each year over 300 million passengers fly over 6 billion miles on Long Haul flights epic daily Journeys made by some of the world's biggest planes like flying hotels they transport people across the world in comfort and style but what does it take to keep these Giants in the sky all our team is running to action it's almost like a choreograph dance the key is just keeping moving come with us as we hitch a ride on one of the longest Journeys in the world London to Sydney Australia as with exclusive behind the scenes access we can reveal the confessions of the cabin crew sometimes we do get a few weird requests such as marage proposals we go below stairs to their secret crew rest and well Welcome to our secret sleepover GE we meet the back office staff who monitor every second of each flight the IC is the nerve center to the airline without they literally would be Flying Blind and follow the stories of passengers both animal and human who have their own reason to board flight2 from London today from starting a new life down under it's a big move for both of us we haven't got a clue what to expect to meet meeting a long lost family for the very first time they've been looking for me for 20 years filmed at 40,000 ft this is the ultimate Insider's Guide to Life in the skies so make sure your seat is in the right position and your seat belt is fastened as we prepare to uncover The Secret Life Of The Long Haul flight It's Just Before Dawn at London he throw the world's largest passenger plane the Airbus A380 is towed on to stand costing over 280 million it's 73 M long 25 M high and has a tipto tip wingspan of 80 m in Just 2 hours time it will depart on its day long all flight to Sydney Australia loaded with up to 484 passengers the 11,000 Mi Journey will take 24 hours but long before the passengers can board a whole Army of service personnel must get her ready to fly in the world of Long Haul flying there is not a second to lose we don't want any of our planes hanging around the ground the best place for our aircraft is operating with the in the air so it's all hands on deck and everyone's onto the aircraft straight away to get their jobs done and we can make that turn around within that 2hour time frame now a well-rehearsed ballet swings into action as the refuelers baggage handlers Engineers cleaners and Catering teams all set to work there's certain jobs that have to be done all the wheels have to be inspected the engines have to be checked oiled you have to do a walk around to make sure there nothing hanging off of the hole of the outside same for the inside it's a very very structured process and it's broken down minute by minute each department and each team have a job to do within a certain amount of time frame it literally does go to the minute um so we need to have the aircraft closed up by 10 minutes before departure with our plane not suffering any serious faults the engineers can crack on with more cosmetic jobs like a sticky TV screen tiny screw someone's just di tightened it can we get a something there to got this yeah to leave it while below the wing the action is in full swing 90 minutes before departure the 21 cabin crew clock in for their pre-flight briefing we all have individual roles like there are business and first class flight attendants on board I'm economy flight attendants Sarah Kelly has been flying for 5 years for her Aviation is in the blood my father is a cornner captain so yeah I've just growing up with him traveling around and going to different exotic destinations and yeah just the whole thrill of just flying there's somebody amongst the crew who you've not met yet please uh spend some time having a little Shout with them and get to know each other the whole time so you on the tarmac Second Officer Adam Thompson carries out his visual inspection purpose of the inspection is to make sure that there's no uh ground service Vehicles caused any damage there's nothing leaking from any pipes it's not meant to be in the engine looking to see if there's been any scratches or DS on the fan blad any indication that something's gone through the engine should have if they've had a bird strike perhaps or something like that on the previous sector on the tires we're looking to see that there's no gashes or any um any problems at all with the [Music] tires on every L haul flight each passenger has a story and we're following four of them we're just a long haul flight away from meeting Three Sisters Malcolm and Adelaide are about AB board their first long all flight to meet the family they never knew they had what just can't wait I've never seen them in real life can't believe it and young parents Daniel and Bethany are heading down under to see if they want to make Sydney their new home Daniel Bethany and how is got a lot planned we've got a list written up of all the places we want to go and visit and different um neighborhoods we kind of want to see in exciting red isn't it back on the tarmac Second Officer Adam Thompson checks the a380s huge Wings which are so large you could park 70 cars up there they only just fit really don't they they do only just fit yeah that's quite common on such a large aircraft to have a ground service vehicle follow us just to check the wing tips to make sure that we're all safe don't want to hit anything do not want to hit anything how did it look looks very good good to gu back in terminal 3 28-year-old Australian Shawn checks in going home to surprise my mom for her 60th she has no idea I'm coming while fellow Aussie Belinda is leaving fiance Alice behind to return home after almost 4 years we're getting married we're getting married soon it's going to be okay I love you although for her the 24-hour flight time is a little overwhelming I've done a lot of Long Haul flights so it's not like I'm new to the game um but I just find them rather horrendous to be honest like long I don't think anyone enjoys a long haul flight I know but i' I don't