Denise Stephens flies from Sydney to Tokyo Haneda on Qantas QF2

The plane: A Boeing 747-400.

Airport experience: I’d already checked in for this flight in Wellington, an easy process via a kiosk which issued boarding passes for both flights. That meant all I had to do in Sydney was go through international transit security screening. This was thorough, with luggage, body and explosive scans, but a short queue meant it was all done in under 15 minutes.

After that, I had a couple of hours to fill, so I browsed the duty free and relaxed with a cup of coffee. There’s a variety of places to eat and drink, and I chose one with comfortable seating.

On time: Boarding was delayed half an hour and we finally departed 15 minutes late at 9.05pm. The plane was refuelling almost up until departure. We arrived 10 minutes late into Haneda at 5.25am.

Class: Economy.

The seat: 53A, a window seat in a group of three. Price: $863 for Wellington to Tokyo return. Flight time: 9hr, 20m.

Fellow passengers: A real mixture of Aussies, Japanese and others, travelling on business and holidays. How full: I couldn’t spot an empty seat. Food and drink: Qantas offers preordering of meals online on certain outbound flights from Australia. I’d preordered the steamed fish in lemon and caper sauce with sweet potato puree and sugar snaps and this meant I was served before the main meal service. It was very tasty, although the sugar snaps were soggy. Prior to landing at Haneda, a light breakfast of either fruit or cereal was served. I chose the fruit, which was a delicious assortment of a strawberry, orange segments, half a passion fruit, and slices of kiwi fruit, cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon. It came with much-needed coffee to wake me up.

Entertainment: A varied selection of music, TV and movies, including some Japanese and Chinese ones. It wasn’t possible to charge devices in Economy for those bringing their own entertainment, so it’s a good move to get this done at the charging station in the departure lounge before boarding.

Service: Helpful and friendly, in both English and Japanese.

Toilets: Clean and functional. Luggage: The allowance depends on class, but for economy it’s one checked bag up to 30kg, and a 7kg carry-on.

Final word: After the delayed departure, this was a pleasant flight and I was able to sleep for a few hours. I’d take this flight again.