My first flight in Qantas business class was a great one: the overnight journey from Hong Kong to Sydney was comfortable. Although I still prefer Cathay Pacific, Qantas offers a solid product in business class.
Just to note, this review is from March 2015. I publish older reviews because they have never been previously published, changes are actually minimal (and noted) between then and now, and because they provide a better context for how I evaluate more recent flights.
After a very nice visit to the Qantas Hong Kong Lounge, I boarded my flight from Gate 31.
Qantas 128
Hong Kong (HKG) – Sydney (SYD)
Sunday, March 15
Depart: 7:45 PM
Arrive: 8:10 AM+1
Duration: 9hr, 25min
Aircraft: 747-400
Seat: 12K (Business Class)
Upstairs, I found most passengers already seated. I took the cabin pictures below after landing in Sydney.
Qantas 747 Business Class Seat
Business class upstairs is in a 2-2 configuration with a hard shell pod around each seat. Seats do recline into a fully lie-flat mode. I found the seat comfortable in both the sleeping and lounging mode. Choose a window seat if you can. Even though you have to step over your seatmate to get to the aisle, you have wonderful additional storage bins along the window.
Bedding is simple, perhaps even disappointing, in the form of a fairly thick red cotton blanket and single pillow:
Qantas 747 Business Amenities
Upon boarding, a FA asked me what size pajamas I would prefer. I chose large and they were delivered with a menu card and amenity kit:
I never opened the pajamas: I had my Emirates pajamas along and far prefer those.
The upstairs lavatories on the 747 are fairly tight, but I appreciated that Qantas had real towels–
Qantas 747 Business Class IFE
Noise-cancelling headphones (poor quality) are provided at each seat. The IFE selection is on-demand with movies, TV shows, games, and a flight map. No wi-fi onboard.
Qantas 747 Business Class Food
I was a bit surprised that a full dinner was not offered on a 7:45p departure. Thankfully, I had a nice dinner a few hours earlier in the Qantas Hong Kong Lounge, so the lighter meal was satisfactory.
Here’s the menu:
I ordered a green salad, toasted chicken cibiatta sandwich with pine nuts, celery, and goat cheese, and gingerbread cake. The sandwich honestly was not wonderful, not so much because the ingredients were bad, but because it was not warmed up enough. Had the bread really been toasted and cheese melted, it would have been an amazing sandwich.
Present on each coat hook was a breakfast menu and pen. You indicate your breakfast selection and return it to the FA. Breakfast is served 90 minutes or so prior to landing.
Qantas 747 Business Class Service
Service was warm and collegial by the two gentlemen working the upper deck. I was greeted by first name, which seems to happen only when flying in Australia or on an Australian airline. FAs were all smiles and yet also prompt and efficient with service on a relatively short overnight flight. I appreciated that we were not woken up 2 to 2.5 hours earlier for breakfast.
CONCLUSION
The seat is not industry-leading (for example, even Delta has a 1-1 config in business class on its 747 upper deck), but I slept well…that’s the most important thing in business class. Food and service were great and although I’d probably take Cathay Pacific over Qantas all-else equal, I very much enjoyed my first flight in Qantas business class.
Very nice review.
Is that a hot chocolate for breakfast? If yes, looks delicious 🙂
Hot chocolate indeed! And very delicious. 🙂
Just a curious, if you never opened the pyjamas how would you know that you prefer the emirates ones by far? Did you read reviews about what Qantas offered before? I never flew Qantas so obviously also wouldn’t know.
Good question. I eventually opened them at home. First problem: no pockets. Second, I love the soft material EK uses.
These seats (and the prior-generation flat KE J seats) remain my favorites in J, though they are a dying breed. A key advantage is that pax don’t have to put their feet in a little box (as you would with staggered J and reverse herringbone) or have them stick into the aisle (traditional herringbone).
Direct aisle access is nice, but a little more room in the flat configuration is more valuable, imho.
Is it lie flat or fully flat? I just took the same flight and it was not fully flat, was angled. Qantas is misrepresenting the seats on the 747-400.
The seat was not angled.
Hi Matthew, my wife and I are flying J class to San Francisco, upstairs on a Qantas 747-400 in September 2018, and we enjoyed your review of the service and seats. I have been worried about the age of the Qantas 747 layout, but your review has placated my immediate concerns.
I have a question about your preference of Cathay over Qantas, and wondered if you could elaborate this further for me,
Many thanks Chris
Hi Chris, I did not publish my Cathay Business Class review but also enjoyed an excellent flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong. I’d say the reverse herringbone seat on Cathay is better than the Qantas 747, but both will be comfortable, excellent products.
I’ve flow the Cathay 747 upstairs as well and it is a good thing that aircraft is retired, because the herringbone seats upstairs were not nearly as comfortable as the present seats and inferior to the 2-2 seating on Qantas.
Great review, thanks Mathew!
I would love to repost some of your interior photos on Instagram, with full credit of course! It’s nearly impossible to find a decent photo of Newson’s MKll skybeds
Please get in touch if that would be ok!
Cheers,
Will
Go ahead Will. Thanks for commenting.
Wow, you have got to be kidding me!
I just flew on the same very noisy 747 to HKG and back, for the weekend, using business. Not an upgrade.
The food was shocking, even though I pre-ordered.
On the return, I’m in 3K and Allan Joyce, the boss, is in 1K. I say: Hey you’re spotted. Response: a smile and zero. Food terrible and once again the worst business class experience.
Even last weekend I fwas in Adelaide for a Motor Sport Festival and the business return was crap. A box of cheese. Where is the plate FFS?
Seriously Qantas, the only thing you have going is that you don’t fall out of the sky.
You can stick it. I’m done.