know I just dread it and I think that's a part of that stopped me from going back all these years but Belinda's in for a surprise as she's been upgraded it's actually business class and actually I'm playing business class which is crazy because I've never flown any kind of class except e comedy e how do you say economy yeah and I I feel like I'm a little bit emotional actually off to the gate here we go where're baby's doing really well baby are this say hello everyone wave Y and it's not just our human passengers that are about to go Long Haul every day Quantas alone make 4,000 Freight shipments the two huge holes can carry up to 20 tons of freight although anything bigger than a suitcase is handled by the Specialists I would say we're a big check in for [Music] Freight just a few miles from Heathrow is din's Bonded Warehouse a high security 24 seven cargo facility where they handle up to 450 tons a day we're open all the time every day of the year uh and it is it's very fast pace it comes in it goes out anything from clothing to cars live animals absolutely anything we had an armored vehicle come in customized and had all leather seats in fridges so that was quite unusual the A380 can even carry its own spare engines although at 10 tons a piece it's a bit of a tight fit they'll go out this afternoon on a special vehicle they direct load onto the aircraft just squeezes in and out but uh yeah that's quite tight today it's not just jet engines and luxury cars that are going long haul as two very important passengers arrive Mitsy and Alfie are being relocated back to Australia and a few days ago it was time to say goodbye to Mom and Dad come on we're going to go quick quick we won't see them for about 12 13 days which is a long time for us and mity here suffers from a little bit of separation anxiety so um hopefully the flight's not too bad for them go on pop good boy good boy good boy on just a little bit uncertain she probably thinks we're going with her she probably she's probably going to get a surprise we're all going to go on a car ride that's right yeah so she's all up for the ride it's just when when she works out we're not going MIT and Alfie are traveling with the specialized pet Transport service and they've just realized they're going alone I think they are freaking out but they're in safe hands as the animals welfare is top priority for all the airlines even before they fly they get a thorough checkup Australia especially are super paranoid about uh importing infectious diseases so that's parasites and other signs of contagious diseases so I just work from head to toe go through these guys and make sure they're all well everything's healthy lovely clean ears super go through his coat make sure there's no signs of ticks fleas anything like that hanging around make sure these cardiovascular systems up to the trip you are good we'll have a look at your sister but I'm very happy with how things look with him you worried you're coming on the table as well I'm afraid you are pretty laid-back customer nice steady heart rate nice clear chest good good you're good and it's not just domestic pets that travel long haul every day of the year you could be sitting there on a plane and Below you don't realize there are literally half a dozen animals going from one place to another around the world and it's not just cats and dogs there's Exotics as well on International breeding programs from zut too the largest animal I've moved by here is a Asian one horned greater rhino rhinoceros and dare I say how do you move a rhino in a big box today the dogs are accompanied by a few feline friends so Mick has to be careful about who sits where we try and separate everyone uh there we got some cats on the corner uh we obviously face them away from the dogs uh so they don't upset each other uh but no they all look quite happy to morning in although the holds on the aircraft are pressurized they are not usually heated but with outside temperatures at 40,000 ft ofus 50° Centigrade today these guys will be well looked after they'll actually warm the compartment so it's comfortable for the animals their main concern is their welfare Mitsy and Alfie are just two of the 65,000 domestic pets carried by quantis each year a tiny fraction of the 100 million animals flown worldwide back at the airport with just 60 minutes before departure the catering trucks arrive specially built to reach the pl's two decks the service team now has to replace 40,000 items including 70 meal carts 2 and 1 half th000 [Music] glasses and 5,000 pieces of Cuttery again we continue to board our first class customers through door C with 45 minutes to go boarding begins but delays on the road around Heathrow mean getting the flight away on time could be a challenge as a consequence we have late passengers and late crew so we um everything that we did this morning was a little bit [Music] behind a lot more to do as the crew rushed to prep the plane now even some of the checked in passengers have gone walk about thank you qutis good morning oh orange juice thank you 11 passeng is messing up where do they go um this is the $1 million question but HZ is undeterred for her getting the flight away on time is a matter of Pride the flight on time is when I watch those Wheels move right on the dot if that doesn't happen then we fail everyone that has worked very hard to get all the passengers all the crew you know the the aircraft at its destination so so yes it would be uh they would be disappointed in me if I didn't deliver with boarding about to close most of the passengers have been found but there's always one one Prem economy we're just trying to get a phone number okay thank you thank you thank you bye so uh we are 20 minutes to departure we're missing one passenger and at minus 15 minutes we start looking for their bags next will inz avoid costly delays and get flight2 away on time I sometimes say that waiting for the door to close ages [Music] me and a very good morning to you ladies and gentlemen my name is Jason and I'm your customer service manager at London SE row boarding of flight2 to Sydney is almost complete as the last pass passenger is rounded up we've located him and um it is a him is it yes and um yes so we should be all good to go inz can now make sure the doors are all sealed we're just waiting for engineers to get off and then on I sometimes say that waiting for the door to close ages me that is a very happy moment I know it's a bit sort of obvious because I work here but that is closing the door with the door sealed the arrow Bridges retract and flight2 is pushed back for takeoff on time there she goes and she slides away from us [Music] to take off to right 22 clearance is confirmed confirmed takeoff is one of the most critical phases of the flight Captain Rod Duncan and his crew now accelerate the plane to 138 mph we always only use as much thrust as we need that just saves we're in on the engine so it never seems to accelerate really quickly as the speed increases the air pressure around the massive Wings changes now air flowing over the wing has a lower pressure than the air flowing under it with enough speed the pressure difference begins to lift the aircraft into the air once you get to that speed if you have an engine failure or major problem prior to that speed speed you'll stop on the runway and if you have a engine failure or problem after that speed you'll sort it out in the air as the giant aircraft heads Southeast it's following the kangaroo route a 70-year-old airlink between Australia and the mother country the 11,000 M trip crosses Europe the Middle East and the Indian Ocean before arriving in Australia in just over a day's time one Epic Journey that's a tiny fraction of the 6.28 billion Long Hall miles flown each year hi so here I am in the business class section I've just been given some champagne um life is pretty good right now unfortunately um baby Isis was sick on Bethany shoulder so not the greatest but she's now fast asleep so hopefully she can stay like that now for the rest of the flight going so fast in seat 70c 65y old Malcolm has already ever flown before this is the first time I've ever flown Long Long Haul oh my God ever flying longall wow that's what brings you to Australia oh well what it was one one Friday night watching television got a phone call this woman on the phone and she told me all me details and all that she says I'm your sister oh my plus there's another two of us all right oh wow got three Malcolm's parents split up when he was just 3 months old until his sister Allison tracked him down in October 2016 he had no idea he had another family in Australia she said they've been looking for me for 20 years my dad's been looking for me for 40 years well I I just went then I just completely went tears were rolling down my faces both of us at either end and we just it was five five minutes before we started talking and I I just couldn't believe it Malcolm's Father David had joined the thousands of 10 pound poms who immigrated to Australia in the 1950s starting a new life he had remarried and had three daughters I could imagine how you would be feeling after that phone call really thrill and oh yeah we're on form for at least an hour and a half that night it would just the nicest thing I found out is he's been looking for me for all these years you don't know how that makes me feel and obviously the first thing is we've got to meet we've got to meet I don't know what's going to happen when I see him at the other end when to get up this play and that's it yeah that's it I'm going to meet them all for the time Malcolm's dad passed away in 1996 having never been reun United with his son and now Malcolm's got a lifetime of catching up to do with his new family I'm never going to meet me that in real life but the next best thing is my three sisters fabulous oh I got get everywhere I'm actually tingling it's so beautiful that reminds me why this is my dream job as flight2 begins its track across Mainland Europe 11,000 Mi away in Sydney it's just one of a 100 Quantas flights that is being tracked second by second in the integrated operations center or ioc the ioc essentially is the nerve center to the airline we provide information to all the aircraft that we have flying anywhere anytime around the world this system gives us a timeline of all the aircraft that we have at any given moment through their phase of flight that information is updated as soon as an aircraft releases its braks takes off lands or comes back to the terminal yeah that's right we might be diverting to Sydney corus 94 a lot can vary in approximately 18 to 24 hours be that weather information engineering medical assistance security assistance so we're always providing updates to those aircraft throughout the course of their Journey okay let me go and check with maintenance watch and I'll come back to you and this communication isn't just one way as each A380 is equipped with hundreds of sensors which beam realtime data about the health of the plane and its engines across the globe have a look at the Telemetry from the airplane this stage and we'll see if it's carrying any defects which may cause us an issue although flight2 isn't reporting anything serious it does have one or two minor niggles all aircraft carries some minor defectors like a car the sray may be full or the window may not wind down properly or something like that if it's a serious fault there's other alerting from the engine manufacturers they being monitored also air us themselves are monitoring our aircraft and if they believe there's a serious issue they can also send us uh add if the engineers do spot a worrying problem they can pick up the sa phone and talk directly to the pilots we have to be very mindful that we don't bother them during a critical phase of flight so if they're just starting their flight we won't call and if