The Details

• Flight: QF140
• Aircraft: A330-300
• Class: Economy
• Seat: 33A and 33B
• Route: Auckland (AKL)-Sydney Kingsford Smith International (SYD)
• Distance: 1,343 miles
• Duration: 3hrs 38min
• Departure: 6:35AM
• Arrival: 7:46AM

The Preflight

After a wonderful few days exploring the North Island of New Zealand, it was time for my SO and I to head home to the USA. We left our hotel in downtown Auckland at 3AM and had a quick bus ride to Auckland International Airport.

After checking-in we made our was past security to the Strata Lounge, which we had access to thanks to my Priority Pass card. It was excellent with a variety of hot foods and nice restrooms. With 10 minutes to boarding, we made our way to the gate area. Boarding began promptly at 5:35AM and we boarded with other Oneworld elites thanks to my AAdvantage status.

Our A330-300, registration VH-QPJ, was delivered to Qantas in 2005. She had been recently retrofitted with Qantas’ newest business and economy seats.

The Flight

Qantas offers 28 business and 369 economy class seats onboard their retrofitted A330-300s. Economy class seats have 31″ of pitch and 17″ of width. They are arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration. My SO and I were seated in 33A and 33B, the paired seats on the left side of the aircraft; right in the middle of the wing.

The new Qantas economy class seats also feature a crisp and large seatback IFE screen. Each seat also had individual power outlets.

There was a very light load on todays flight with the entire center four seats open. We pushed back at 6:30AM, 10 minutes after the scheduled departure time and had a quick taxi to the runway. Along the way we passed by some Air New Zealand B777s.

We had a very quick take-off given the light load and very soon we passed over the Tasman Sea as the sun was rising.

A breakfast was offered on this flight. The food offerings included scrambled eggs with sausage and potatoes. There was a side of fresh fruit and yoghurt as well. I had a cup of black coffee to go with breakfast.

The rest of the flight was entirely uneventful. As we approached Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport we had some cloudy views of downtown Sydney and the Opera House.

We landed at 7:46 local time at SYD and passed by two massive A380s.

We ended up parking right next to the Qantas “Yam Dreaming” livery B787-9 that showcases Indigenous culture.

Our next flight aboard American Airlines’ B787-9 to Los Angeles boarded at 9:10AM which gave us about two hours and 30 minutes at SYD. We had to clear security again and then passed into the international terminal at SYD. Along the way we had some beautiful views of a Qantas B747.

This was a perfectly fine three hour and forty minute flight from New Zealand to Sydney. I appreciated that we got to experience Qantas’ newest economy class offering and I thoroughly enjoyed the seat. I would gladly book with Qantas again aboard their A330.