I enjoyed a surprisingly lovely 15-hour flight on Qantas aboard the Airbus A380 in premium economy class from Los Angeles to Sydney. It was not a flawless product, but was a very solid one.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Class Review
I booked my seat for 65,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles. On the one hand, it was a shame that business class was not available (only 15K more miles), but on the other hand, it gave me a rare opportunity to do a premium economy review, which I want to do more of after this flight.
Check-In
I checked in at home on the Qantas mobile app, but picked up a paper boarding pass at the check-in counters in the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX just in case my phone malfunctioned. I showed up at 8:35 pm, about a half hour before boarding, and the check-in area was nearly deserted.
Security lines also moved quickly, though it helped I had both Clear and PreCheck. Premium economy passengers do not have lounge access and I no longer have oneworld Emerald status, so I headed right to the gate. I do have an American Airlines Admirals Club card, but wanted to arrive at the gate early such that I could be among the first to board.
Boarding commenced at 9:10 pm, though we were held on the jet bridge for 10 more minutes until 9:20 pm. The A380 has boarding on two levels, with premium economy and business class passengers invited to board upstairs. Everyone boards through the same gate, but within the jet bridge area is an escalator going upstairs.
QF12
Los Angeles (LAX) – Sydney (SYD)
Sunday, October 22
Depart: 09:50 PM
Arrive: 06:55 AM
Duration: 15hr, 05min
Distance: 7,488 miles
Aircraft: Airbus A380-800
Seat: 31K (Premium Economy Class)
Two flight attendants warmly greeted me as I walked though business class to the premium economy cabin, which is located on the rear of the upper deck.
Seat
Premium economy seating is found between rows 31-40 and configured in a 2-3-2 pattern. The Qantas A380 premium economy cabin is huge with 60 hard-shell seats designed by David Caon.
Key details:
- Width: 20.5 inches
- Pitch: 38 inches
- Recline: 9 inches
I was able to snag 31K, a bulkhead seat, which opened up at check-in. This seat provided extra legroom, no one reclining in front of me, and access to storage under the window. When I originally booked, only 37E, a middle seat, was available.
The seat reclined manually with a button releasing the seatback:
Each seat had a personal air vent and USB-A charging port, but a single universal power outlet was shared with my seatmate.
I loved that the “A” and “K” seats have extra storage in the side compartment, which I took full advantage of.
A center console provided some space between my seatmate, a talkative Australian gentleman, and me.
I figured I would not be able to sleep well because it was not a lie-flat bed, but I actually managed to sleep very well for about eight hours. Part of that was undoubtedly how tired I was, but the seat was very genuinely comfortable (great padding) and most of all I liked how the footrest flipped out 90º from the bulkhead, creating a comfortable mesh canopy for my feet like a hammock. Somehow, I was able to side sleep in the fetal position with my feet and ankles resting on the footrest.
What also helped was the superb pillow and blanket, which was frankly far better than the business class blankets on carriers I frequent like SWISS or Austrian.
Don’t kid yourself: this is still closer to an economy class seat than a lie-flat business class seat. At the same time, this represents a huge upgrade over economy class in terms of seat pitch, recline, width, and bedding. I am very happy I spent the extra 25K miles for premium economy class for the seat alone.
IFE + Wi-Fi
I knew Qantas has not yet installed internet on its A380 and while going 15 hours without internet is a long time, I was prepared for it and enjoyed watching movies while awake. Qantas has an excellent library of movies, TV shows, games, and music that helped to pass the time.
I typically look for Australian movies when I fly on Qantas since I do not watch them anywhere else, but settled on Blackberry, which was an entertaining and enlightening movie, even if it took some liberties.
The moving map feature did not work, which became highly annoying on a flight without internet.
Noise-cancelling headphones were provided again similar to business class headphones on many carriers.
The windows are small on the upper deck of the A380, but I still appreciated having one.
Food + Drink
Menus were already placed on each seat prior to boarding. During boarding, a choice of water or sparkling wine was offered in a glass cup (in addition to water bottles placed on each seat).
Dinner
Dinner service commenced after takeoff. The menu included three choices for the main course:
- Rigatoni with tomato sauce, mushroom and broccoli
- Salad of grilled chicken with Asian noodle salad and sweet chill dressing
- Braised beef with roast potatoes carrots and green beans
The beef and vegetable dinner entree was very nicely served on ceramic on a tray with a white tablecloth, but tasted like a cheap frozen dinner. I did eat it because I was hungry but the sourdough bread and pearl couscous tabouleh salad with lemon dressing were certainly the highlights (the blueberry cheesecake also was not bad). Qantas uses the same glasses and cutlery in premium economy that it does in business class.