they're just towards the end of the flight definitely won't be calling Engineers like David are just one of the many unsung heroes of the Long Haul flight one flight from London to Sydney could have anywhere from approximately 10 through 5050 people involved so there's a lot of people behind the scenes that are making that aircraft get to where it's going without thec the airline wouldn't function you'd have aircraft in the air that wouldn't be able to get real time information be that for mechanical be that for weather be that security or medical related situations and as a result they literally would be fly blind which is exactly what used to happen when the pioneers of L haul took to the skies nearly 80 years ago 1938 and QA Quantas Empire Airways operates the short C-Class flying boats in modern luxury and comfort and what's more the trip only takes 9 days which includes 70 hours of flying and 36 stops essentially L haul with a series of short hops none of them longer than 200 maximum 300 miles between each hop you would come down the plane would be refueled you had to be adventurous there was a lot of force Landings you had to be prepared more less for [Music] anything there is even a demand for fishing lines at refueling stops where both passengers and crew members can enjoy the relaxation of dropping a line over the side back on board our passengers won't need to be fishing for their dinner as just 30 minutes into the flight it's time to eat sir do you have a fruit please of course you can getting my fruit out thank you very much there you are my pleasure hello there meal service is the busiest time for the 21 crew and each one has their own specific role depending on where we're seated for take off and Landing uh depends depend on what we're doing um either in the cabin or in the galley so basically I'm taking uh the opportunity to get things ready for the dessert service now uh while all the other cabin crew are out doing the bar service today Aaron is one of the 10 Crew looking after the 64 passengers in business class give the passengers a nice glass of wine with their meal a small side salad where they get a choice of dressings and then we start delivering Entre and M course with food and drink playing a crucial part of the Long Haul experience each year over 1 billion meals are dished up at 40,000 ft Quantas alone serve 7.5 million on their Long Hall flights 400,000 In First Class 2 million in business and 5 million in economy everywhere in the world at any minute of the day there's a CL up there and we're serving a meal to somebody Neil Perry is one of Australia's best known chefs for 20 years he's been putting the food he serves in his Rock pool restaurants into the sky it can be a massive risk putting your name on something you have no control over landline Foods always had a bad WAP so when we got involved the most important thing is we created sort of a number of cornerstones so we said what have the airlines always done well they're flowing really bad bad bread so we have to have great bread they flown pretty poor cheese let's have beautiful rubed cheeses that are ready salad not great let's do great salads and then we'd roll dishes around that today all the food is prepared in huge catering centers the 105 chefs at Alpha LSG in London produce 31,000 meals per [Music] day in the premium cabins each of the dishes must be dressed and plated the same way across every flight this going become collected go along step by step no it's all good there is pressure but hey you can't let the nerves get to you serving restaurant quality food is an idea that harks back to the pioneering days of Aviation feeling beckish well here's a sample of our inlight dining anyone care for the CST Salia you'd have had a seven course meal you'd be served by a steward who' be wearing a white jacket and a white cap like a waiter in a fine restaurant really this was served the 14th of September 1952 they started with lobster Beque roast fillet of beef fresh sliced peaches with kersch fresh double cream Martini cocktails Grand vand de Bonia and bisu dub I'm sorry about my French accent but you get the idea creating the tricky dishes is one thing but serving them is quite another as in the air both equipment and space are severely limited this is a real Valley isn't it it is it's a bit of a juggling act yeah it's like yeah a bit of a circus trick this one yeah it's like a wall it's like a dance one moves one way and we move in and wasn't for you are all jammed in a small area you have to be very comfortable on the aircraft with people in your personal space you do learn very quickly how to maneuver around it's like we all Almost Have Eyes behind our heads because we sort of just like move away and we all just get out of each other's way we can just sort of you know we never really Collide anymore we're used to it yeah we come to work knowing that it's going to be full and we're trained to work when it's full and yeah another day at the [Music] office let's go next we'll take a sneaky peek at Life Below stairs as we inspect the crew's secret quarters there we go flight2 out of Heathrow is on its way to Sydney Australia as the world's only fully double-decker passenger plane the a380s upper deck is mostly business class while the lower deck is the main economy cabin in row 81 Daniel and Bethany are enjoying a rare moment of calm I think this is the first meal mommy's had without baby Isis crying in saying feed me first so it's actually quite nice to to do that isn't it the routine is whatever she wants so when she's hungry she will cry and she will ask for food yeah and when she's tired she will sleep the young parents are preparing to move away from their families to start a new life in Sydney we've just kind of going to go out there and kind of research the area look at the neighborhood some houses and just kind of look at what we potentially letting ourselves in for in the future we haven't got a clue