T-0 : Day 1 Brisbane > LAX > JFK
We all got to bed earlier than we thought we would, though I’m not sure how well we slept. The next morning, our car was picking us up at 7:30am and was meant to be a mini van to be able to fit our luggage. A large sedan turned up and we ended up having to have one suitcase in the back seat between DW & DS. This wasn’t ideal but we didn’t have much choice at that stage. We got there ok and checked in quickly and were given our Express security & Immigration cards which got us through really quickly and we headed for the Qantas lounge.
I had read that this was a new lounge so I had some high expectations. Overall it was a nice lounge, though not really as big as I was expecting. It is two levels , however to make the space aspect a little more cramped, they had blocked off almost a third of the upstairs lounge for a “government delegation”. Food on offer was a good selection of hot and cold breakfast fare, Bacon, Scrambled eggs, croissants, pastries toast etc etc. The bar was serving some lemon spritzers which was a little different.
Not our plane
We had a relaxing wait and the excitement was starting to build. The government delegation turned out to be the Qld Premier and her entourage and also the ex Labor treasure Wayne Swan who also turned out to be on our plane.
It was approaching the time that we thought we would wander down to the depature gate. As we got out of the lounge and started to walk towards the gate, we heard a call over the PA for our flight and they were paging certain passengers. They called DS name. We all looked at each other with a bit of apprehension and wondered what that was about. I must admit I did get a little worried, but we hightailed it to the gate and approached the security. We advised that DS was called over the PA and they said that he was randomly selected for a Homeland security check which included an explosives test and pat down. They said that pax are selected randomly and they are not advised the age of the paxs so it was just routine. They allowed me to go with DS as the check was done to the side and behind the main check in area. It was all straight forward and didn’t take long at all. DW had already passed through the check-in and was waiting for us. Within a few minutes we all exhaled and were boarding the flight, ready to start this new adventure.
Settled into our seats nicely at the front section of the plane. Last time we flew Qantas to US we were in the upper deck and really loved it. This time the upper deck was all full so we got the front section and took row 3. The seat config is 2x2x2 in the section of the plane. The middle two seats each had unhindered access to the aisle left and right so it is a nice set up. DS & DW had the window and aisle 3A&B and I was on just across the aisle in 3E.
DS did his little trick of giving the cabin staff a box of treats (Tim Tam Bites) which they really appreciated.
Some refreshments and drinks before take-off and then we were away on time. Food and service on board was great. We were served a full 3 course meal a few hours in and also a hot breakfast before arriving in LAX.
Dinner Menu
Eventually we arrived in LA. Got through immigration using the automated machines. Only took about 10mins. Baggage was out quickly and then we had to make our way to transit area, where we rechecked our bags for NYC flight. Through security again, which was short and painless. Then off to the Oneworld lounge.
The NYC flight was delayed a little and we boarded about 30 mins late, but then on board we were delayed again, and didn’t end up leaving till about an hour late. It was a 4hr 20min flight with lunch served. There is a 2 hour time zone difference, we landed about 5:30pm from memory.
We got off the plane and into the luggage claim area of terminal 7 at JFK. This was a really small area and with a full 747 of passengers it was pretty close quarters. Luggage came out in 15mins or so. We went out to the main terminal and was expecting to see our transfer waiting for us, like they have done every other trip. Long story short, they weren’t and phone calls to them couldn’t locate the, so we ended up catching a cab to the hotel which took about an hour. Traffic was really quite bad, or at least seemed bad for what was 5:30 on a Saturday afternoon.
Finally arrived at the hotel which by now it was 24 hours since we had left home for the first flight, so we were all pretty beat, but thankfully DS was feeling a lot better . We did have an issue at check in with the room they allocated us, wasn’t the the room we had booked. They could change it but not till tomorrow. We just wanted to get to the room. We unwound a little. DS had been drinking some water again and keeping it all down so that was a relief for all. We had a light dinner from a café next to the hotel. Watched some TV and all went to bed looking forward to a good nights sleep.