I asked a flight attendant if she could mix me up a makeshift Negroni with dinner (using Campari, gin, and the dessert wine since there was no Vermouth) and it turned out quite well. She was very keen to give it a go and I appreciated that gesture very much.
Mid-Flight Snack
After sleeping for eight hours I awoke rather hungry and rose to check out the mid-flight snacks. A self-serve snack station included apples, an almond and pretzel mix, cheese, and Dove chocolate bars.
A flight attendant noticed I was there was asked if I wanted something heartier. I nodded and she offered a cheese and mushroom toastie or a chicken empanada with chimichurri sauce or both. I chose both.
These two little sacks were the highlight of the entire meal service. They were flavorful (particularly the chimichurri sauce) and just hit the spot perfectly, even though it was only about 8:00 am in LA.
Breakfast
The pre-arrival breakfast was served three hours before landing, which I thought was far too early and seemed to interrupt the sleep of many, though I was wide awake by this point.
A choice between a seasonal fruit plate with Swiss muesli and strawberries or a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs with Canadian bacon, hash brown, sauteed mushrooms, and roasted tomatoes. The menu indicated both would be served with a cranberry muffin.
Upon serving breakfast, however, the flight attendant apologetically stated that catering had failed to load muffins. Sometime later, though, I saw other flight attendants carrying two huge bags of croissants, presumably downstairs to economy class. Those would have been even better than a muffin…
The main dish featured the triangular hash browns that used to be a staple of my elementary school cafeteria as well as ham and mushrooms that were so processed they were inedible. A big miss, though again the breakfast was very visually appealing.
The fresh berries were sweet, but the melon was hard.
Best of all, the French Press coffee was also strong and flavorful. I complimented the flight attendants on this and they said the coffee was also served in economy class.
Amenity Kit
Every premium economy passenger received a Qantas-branded amenity kit with contents including:
- Eyeshade
- Toothbrush + toothpaste
- Socks
- Ear plugs
- Lip balm from Napoleon Perdis (an Australian brand)
Lavatory
Two lavatories located in the rear of the cabin were designed for premium economy class. They were clean but otherwise lacked extra amenities.
A gate kept passengers from utilizing the rear staircase.
Service
I quite liked the service on this flight. The ladies working the cabin were quite friendly, attentive throughout the flight, and I particularly appreciated the willingness to play cocktail bartender and whip up the makeshift Negroni.
In terms of service flow, my only criticism is that breakfast should have been served closer to landing rather than waking people up three hours before landing.
CONCLUSION
It is only fair to speculate that had I been stuck in middle seat for the longhaul flight, my assessment would be less favorable, but 31K was excellent, the service was lovely, elements of the meal service like the mid-flight snack and coffee were great, and best of all I slept well.
I would happily fly again on the Qantas A380 in premium economy and see it as a meaningful upgrade over economy class.
I struggle to really understand the value prop for Premium Economy. This looks like a pretty good flight, but you probably had the best seat in PE and your crew was above average, it seems. 15h is long, even in a decent business class.
Every time I am about to land on a TATL, I change in the rear lav and look at the pax in PE. They always look exhausted and weather-worn; no different than economy. I understand I’m fortunate that I’m always ahead of the curtain, but the miles savings for PE don’t seem worth it to me.
I turned down PE for 3 seats to myself in Y MEL DFW on Sunday. I haven’t been able to figure out how to sleep sitting up yet. PE sure looks nicer than I thought it was though. Wow. I love the IFE screens on QF and their satin finish. Everyone else seems to be going annoying high gloss and the resulting glare. And the ‘cheap’ headphones in Y sounded great. Better then many biz class headphones.
No internet on the 789 either. The FA told me that Panasonic sucks and they were waiting for something better. I find Panasonic pretty good, just spotty sometimes.
That is a freaking long flight! I would not take it unless in business class.
It was surprisingly manageable, especially considering there was no wi-fi.
I am not good in spending time watching movies on planes. Thus, for me a real chance to sleep is key to manage such a long flight. I cannot see myself sleeping in that seat so this would be a painful 15 hours awake for me.
You must have clicked on the bulkhead seat pretty quickly (and gleefully) when it popped up!
Great review! I flew air NZ in premium economy to Auckland from lax and had one of my best sleeps on a plane (including over tons of cramped lie flat seats). I was exhausted too.