what to expect we could go there and we could hate it we haven't got anyone nearby to help out it's a big move for both of us but I'm not scared cuz I know we're a good [Music] team 3 hours into the flight and with service over for some of the crew it's a chance to sneak a quick break M we just went to a check with all our passengers and our passengers are all good have they absolutely so we thought we we reward ourself oh with a cheeky cup of te and we Che that's what we're doing now beus has been flying for 9 years for her keeping the passengers happy is one of the things that keeps her in the air thank you I'm a people pleaser to a certain degree and that's what I like meeting the people um and making them leave happy and I think I could be satting in an office 9: to5 looking till it's 4:30 and yeah obviously there are some flights where I'm thinking oh I can't wait to get to the end of this flight but then my reward is that I'm in Dubai for 24 hours or I'm in Australia for 3 days so I don't really know what more what more you could wish for really say hi but all that excitement does come at a price so I'm just starting to get stuck into every cab creu favorite job which is as you can see I've got my glove Off cleaning the toilets so off I go people tell you it's a glamorous job I think they lied so we just come and do this like every half an hour just to check all everything's well and good in in the toilet and that there's some paper in there cuz no one likes go to a little with no paper give it a little Spritz beautiful if we have like a friendly family sort of atmosphere on board hello we all go out together I go to the beach and cloth really nice I'm going to sit down have my cup of tea and a biscuit it's the best part of this to a cup of tea and the biscuit like today the kangaroo route has a single stop of 90 minutes in the world's busiest airport Dubai welcome to jaai recruited refueled and Rec the plane is ready for the longest leg of the flight 14 hours to Sydney about to hop on the plane not much longer back in the air the crew are preparing for another meal service we have a little trick that we like to call gr you know about tomp crws don't you when we talk about Tom Cruz on the aircraft we're not talking about the famous movies are we we're certainly not we're certainly are not we are talking about tea and coffee how did you put them on the trolley tea then coffee Tom Cruz Tom Cruz there you go fact of the day on the upper deck in business class Belinda settles in for lunch wson you're joining us for something to eat thank you thank you so much this is her first experience in in the premium cabin and she's not yet used to the restaurant like service so I'm serving a side salad with your meal and I have a choice of dressings for you I have h b salic or I have a v what's a v oh funny you should ask and it's not just the food jargon she needs some help with Aaron's just been telling me about the lifestyle of a air hostess flight attendant sorry fly attendant F attendant Australian Belinda left home to pursue her dream as an actress and singer I think I underestimated how hard it would be setting up in London it's not easy to come over with like two suitcases and that's all you have but she might have to get used to the high life as things are on the up so we're getting married um legally married which is a little bit different for um if we were in Australia but in the UK we can get married which is incredible yeah it's very exciting so keep your eyes at the point that you're looking at but just drop your nose down a little bit and she's also landed the role of Judy Garland in a new West End show I can't wait for my mom to see this I don't think she'll quite believe it but I think she'll be really proud of everything that I'm achieving over here Judy really is going to USS isn't she really Judy's going to us she's going back to USS yes absolutely and Judy's traveling in style the Quant a 380 has 64 business class seats at up to eight times the cost of an economy seat this premium cabin is vital to the success of the airline what they're selling is exclusivity it's that great sort of social cache if you turn left at the top of the steps instead of turning right for the airline it's a question of economics if you're a standard economy class traveler they're not making much profit on you in fact they're hardly making anything at all so in a sense those business Travelers who are paying a great deal more are paying for the ordinary passengers like you and me we often see this cabin full on every flight lots of business Travelers or people that have saved up for a little while to take that trip of a lifetime it's very exclusive with the sky beds that go fully flat you can have privacy there's these mid-seat dividers it's all about service tailored to the customer oh business class is is is the business really it's not just the business class passengers who travel in comfort in the forward hole directly below first class are the animals like Mitsy and Alfie while it's not possible for owners to visit their pets in Flight if they're in the serenity of first class they occasionally might hear them sometimes you can actually hear hear the dogs chatting to each other and barking which can be a little bit distracting it's really interesting hearing hearing those noises and thinking that your ears are playing tricks on you cruising at almost 40,000 ft the A380 is one of the most comfortable planes in the sky quiet and stable it travels at more than 500 mph almost effortlessly through the thin frigid atmosphere but it wasn't always this way the early Long Haul passengers had to endure flying much lower in primitive unpressurized planes okay the good news about flying low that's 8 or 9,000 maximum 10,000 ft is you get a good view of of what's down below the pyramids or the Taj Mahal or the Sydney Harbor Bridge the bad news is because you're going through the weather your stomach is