On QF's first 744 VH-OJA to Sydney, and the Qantas First Lounge in Sydney

[LOWJHG]

Flew the A380 today from SYD-HKG and I must say Qantas has really improved in the few years since I last flew with them internationally. The economy product on the A380 is quite decent and fairly comfortable. My only gripe is the (lack of) elbow room, which of course is the case with most economy class offerings.

Does Qantas deploy the B744ER on this route? I thought they were reserved for their longer US routes.

Also, if you don't mind my asking, how does one access the First lounges when flying economy?

He has QF platinum (OW Emerald), which grants automatic access to the FCL or equivalent anytime he flies QF or any OW carrier. The 744ER operates QF51/52 most of the time. I have had VH-OJU (Boxing Kangaroo) stalking me on most of my flights. I've only experienced Y+ on all my QF mid-long haul sectors so cannot comment on the state of whY seats.

[eminere™]

He has QF platinum (OW Emerald), which grants automatic access to the FCL or equivalent anytime he flies QF or any OW carrier. The 744ER operates QF51/52 most of the time. I have had VH-OJU (Boxing Kangaroo) stalking me on most of my flights. I've only experienced Y+ on all my QF mid-long haul sectors so cannot comment on the state of whY seats.

Ah that makes sense!

[yflyer]

Flew the A380 today from SYD-HKG and I must say Qantas has really improved in the few years since I last flew with them internationally. The economy product on the A380 is quite decent and fairly comfortable. My only gripe is the (lack of) elbow room, which of course is the case with most economy class offerings.

Sounds like you had a great flight! I love the Qantas A380's in economy. I have had very good experiences flying from SIN to Australia in Qantas A380 Y. I think the hard product, in particular the Y seat, is great.

Elbow room is also my main gripe about economy class...there is no Y seat out there I know of that is wide enough to properly address this. Every flight in Y seems to start with a nonverbal duel over who owns the disputed territory over each shared armrest

[yflyer]

He has QF platinum (OW Emerald), which grants automatic access to the FCL or equivalent anytime he flies QF or any OW carrier.

Yup...a very welcome perk that almost makes up for too much flying in Y...

[yflyer]

I'd also add that I really like the fact Qantas, like Emirates, offers gate-to-gate inflight entertainment. Why is it so difficult for SIA to follow suit? They collect the headsets early as it is already. The touchscreen and external cameras are also really welcome too.

Not long ago, SQ didn't even allow cellphones to be used until doors were open after landing (not that anyone complied...). Then they changed policy to allow cellphones as soon as the aircraft turned off the runway after landing. Now that was real progress!

Hopefully they will also amend their IFE policy to allow gate to gate IFE....

They should also reduce the time it takes to prepare the cabin for landing to 20 minutes. Come on SQ, your cabin crew are the best in the world, surely they can "close shop" in twenty minutes!

[flying.monkeyz]

They should also reduce the time it takes to prepare the cabin for landing to 20 minutes. Come on SQ, your cabin crew are the best in the world, surely they can "close shop" in twenty minutes!

Kiasu. That's why they close shop earlier.

[eminere™]

Sounds like you had a great flight! I love the Qantas A380's in economy. I have had very good experiences flying from SIN to Australia in Qantas A380 Y. I think the hard product, in particular the Y seat, is great.

Elbow room is also my main gripe about economy class...there is no Y seat out there I know of that is wide enough to properly address this. Every flight in Y seems to start with a nonverbal duel over who owns the disputed territory over each shared armrest

Flew back to Sydney on VH-OEB (747-48E/GE powered) and what a trip it was! With so many airlines pulling the B747 from their fleet it was certainly a lovely nostalgic flight. The seat like you reported actually remains quite comfortable and the IFE was also on demand, albeit on a smaller non touch-sensitive screen and with a smaller selection of options. The cabin crew service was great - I even got "upgraded" from my seat at the rear of the aircraft all the way to the front of the economy section just behind premium economy, where there was a lot of space to stretch out. Really made the overnight flight that much easier to bear.

[eminere™]

Yup...a very welcome perk that almost makes up for too much flying in Y...

That's so convenient! I had quite a number of hours to kill between my last meeting and my flight so I was actually contemplating buying entry into one of the Plaza Premium longes in HK airport, but in the end decided to just spend the time in the city before heading to the airport.

[yflyer]

in the end decided to just spend the time in the city before heading to the airport.

Much better idea! Hong Kong is a happening place. A lot to see and eat...

[yflyer]

I recently flew to Adelaide on QF (via Sydney). Here are some additional pictures of the QF Lounge in SIN, and also the QF First Lounge in SYD.

QF (Oneworld?) has a nice lounge policy. I was travelling with my spouse and two kids this time round (They are all non-FF's). I was allowed one guest (my wife) as well as entry for both kids. This was the case in both SIN and SYD.

In the QF Lounge in Singapore, the setup was the same as before: a common, and very large and well appointed, lounge for F and J, with buffet dishes, and a few ala carte local options on offer.





The local dishes were different from the last time round:

You had either fatty pork in "man tou" (i.e. buns) or hokkien mee.

[yflyer]

Braised pork in "man tou"...a local favourite, delicious if not particularly healthy on account of all that fatty pork...



A "restaurant" rendition of that local favourite, Hokkien Mee, which was tasty but not wholly authentic in that it tasted too refined compared to the wonderful dish you are served at kopitiams and hawker centres all over Singapore.



A satisfying dish, but if you want the genuine article, you will have to head to Beach Road, Joo Chiat, Old Airport Road or any of the other great food / hawker places in Singapore to sample the real thing!

Neither dish came with chilli, however proper sliced chilli was available upon request. Thumbs up!

[yflyer]

I was also offered a burger by a roving staff member, but by then I was too full from all that hokkien mee.

[yflyer]

It was then off to Adelaide via Sydney, where we spent a wonderful week exploring Adelaide, the Barossa Valley and Kangaroo Island, but that is probably something for another TR.

[yflyer]

On the return leg, we found ourselves back at Sydney Airport in transit before our flight back to Singapore. Here are some pictures from the QF First Lounge in the International Terminal, as an appendix to the earlier coverage in this TR of this lounge.

[yflyer]

We arrived at the lounge around lunch time, and staff at both the bar and open kitchen were very busy filling food and beverage orders..





The bartender was also very busy mixing all manner of cocktails and pouring drinks to be served...



Some wines were familiar from the previous lounge visit, such as the Clonakilla Shiraz, but there were also some new ones, such as the Reschke Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. Staff here were very knowledgeable about the wines they were serving, and could tell you a lot about each bottle.