I have never flown premium economy and am unsure if it is like domestic first class or the domestic economy section with more leg room. It sounds to me like domestic first class according to the article.
The Airbus a380 needs to have working wi fi nowadays. I would not have sent that plane off. Also. The little things leave a big impression.
No wifi for 15 whole hours–the horror. Get a grip people.
If you can adequately prepare, it is admittedly quite delightful.
I wonder if it is just my screen setting on my laptop, but…the color of those carrots is deeply unsettling. Is anyone else seeing neon red?
Could just be my camera.
I flew PE on a British airways 747-400 in 2018. Wasn’t impressed. I had a worse time sleeping than in economy because the window seat doesn’t let you lean against the window (there’s a gap). I arrived feeling disgusting.
Brings back happy memories—I enjoyed premium economy on that plane:
https://liveandletsfly.com/british-airways-747-premium-economy-review/
Matthew I actually LOVE the 747. My beef was mostly not being able to get comfortable in the PE seat. I was surprised that the seat was about a foot (or less) from the window and I couldn’t lean. But the rest of the experience was lovely.
I just did this same flight in August (and then again in December, but more on that later) but against the rear bulkhead in seat 37B. I will say, for those saying you’d have had a much different experience in a non-bulkhead seat, in the words of the Aussies: “Yeah, nah!”
I was able to also get solid sleep in 37B (I did have my wife next to me, rather than a random) and also in 21D/E on the 787. The bulkhead will absolutely make egress from the seat easier, no argument there. But side sleeping is also possible in a regular PE seat, even with the seat ahead in full recline.
My chief complaint with PE in the A380 was that sitting so far aft subjects you to yawing turbulence, which is a new feeling for me since I normally sit on the wings or towards the nose.
Also, the stairway gate! I’ve found across many flights on the Qantas 380 that as long as you aren’t a jerk the FAs don’t mind if you go downstairs for a walk – tell them you’ll not dare enter the domain of first class and they’re OK with it. I generally ask if economy meal service has ended and then do my walkabout so I’m not getting in anyone’s hair. Economy has different snacks than PE, that’s usually where they keep the TimTams!
Ok, the real spicy take: Based on the flights we took in December/January, we had a better, more restful time in Qantas PE than in Singapore Business (LAX-SYD QF 787 vs SIN-SEA SQ A350), and the cabin crew on Qantas was miles ahead of Singapore’s.
I have never flown long haul premium economy (there are a handful of airlines that offer it short-haul and I have flown it on LATAM, where it’s like European business class minus the lounge access, and the obscure, now gone, Mihin Lanka) and it doesn’t look that great for 15 hours, but it does seem ideal for 5-8 hour flights where a flat seat is unlikely to result in a great sleeping experience as a result of the limited time available and /or flights whose timings mean that sleeping isn’t so important (I recently flew MAD-BOG leaving 08:30 and arriving 12:30, I did catch a short nap after the breakfast but didn’t feel the need to fully recline the seat). The trouble is that, aside from the occasional sale on SAS to the USA and some Flying Blue promo awards, premium economy pricing [at least from European departure points] tends to be too close to business class.
Dd business class with Qantas on my round the world. London-Singapore, Singapore-Melbourne,, Syney-LA. Fabulous. BA JFK-London as good. Keep an eye out for BA Business sales. £2260 for London-Chicago and SanFran-London. Mind you had to cough up 10 moths in advance.
Recently sampled Emirates P.E. on the A380, short hop Queenstown – SYD. It was quite enjoyable, but also only had about 8 out of 50+ seats occupied, so service was *attentive*.
Meal was nicely presented, but the chicken was very average. Recline and pitch (40″) were great, but I think if there had been pax ahead of us the great recline cuts the other way (ie: encroaching).
Overall, I’m still unsure. In part, because the Emirates P.E. is main deck, so 2-4-2. That 4 section emphasizes the ‘economy’ half of the name. Good on Quantas to go upstairs and 2-3-2.
You’re a braver man than I. There is no way I would do 15 hours without lie-flat nowadays. Spoiled, I know, but I used to do LAX-AKL round-trip every few months for work 2009-2011. Would always have to book last-minute and so got stuck with middle seats in Y. Not a lot of fun for a guy who’s 6’5″ but I was young and I loved just being able to travel! So I feel like I’ve paid my dues for my lie-flat-only snobbishness these days. Still, that’s a *long* flight by any standard.
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