Review: Qantas 747 Business Class, Los Angeles to Brisbane

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After spending a brief time in the Qantas First Lounge, I headed to the gate for boarding about 10 minutes prior to the scheduled time. I wanted to be seated in the upper deck like I was coming from JFK, but nothing had come available, so ended up in the main deck, in the center of section of three, on the aisle.

Boarding commenced right on time, though there was quite a stampede as they called Business, oneworld Emerald and oneworld Sapphire all at once.

Entering the aircraft, I turned right into my section of the Business Class cabin. Down on the main deck, there is a 2x3x2 configuration, while the upper deck has a 2×2 configuration, making it much more private. I settled into my seat and the purser was soon enough around with amenity kits and pajamas, which I gladly took. Actually, I went almost straight to the bathroom to change into those pajamas because of the long flight ahead. I figured I might as well be comfortable.

The cabin was oddly rather empty for the first 20 minutes of boarding and then filled up quickly. I’m not sure if some last minute upgrades had cleared or what, but I had hoped the center seat in my section of three would stay empty. It did not. Actually, in all honesty, I didn’t mind the center section. Being on the aisle there isn’t too bad, and because the gentlemen in the center seat was friends with the guy on the other aisle, anytime he got out, he always went to the right instead of to the left, which was great for me.

Business Class menus were passed out, as well as a door-hanger type menu for breakfast which we were asked to complete now so they could serve us in the morning without being disturbed. I asked for the soup for dinner, and the eggs for breakfast.

In fact, after we took off, I ended up falling asleep almost immediately, though the flight attendant working my aisle kindly woke me up to ask whether I wanted to each, which I did. The soup was extraordinary, and while I would have wanted more, I ended up just heading back to bed, which was very comfortable.

The seat reclines into a nearly lie flat bed, which for me was perfect. I actually had probably one of the best sleeps I’ve had on an airplane here, and didn’t wake up for probably another 10 hours. When I did, I opened the tv screen to browse the movies on offer, and ended up selecting one while I ordered one of the chicken schnitzel sandwiches, which was really fresh and tasty.

After watching a movie and a few television episodes, I ended up just wanting to stay awake for the rest of the flight, which really wasn’t an issue since I felt well rested.

Soon enough, breakfast was served, and I ate mine while watching some more tv episodes of something I can’t even remember.

Due to the heavy fog in Brisbane, the Captain came onto the PA to announce that we might have to divert, though luckily we didn’t since I wasn’t sure whether the smaller airport would have flights to Melbourne. While it was very foggy and cloudy as we descended, I did catch a few glimpses of the Australian coast, which was gorgeous.

My Take

I’m absolutely in love with Qantas, and the flight crew, seat and food on this flight were just terrific. I’d actually love to somehow purchase that soup I had at home, and bottle up the energy this crew had, since they were spot on, and very customer oriented. Having gotten a full night of sleep, I really can’t ague against the seat, and wouldn’t hesitate to fly Qantas long-haul again.