Activity 2

Two travel options for travel in December from Sydney, New South Wales to Cairns, Queensland

Option 1:

Outbound Fri, Dec 1, 2023

Type of transport: By air, airplane.

Transport operator: Virgin Australia.

Departure time from Sydney: 2:50 PM SYD from Sydney international airport.

Arrival time at cairns: 4:55 PM CNS at Cairns international airport.

Journey duration: 3h 05m, direct journey, NO TRANSIT.

Cabin class: Economy Class

Arrival date: Fri, Dec 1, 2023

Return, Mon, Dec 4, 2023

Departure time from Cairns: 5:40 PM CNS from Cairns international airport.

Arrival time at Sydney: 9:40 PM SYD at Sydney international airport.

Journey duration: 3h

Arrives: Mon, Dec 4, 2023

Total Price: 842 AED ($325 AUD) 4170 AED for 5 people ($1480 AUD)

There are two international gateways accessed for this travel option. Terminal 2 of Sydney International
Airport will be used by the travelers for the outbound leg of the journey as this is the terminal that
Virgin Australia operates domestic flights from. There are many facilities at the terminal of this airport,
for instance ATMs which they can then use to withdraw their spending money for the trip, baggage
storage by smart carte which they can take advantage of because they have heavy baggage for instance
the diving equipment that they will carry with them is quite heavy so this will help them not to carry
their heavy baggage with heavy diving equipment all the way around the airport this will make it easier
for them because they won't carry their heavy baggage full of heavy diving equipment all the time.
There are airline lounges which they can go to in order to eat, drink and relax before the flight. There are
also many restaurants for them to choose from if they want to eat something before the flight. Free Wi-
Fi is provided if they want to watch a movie, use social media or go online before the flight there is also
onboard Wi-Fi, there is also medical services if anyone got ill or sick before the flight, there is also toilets
and water stations if they want to take a shower before the flight.
 Sydney international airport
terminal 2

Sydney international airport

terminal 2

Terminal 2 of Cairns International Airport will be used by the travelers for the return leg of the journey
as this is the terminal that Virgin Australia operates domestic flights from. There are many facilities at
the terminal of this airport, for instance there are numerous restrooms. There are ATMS machines if the
travelers wish to withdraw money, there is baggage storage areas if they want to keep their baggage
anywhere until they time of the flight, this is good for them because they will be carrying heavy baggage
because they have diving equipment which is heavy, if they want to keep their bags with them it is also
fine because there will be baggage trolleys everywhere which makes it easier for them to carry their
luggage. There are retail stores if they want to buy anything, there are also restaurants if they want to
eat something before the flight. And of course, there is free Wi-Fi, there are also lounges which the
divers can use to relax and eat something because they would be tired, they can use these lounges
before the flight, there are also showers if they want to take a shower before the flight. There are also
duty-free shops.

Cairns international
airprot terminal 2

Cairns international
airprot terminal 2

In the first option, the group of scuba divers will get an economy-class seat for both legs of the journey
which includes enough legroom for them to rest. They will also get lunch of their choice and they will
have access to an unlimited number of beverages. Each passenger will have a screen in front of him
which they can use to watch movies or play some games... Virgin Australia is certified as a 4-star airline,
meaning there will be professional staff on board. They will depart from terminal 2 in Sydney
international airport. If you have too much baggage because of the diving equipment there is always
someone to help you with lifting your baggage and staff, don’t forget to give them a tip. The plane will
depart at 13:50, which means the customer must be at the airport at 11:50 so that they can finish all the
passport control on time. The plane will take 3h 05 but it will arrive at 16:55 because of a 1hr time
difference. They are allowed to bring a 7kg handbag with them onboard and a 1x32kg bag An
Overweight Baggage fee of $50 will apply to each piece of baggage weighing over 32kg
(maximum 36kg). Which is good for them so they can bring all their diving equipment/suits. If they
want extra baggage, they can pay an extra $50 and bring one more bag not weighing over 32 kg so they
can bring all their diving equipment and swimming staff. Unluckily, there is no discount on this flight for
new customers. Customers who have previously purchases from any of Virgin’s many businesses may
use the loyalty points collected for discounts on flights. This travel option is convenient enough because
it is in the afternoon, and it only takes 3hr to go from Sydney to cairns this is good because the scuba
divers will have enough time to do whatever they want in Cairns, and it takes 3hrs to travel from cairns
to Sydney the flight is at the afternoon that’s good because they won't arrive late in Sydney. After
arriving in Cairns (or Sydney) there will be areas for travelers to collect their baggage. The group of
friends have access to lounge areas in both airports which they can go and relax in for free, there is also
duty free if they want to buy anything, restrooms are everywhere, they also have access to prayer
rooms and smoking areas, there is also small restaurants for them if they want to go eat something in
any of the airports.

