Airline review: Quiet ride ushers in a new fleet

New car smell is one kind of delight. New plane smell has an appropriately more expensive aroma. QantasLink's Airbus A220-300 fleet will eventually shuttle travellers right across Australia, but today this relatively spacious Airbus - which, you guessed it, smells brand spanking - is making a once-off preview flight from Sydney to Ayers Rock Airport.

I take in the striking green Indigenous artwork Minyma Kutjara Tjukurpa that adorns its livery as the plane rolls into Sydney Airport to take us to Pitjantjatjara artist Maringka Baker's destination of choice - Uluru. The A220, one of 29 to be phased in as Qantas moves to replace its Boeing 717s, made its maiden commercial flight from Melbourne to Canberra this month. The A220 has almost double the range of the 717 and burns less fuel to generate, according to Qantas, 25 per cent fewer CO2 emissions per seat and up to 50 per cent noise reduction.

CHECKING IN: It's an overnight stay so I'm travelling light - just a backpack, overnight bag and wide-brimmed hat. Qantas's domestic carry-on limit allows either one bag up to 10kg, or two up to 14kg total (with one not exceeding 10kg), so I'm well under.

THE FLIGHT: Our wait at the gate was happily punctuated with songs sung by Maringka Baker's family members as they welcomed the plane in. The cabin design creates a sense of spaciousness while including generous overhead storage - deeper and wider than the 717. A nervous flyer, I was surprised by how quiet our take-off was. Usually, an engine's roar ahead of hurtling down the runway leads me to pray that the tin can in the sky returns me to the sweet ground as quickly as possible. Puzzling over the absence of the roar kept me occupied long enough my palms didn't sweat at all.

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THE CLASS: I am in window seat 6E, close enough to hear someone in one of the 10 business seats exclaim over their wireless phone charging. There are 127 economy seats in a 2-3 configuration. The seats themselves are 18 inches (45.72cm) with a 30-inch seat pitch (76.2cm), less cramped than in a 717 and noticeably more comfortable, with a leather headrest. The real winner is the inclusion of a seatback USB-A and USB-C charger for phones and laptops, and a compact fold-out tablet/phone non-slip tray above the food table.

FOOD & DRINKS: On a typical route, the lunch menu would feature meals such as roast beef with caramelised onion relish or chicken and sundried tomato pesto on a rye sandwich, with Qantas's complimentary "bar" opening from midday.

ENTERTAINMENT: With no seatback display, it's obvious the fold-down device tray and charging points assume most travellers will have their own entertainment in hand. In-flight free Wi-Fi, and the many viewing options available via the Qantas Entertainment app, means there is much to consume if watching clouds out of the quite large windows is not for you.

THE SERVICE: Efficient, polite.

IN A NUTSHELL: A lighter and brighter cabin experience with convenient, more spacious features considerate of our technological world.

Flight: QantasLink A220-300 preview flight, Sydney to Uluru

Frequency and duration: The A220 launched on a Melbourne-Canberra route on March 1 and now also flies Melbourne-Brisbane. This will expand to Melbourne-Hobart (July), Melbourne-Coffs Harbour (October) and Melbourne-Launceston (November) as the fleet expands.

Explore more: qantas.com

The writer flew courtesy of Qantas.