QANTAS A321XLR QF448 Economy Class - Melbourne to Sydney, First To Fly Both VH-OGA & VH-OGB (4K)

After flying to Melbourne the previous day on VH-OGA which was the inaugural commercial flight for that aircraft, I stayed in Melbourne for the night, at the Pullman Melbourne on the Park with amazing views of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Bearing in mind, the Grand Final was the day after I left.

After catching the Metro to Southern Cross Station, then the SkyBus to Melbourne Airport, it was straight through security, and up to the Business Lounge to chill out prior to the flight. (access courtesy of my Frequent Flyer status).

When I originally booked this a few weeks prior, once the A321XLR flights were announced, I saw the return flight to Sydney on the Friday afternoon was also scheduled to be an A321XLR, and in the days prior, VH-OGB was the aircraft showing as being allocated to QF448.

Boarding from Gate 25 was slightly delayed, but once onboard it was great to enjoy that new plane smell all over again. This aircraft had only operated the inaugural Sydney to Perth, and return flights the day prior, with no flights earlier that day.

The flight was great, a few bumps just after take off, and sitting nearby a chatty infant seems to be a thing in recent flights... so lots of nursery rhymes, are we flying yet, are we there yet etc etc etc (all part of the fun with flying).

Being an afternoon flight, outside of meal times, refreshments and drinks were provided. As per usual, the crew were amazing.

Based on me flying VH-OGA the day before (and after it arrived back in Sydney that evening, it did not fly again until several hours after my return flight) and VH-OGB doing the Perth flights the day prior, it would be safe to say I was the First Commercial (Revenue) Passenger to fly both VH-OGA & VH-OGB within 24hrs of their entry to commercial service.

I did not recognise anyone on QF448 who flew QF467 the day prior, and from speaking to the crew who operated the SYD-MEL flight prior to the flight I was on, nobody mentioned they flew VH-OGA the night before... (entirely possible, but I will run with the notion of being the First for now).

Operating Aircraft: VH-OGB Airbus A321-271NY (XLR)
QF448 MEL-SYD
Seat: 34A
Total Flight Time: 0 hr 56 min
Total Travel Time: 1 hr 16 min
Cruising Altitude (Average): 35,000 ft (10,668 m)
Departed Gate 2:21pm (21 minutes late)
Takeoff 2:38pm (28 minutes late)
Landed 3:34pm (20 minutes late)
Gate Arrival 3:37pm (12 minutes late)

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My previous video: JAPAN AIRLINES B777-300 JL48 Economy Class - Helsinki to Tokyo Haneda (4K) -    • JAPAN AIRLINES B777-300 JL48 Economy Class...  

Recorded: 26th September 2025

#qantas #a321xlr #airbusa321