being thrown all over the place and up to 50% of people in pre-war flights were nauseous they were queasy and a great many of those were actually vomiting on the floor and it's interesting that when the first stewardesses were introduced they had to be qualified nurses no such problems today as 10 hours into the flight the lights dim for the passengers to get some rest although few of them realize that there is another secret compartment in the belly of the plane and Welcome to our secret sleepover Jo one big sum party in here this is where the cabin crew go on their downtime Naomi and Sarah have agreed to show us around so these are the bunk beds there's 12 12 bunk bed beds crew rest is the best thing on the aircraft hi guys hello welcome welcome we are ready for a nap we might get 3 hours off and then we'll switch and then the next person we get the three hours off yeah do a demonstration of how we get into the top bunk going to bed now oh crazy crazy and you normally have a hot water bottle down here normally cuz it's freezing down here it can get quite cold night no good night if we get cozy pillows blankets hot water bottles you know lucky you don't see us s pajamas but uh we save that for down there yeah it's just like a little cozy compartment underground and where's the Harry Potter bunk har po here who gets the Harry Potter bunk yeah we do have one bunk which we call the Harry Potter bunk which is just under the stairs all right let's go town very pretty it's easiest I've ever done it oh good job I actually don't mind it cuz it's like someone's actually giving you a hug under there cuz it's like you got a wall That's halfway through and you're kind of just all you know cozy up in there and it's quite warm good night everyone good night night good night nice and cozy it's not just the cabin crew getting some rest even Pilots get a moment or two to enjoy the scenery there's a lot to see and you got your map so you know where you are and see some great sunrises sunsets good mountains in the economy cabin is 28-year-old Australian sha living in the UK he's been plotting with Dad to be the surprise guest at his mom's 60th birthday party so mom's going to walk into the restaurant and her TRS are going to be there so that's going to be brilliant and then J on top of the cake should be when you walk in yeah my mom's very emotional I think when she sees me she's probably going to scream run and hug me possibly even cry um I think she'll be very entertaining Sha's not the only one with Secrets sometimes I guess we do get a few weird requests such as marriage proposals after they've had a few wines you just make sure that they know that we're just there for their safety and the service we're not not you know there for anything else super hello to you next with just 1,000 miles to run in Sydney a whole Army prepare to welcome [Music] flight2 with flight2 now just hours from Sydney the International Airport prepares to open after its overnight curfew are you doing the tour arrival as well I'm not sure yet not sure okay on board the pilots make contact with the air traffic control con 2 super hello to you 2 turn right heading 020 0 air traffic control is pretty much a policeman of the Skies we make sure that the rules and procedures are followed and that separation standards aren't breached keeping the planes apart takes a special kind of scale you need to be able to think fast on your feet you need that spatial awareness u a lot of people think in two-dimensional but we're thinking threedimensional but we're also thinking four-dimensional at times because we' got speed involved as well meanwhile in the daily briefing at the ioc it's the weather that's the worry uh Sydney we are looking at uh storm potential staying quite likely within the next 2 hours at the airport those storm cells hugging the coast whether or not there's going to be a tropical Cyclone um over the flight path of several flights becomes increasingly important to high passenger volume flights such as those that go to China or those that go to London we are looking at storm cells to the northwest of port and they are likely to move over do you think they're fast moving though they're quite fast moving we have some stuff to the Southwest at the moment but that should stay offshore I'm just concerned that those things that are developing to the northwest while the worst of the storms are not yet over Sydney the pilots prepared to land in some typically British weather end up with some rain at the lad station approach stand by the W in the cabin as the dwn breaks the crew prepare breakfast so as you can see it's sunrise on the plane I'm just going to go through and check on any passengers that might have woken up just see if we get any drinks or anything like that the last service was hours ago so I guess they're ready for their they Brey before they land get you sure gra it for you my first order in cheeky James bgs at Sunrise Josh here is loading up the oven doing a great job of being G operator and yeah I've just got the card ready and it's good to go down in the crew quarters the early morning alarm call is less welcome I've just come downstairs to do the worst job which is waking everyone up from break and everyone's still down here and they're not very happy it can give you a heart attack at the past of times but um and then when that hand does come up you're like okay and then you come up and you feel sorry for any passengers that do come across you in that process between going from the crew door to the toilet one of my favorite things during the flight is to see the crew that are coming back from break and how upset they look after coming back from break here's Edward he's looking really happy morning in the first class Galley Marissa is tackling a tricky dish fresh scrambled eggs cooked in a steam oven we got to keep a close eye on it constantly stir it cuz if I take my eye off them I either burn them or they go a bit