Monday 5 August 2019 – Shenzhen to Dublin

This time we were flying on the Dreamliner – Boeing 787. Given the improvements made to the airplanes over the years we wanted to test out the theory that it is better for people. This plane had two separate business class sections. We were in the second half, just in front of Economy (not that you would know it).

We waited again for everybody to board. A few people, 3 or 4, had gone left into the first business class cabin. Ros and I were the only ones in the second section – now we know what it’s like to have your own private jet.

There was a lot more room on this plane compared to the A330 – it is very airy, ceilings are high, seats are longer etc. We were offered a pre-departure drink – I had champagne while Ros had a “special” drink blue vok and lemon cocktail to drink. Interesting colour, but very nice. We were prompted to select what we wanted, if anything, as a meal after takeoff and again for breakfast before landing in Dublin.

Ros had a BBQ prawn skewer while I had warm ciabatta. They even gave me gloves to wear so I could pick up the sandwich and not get my fingers dirty haha. Both meals were delicious – we hadn’t really eaten for about 7 hours so it was in reality our dinner. Following the dinner, they asked if we wanted ice cream. Vanilla or cookies and cream. One for each of us. But if that was not enough, and trust me – the flight attendant who served me obliviously didn’t think it was. I originally said no to a plate of fruit. I ended up having some fruit and it was as good as he said. He did also try and give us cheese but that was pushing it a step too far. The ice cream was so hard frozen that it did take quite a while for it to defrost enough to eat, Ros was impatient and ate hers with a fork haha.

It appeared that nobody in the front section was eating – their lights were off and beds were made. Oh well, they missed out!

During the flight, we saw some spectacular colours. Aqua blue on my side and on the opposite a deep purple Ros’s favourite. Mesmerising!

We got sleep on and off, but it was worth it. About 1.5 hours before landing, as we were flying over Oslo, they served us breakfast. It was around 1:30pm in Brisbane. Ros and I both had omelettes along with coffee and hot chocolate. Yet again you would not go hungry on the flight. They offered fruit again, but anything else and I would have exploded – Monty Python ‘bring me a bucket’ style!

The flight attendant was terrific when we asked if he could take a photo of us. He obliged, but one of the other attendants had a different idea. Let there be light! She turned the lights on so he could get a better shot of us having breakfast.

The rest of the flight was the same as it began – excellent. We had finally landed in Dublin from Australia. 3 flights, 21 hours flight time, 15 hours stop over in Cairns, 9 hours stop over in Shenzhen. We left Brisbane at 4pm on Saturday and arrived in Dublin at 3:30pm Brisbane time (or 6:30am Monday Dublin time) on Monday.

Our paperwork we had said the flight duration was 13.5 hours. On board they said it was 11.5 hours – landing at 6:15am instead of 8:00am. Because the flight was so quick – an hour and 40 minutes early to be exact – we had to wait on the tarmac for an hour for a gate to open up. At least we were sitting on the ground rather than circling overhead waiting.

We had booked a self-drive car for 9:30am pickup. I’m sure it will all be fine 🙂