Option 2:

Outbound:

Type of transport: train

Travel date: 1 December 2023

Arrival date: 2 December 2023

Departure time: 12:30 from Sydney central station, platform 5.

Arrival time: 12:15 pm so 11:15 because of 1hr jet lack at cairns international station

Journey duration: 24h 45min

Trasport operator: NSW Train Link
Cabin class: economy class

Price: 240 to 350 AED (around $116 AUS dollars) total for 5 people 1200 AED to 1750 AED (around $580
AUS dollars)

Return:
travel date: 4 December

Arrival date: 5 December

Departure time: 12:30 pm from cairns international station

Arrival time: 12:15 pm so 13:15 because of 1hr jet lack at Sydney central station, platform 5.

Journey duration: 24h 45min

Trasport operator: NSW Train Link

Cabin class: economy class

Price: 240 AED to 350 AED (around $116 AUS dollars) total for 5 people 1200 AED to 1750AED (around
$580 AUS dollars)

There are two international gateways accessed for this travel option. Sydney central station, platform 5
will be used by the travelers for the outbound leg of the journey. There aren't as many facilities at the
station as at the airport. But there are some decent things in the station. For example, there are many
toilets around the station, there is a lost and found area if they lost anything throughout the journey,
there is luggage carts which they can use to make easier for them to carry their heavy baggage with the
swimming equipment that they have, there are waiting rooms which they can take advantage of to take
a nap or relax after the tiring holiday they went through while waiting for their train, and of course there
are many restaurants and fast-food restaurants if they are hungry and want to eat something. There is a
duty-free shop if they want to buy anything or if they even want to buy food.
There is one stopover at Roma Street station in Brisbane Roma Street. There are many facilities at the
station, for instance there are many toilets around the station, the travelers will have access to caffes
and fast-food restaurants if they want to have a meal before the rest of the journey. There are also
smoking areas, there is a duty-free shop if they want to buy anything or if they want to buy food.

Cairns central station in Cairns will be used by the travelers for the return leg of the journey. There are
many facilities at the station, for instance there are many toilets around the station, the travelers will
have access to caffes and fast-food restaurants if they want to have a meal before the journey. There
are also smoking areas, there is a duty-free shop if they want to buy anything or if they want to buy
food.
In the second option customers will get an economy-class seat for both legs of the journey which
includes enough leg room to rest although it’s an economy seat, it’s quite big and has a lot of leg room.
2 meals will be provided throughout the journey. There is an onboard snacks trolley that can be
accessed by the scuba divers if they want to eat something on the go, but they must pay for these. There
are no entertainment features on board unfortunately. Luggage check-in closes 30 minutes before the
scheduled departure and the train will departure at 12:30 so you need to be there at least 10:30 so that
you can finish all the check-ins needed before it is time to go. The train will take 24h 45min and it will
arrive at 13:15 because of a +1hr time difference. Unfortunately, there will be no discount on this ride.
Face masks are mandatory on public transport services across NSW. Fines will be issued to anybody not
abiding by these rules. You are allowed a total of 3 pieces of luggage per seat: 1 item of hand luggage
(maximum 5kg and 30cm (about 11.81 in) high x 50cm (about 1.64 ft) long x 30cm (about 11.81 in) wide)
and 2 large and/or heavy items (maximum 20kg and 60cm (about 1.97 ft) high x 70cm (about 2.3 ft) long
x 50cm (about 1.64 ft) wide per luggage item). This is very useful for them because they would be able
to bring all their diving equipment and everything, they need without paying more money for a bigger
baggage allowance. No cancellation No refunds. There is an air conditioner and WC in the train.

