Melbourne to Adelaide is only scheduled as a 60 minute flight, in reality its about 50 minutes in the air and if you get good winds and a decent pilot if can be less. I did it dozens of times when I was working for Virgin. No sooner do they serve refreshments and your making your decent to land.
I did that same flight in reverse after my messed up, open sleeve with a big ass drainage bag and sepsis. I had a letter from the surgeon to explain my condition and that I was fit to fly. It was a Qantas flight and cost me a fortune compared to the flight I had originally booked because of the short notice booking. I can tell you I wouldn't have wanted to return home by road, it would have been torture. You would be mad to drive 8+ hours home immediately after surgery if you can do it in 50 minutes.
If you fly Virgin arrive at the airport earlier so you can rest and go through security which will take you all of 10 minutes. Check in at the counter, explain your situation and ask if they can seat you by a window with a seat next to you, you don't wanna have to keep moving if some one wants to get up mid flight. Virgin staff ALWAYS did this for me as a fatty if they had the seats available to. Never gave me any shit, never tried to charge me for an additional seat. Which was a good thing because I was reviewing them
What ever you do don't fly JetStar. Never have I had a JetStar flight run on time. Ever! You'll likely be sitting at the gate for a couple of hours waiting if you do.
Post op toilet issues should be manageable by restricting your intake, using some Imodium (if the narcotics don't plug you up first) and make sure you go before you board. Theres Loo's near the gates at both ends.[/lquote]
To start near the end: I was thinking of flying Jetstar. They have the cheapest seats by far. I can get a ticket for $49 if I book now! The flight time they give is 1h20. I was also taking waiting times into account. My last few flights were with Jetstar, so perhaps that's why it took so long! Didn't really think about it at the time. Hanging around airports (and anywhere else, for that matter) is murder on my back, but I will get a wheelchair from the front desk. I always need a wheelchair when I fly anyway. But, yes, all the feedback I've received has pretty much convinced me that flying is the way to go
. I will have a look at Virgin again, to see if they have any competitive deals.
With regard to seating on the plane - I thought the aisle seat would be the way to go, so I don't have to climb over people to get to the toilet. If things are reasonably under control, I guess that won't be necessary. I'm just terrified of having an accident on the plane! I think they have specific seats for people with wheelchairs, to make it easier for themselves. They've always put me near the front, and a couple of times I've been the only person in the row. I'll speak to them about it though, if it looks like being a problem.
What was the deal with reviewing them? Who/what was that for?