dry which we don't want is there extra pressure being in the firsty because of oh yes Platinum passengers little nerves but all good y so you're watching us to Sydney time the time is just 7:35 a.m. yeah I'm just seeing where we are we're just flying over Camp right now I think so um yeah we I think we touched down in like 36 minutes which is really exciting sha too was excited having traveled 11,000 miles just to be his mother's very special birthday present literally my plan is to get a box that's big enough to fit me wrap it up in paper maybe put a bow on it I think when I leap out of the box I think my mom's going to scream Panic a little bit and then once she realized who it is uh probably give me a big hug probably start crying um I think it'll be very entertaining keeping the emotions in check is also going to be a challenge for Malcolm who after 65 years is now just minutes away from meeting his long lost family first time meeting him poing in the FL oh his nerves are we going now oh my nerves are going a bit emotional a bit a lot and it's not just Malcolm feeling the nerves as at Sydney airport his welcoming party has arrived my two sisters are here with me um my partner my daughter my grandson and my nephew we are so excited nerves have been chattering all the way down here yes really excited can't wait to see him cor two turn right heading 125 to join final 16 right and you are cleared the is PRM approach right 125 join final clear the PRM approach with the runway in sight the plane enters its most critical phase landing and the a38 his massive size creates a huge amount of weight turbulence or jet wash weake turbulence is the UN stable air that is produced from the wings and the body of the aircraft as it flies through the air the weight turbance hangs behind the aircraft for a period of time and uh we put like an envelope around the aircraft so we got 1,000 ft below and for a super it's 6 natic miles behind it so we don't want anything in that envelope otherwise it get buffered around a lot if you're quite close to the the weight turbulance coming off the back of a super or heavy and you're in a light aircraft like a Cessna it could flip the aircraft 2 wind 130° 1 knots Runway 16 right PL while the A380 can land automatically usually this part is handled by the human Pilots visual standard procedures check 1,000 in tough conditions they can be challenging cross winds make it harder usually happens just in the last little bit and at that stage you near are always flying it manually it's probably the most satisfying part you will try and fly the airplane as efficiently as you can and do a good Landing if possible if you do you you basically feel satisfied that was a good job it's landed oh my God it's here it's landed oh we're we're going to see him in a minute oh wow going to be so excited how exciting how exciting Malcolm is just moments away from coming face to face with his [Music] past flight2 from London has just landed into Sydney International Airport where a small army of service Personnel are ready to welcome the plane how many baggage containers you got to take off four more to go you going to use these ones here ramp manager Sam Shannon oversees the offloading it's almost like a corer dance we've got engineering staff that are overviewing the aircraft and looking for any damage that might have occurred in Flight uh we've got our ground service team that are offloading all the bag and cargo we'll also have catering come to the aircraft and start offloading all the rubbish from the inbound blood refuelers are also coming around to refuel the aircraft with the flight burning through over 300,000 L of fuel the plane has lost half its takeoff weight although a little extra has been added obviously after such a long flight with over 480 passengers there's a lot of toilet waste so this gentleman now is just taking it out of the aircraft and also flushing all the tanks in the aircraft to make sure they're all clean for the next l so contr to you don't dump it in the air no we don't dump it in the air I can assure you of that Sam's team need to get all the passengers reunited with their 600 bags in less than 45 minutes and for three special ladies that can't happen soon enough it take them a little while to get through customs and then get their bags and use stuff so [Music] with all the passengers disembarked the crew can finally clock off bye Jason but while it's goodbyes for the crew Malcolm's three sisters are desperate to say hello come [Music] on finally after what has literally been a lifetime Malcolm arrives here we go where are they [Music] oh you're here fantastic finally finally oh my God fantastic can't believe it I know been so long I can't wait to tell him just about our dad what he was like growing up it's a little bit Bittersweet sort of we don't want to tell him too much I want to think he's missed out on everything but he just wants to hear about everything that we shared with [Music] Dad great to find them I mean 65 the only one four months ago now I've got three sisters hell lucky you oh lucky me yes you're here with the plane due to be back in the air in just 7 hours there is just enough time for some regular maintenance the tug has now grabbed it closed its jaws and we're elevating the aircraft up so it's pivoting on its landing gear the dead weight of this aircraft at the moment possibly about 300 Tong we're going to follow the A380 line out just to keep these wing tips clear from alling aircrafts all around us it's that big you can have an accident you could hit a wing on something so you must concentrate on having it onto the center of those lines with the engineering hanger on the opposite side of the airport Louie must tow the 73 M long aircraft across a live room way and quickly we're going to have to go we've been cleared we got lights illuminated there's an aircraft coming in and it's on its Final Approach so we have to [Music] move that