Recommendation:

In my opinion, I think that travel option 1 is a better choice for the group of scuba divers, I made this
recommendation depending on many different factors including the time of the flight which is in the
afternoon so they wouldn’t waste one of their nights in cairns and they would have much more time to
enjoy their holiday, the seat in an airplane is much more comfortable that the seat in a train. the
airplane is much faster than the train so they would arrive faster than they would if they travelled with
the train which almost takes 5 times the time taken with an airplane this will give them a good
advantage because they would have more time to enjoy. in travel option 1 more facilities are available
in the gateways accessed in the airport including caffes, fast food restaurants. There are ATMS machines
if the travelers wish to withdraw money. There are baggage storage areas if they want to keep their
baggage anywhere until the time of the flight. This is good for them because they will be carrying heavy
baggage because they have diving equipment which is heavy. If they want to keep their bags with them,
it is also fine because there will be baggage trolleys everywhere which makes it easier for them to carry
their luggage. There are retail stores if they want to buy anything, there are airline lounges which they
can go to eat, drink and relax before the flight. In travel option 1 there are more entertainment facilities
than in option 2 including tv screens Infront of each seat in the airplane which the travelers can use to
watch movies, watch live tv, watch news, access the internet. This is something which is not available in
travel option 2 (train) which can benefit them, so they won't get bored on their way to Cairns and back
to Sydney. in travel option 1 there are no stopovers however, in travel option 2 there are many
stopovers, so travel option 1 would help the travelers to save more time for their holiday and make their
journey easier. in travel option 1 the travelers are allowed to bring more luggage than in option 2 so this
would help them bring all their diving equipment without paying more money in order to get more
baggage allowance that they would do in option 2. in travel option 1, virgin Australia allows you to
refund your ticket within 21 days (about 3 weeks), on the other hand travel option 2 doesn’t allow
refunds this would benefit the travelers if they wanted to cancel their flight, refunds is something that
almost every legit airline allows these days. However, its price is little too expensive compared to the
price of travel option 2 but this price is worth it because of the things it offers that travel option 2
doesn’t offer.

I did not choose travel option 2 because it would take them more time to travel from Sydney to cairns
Which would waste their time and they would have less time to enjoy their holiday, the seats in a train
are not comfortable as the seats in an airplane, many of the facilities in travel option 1 are not available
in travel option 2 which is important for the Travellers like the places where they store their bags until
their flight, the Travellers wouldn’t be able to fit their diving equipment in the baggage allowance of
travel option 2 but in travel option 1 they would be able to fit all their swimming equipment because
travel option 2 offers a larger baggage allowance, in travel option 2 there is no entertainment features
neither on the train or outside the train this is bad because the scuba divers will get bored if it’s a 14-
hours-flight with no entertainment features, in travel option 2 there are many stopovers this would
waste the traveler's time and energy even before they arrive to cairns, in this option there is no refunds,
however this option(2) beats the other option(1) in one thing which is the price, which is way cheaper
than travel option(1) price. There are no discounts on either option.

Links used:
https://www.skyscanner.ae/transport/flights/syd/cns/231201/231204/config/16692-
2312011450--31694-0-10653-2312011655%7C10653-2312041740--31694-0-16692-
2312042140?
adults=1&adultsv2=1&cabinclass=economy&children=0&childrenv2=&destinationentityid
=27539870&inboundaltsenabled=false&infants=0&originentityid=27547097&outboundalts
enabled=false&preferdirects=false&ref=home&rtn=1
https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/#/
https://www.sydneyairport.com.au/info-sheet/t2-facilities
https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Sydney/Cairns
https://transportnsw.info/regional
https://www.sydneyairport.com.au/info-sheet/t2-facilities
https://www.globaldata.com/company-profile/virgin-australia-holdings-ltd/

https://www.queenslandrailtravel.com.au/PolicyCentre/Pages/Luggage.aspx#:~:text=Ensure%20that%20each%20piece
%20of,than%2020%20kg%20per%20piece.