate. The cost of the trip? $10.
Security for domestic flights is not like in the United States. Firstly, I was literally the only person going through security when I arrived. Domestic passengers are allowed to bring liquids through security, aren't required to show boarding passes or identification, and don't take off shoes or jackets. It's really just a matter of dropping your stuff on the conveyor belt and walking through the metal detector.
Likewise, my experience today at Melbourne was literally effortless. From getting off the Skybus from the city to sitting in the departures hall, it maybe took five minutes to go through the entire process. Coupled with inexpensive domestic fares, it is really easy to travel within Australia.
One additional interesting component about flying here is that many airlines load from both the front and back doors, meaning a walk across the tarmac for planing and deplaning, and also an expedited process. Not too shabby.
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| A Virgin Australian plane, ready to load via the rear door. |
Last week was a busy week at work, as you could probably tell by my dash to the airport. There wasn't too much of note during the week, though I did manage to catch up with a friend for dinner at a great Japanese restaurant not far from my place, so I definitely will go back there!
On Monday, I got my flu shot (or "jab," as they call it here) as we are heading into winter. I also got a few good runs in last week, though the mornings are getting a bit chillier than I like.
Other than that, there wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, which was probably for the best, given my full-on weekend in Melbourne. I look forward to a few interesting events with work and school this week, as well as a visit from my Brisbane friends Ashley and Brant on the weekend.
Now, to get some reading done as I still wait for my gate to be assigned.
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