aircraft's pretty close what's coming in now well done here we go this seven story hanger was was specially converted to accommodate the giant A380 and even then it only just fits the aircraft is very high and was a great challenge for us a lot of the equipment that we need to do a job at a normal human level has to be elevated to those Heights it's not just getting the people there it's getting some of the specialized tooling there as well one of the regular jobs is to give the giant plane a good scrub you wet the aircraft and you'll apply the foam over the aircraft scrub it off rinse it off so how do they get dirty I mean they're flying in the air bugs moths the rubber coming off the tires hitting the back of the aircraft the exhaust fumes hydraulic leaks all sorts of various ways they can get dirty and all this effort is not just for show obviously for our customers to look at a bright and shiny airplane is very nice however there's a hidden agenda there in fuel bur I'm at a clean airplane that fuel burn is significantly [Music] reduced while our plane is being Reed for its next trip Belinda has finally made it home mraa has a smell this sort of fresh grass kind of smell is just like I can't explain it it's it's quite comforting it's very emotional coming back to an old life that I used to have you know but it's also just so nice to be able to see Mom ivonne's delighted that Belinda's musical theater career is taking off at last very proud of her finally she's going to be considered a professional and getting paid and that so I've been paid before though M for yeah but not not um like best the West is definitely a a first for me definitely it's not just Belinda that's happy to be home next the rest of the passengers have their own emotional reunions you found a great spot for him anyway [Music] so we're in Sydney now and uh we're just off to our first destination kui the kangaroo route is just one of the thousands of Long Hall flights that deliver passengers around the world as each day tens of thousands of Travelers begin their own Journeys got a beautiful view behind us of Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Sydney Opera [Music] House for Daniel and Bethany their journey is just getting started as they scope out a possible future in Sydney hello hello welcome a look around so we got a lovely open plain kitchen Lounge dining bedrooms just to uh your left here the mirror sold to straight away and waking up to that every morning oh wow yes fell in love with the apartment to be honest with you it's perfectly located that balcony in the mornings having a cup of coffee or having some breakfast it's really settled our nerves kind of coming out here and seeing how beautiful Sydney is we're looking forward to it my nan summed it up she she said it'll break my heart to see you go and but at the same time it's the best thing for you and if if my grandpy was still alive he'd be proud of us for moving out here cuz this is a big step but she knows that for our future this is the best move for us and this is where our future lies while Daniel and Bethany look to the Future for Mitsy and Alfie after 10 days in quarantine it's a case of home at last I just got off the phone with your parents they're very excited to see you I got them out at the airport in Sydney just to stretch their legs chance to go to the toilet and both of their body languages were fantastic they handle the flight really well so both happy and obviously glad to be on the ground come on it's Mommy D while the dogs settle in at home back at the airport the countdown is on to get the next Long Haul flight out on time Security check call back about 1 minut time want start heading toward your doors thanks everyone we have 1 minute before corack and then about 10 minutes before passengers for but the crew aren't the only ones on a countdown it's good to be back in Sydney as Sha and his brother put the final touches to his mom's ultimate birthday surprise this my brother Mark just pick me up in manly plan is to cover this box um I'm going to put a couple of eyes on it and a lot couple of pee holes there's already some cutouts on the side so as she goes to open the box I'm going to pop my arms out [Music] it's not going to be neat but it will do sea takes off his position as mommy's due at any moment oh they're coming going to hear some yells any second now he's not the only one under cover we've told Mom that our camera crew are making a promotional film for the restaurant love you so much my whole being is just shaking I I it's I'm go smacked I'm is a dream come true I in my head I'm thinking oh to meet sh wouldn't that be wonderful but it won't happen it happened oh my [Music] God all TR will in it I think we're supposed to do yeah we're down here now aren't we north of Sydney Malcolm is having a very different family reunion you show me the way I Dad we're all here I told you I found your boy yeah 65 years ago y here we go again thank you it's been totally emotional since I've been here finding you three and my dad's grave it you can't explain it fabulous turn the world right around I'm sure he had something to do with it oh oh yeah he's probably shorted it out yeah shorted it out [Music] yeah in just a few months the first non-stop 19-hour flight from the UK to Australia will begin a technological Leap Forward that will further shrink our world yet while another long haul Milestone will be achieved the spirit and romance of long-distance travel remains as each year L haul flights transport millions of people billions of miles to reconnect those who are half the world away even though we've been doing it now for half a century there's still a certain magic about L haul which you can't equal with a short Hall hop of 90 minutes in a sense Long Haul is what Aviation is is really about this is Dad on his journey over here wow I've never seen that one before that's going up up bedroom beside Elvis [Music] bye bye [Music]
