I had my second trip on a refurb Bird in J yesterday and here is a bit of a mini review - certainly some hits and misses:
Hits:
I like the layout, the window seats are better than the aisle versions 2A and 4A are great. as the armrest folds down you basically get all the way up to the window as your lay down space.
The power and USB etc are very handily close, no more putting your back out trying to find the right orientation of the plug.
Plenty of Leg room when in recline position.
Lap and sash seat belt is a winner for safety.
The half recline spot for take off and landing was great on the shorter Asia flights, like QF36 SIN/MEL overnight and only 7 hours long.
Misses:
The seat is too hard, luckily the mattress makes it ok for sleeping.
bassinet positions, this one Qantas have really stuffed up, the bulkhead bassinet positions on the sides are WAY too small, basically a baby has to be a 6week prem newborn to fit in. I witness first hand a family with a 12 month olds dismay as the baby didn't fit in the bassinet, i have no idea what QF were thinking........ This is a serious design flaw.
The foot well when you sleep. I only have a size 10 foot, but your feet are lucky to fit into the space provided! its seriously way too small, anyone with a size 11 or above you are out of luck, prepare to have your feet shoehorned in there.
The IFE system; firstly the USB power doesnt give enough charge for any iDevice. (so whats the point in it) Its also recognized as a computer by iDevices (in terms of trusting it or not trusting it) - Do you want a QF A330 reading the contents of your mobile? Secondly the Camera and microphone on the screen in front of you, again do you want a QF A330 looking at you? all it needs was a simple coverswitch to cover over the camera, like most laptops do.
No ability for a couple to sit toegther, the middle seats needed a easy way to have the divider come down. - this is a crazily silly mistake to make.
Other:
The whole sleeper service on these flights, the lights were off for a total of 2 hours. and we landed at 5am in the morning, in reality the J cabin with its excellent in seat lighting should have been lights all off from take off to touch down. Why this is not QF policy is beyond me.
The crew; of late I have noticed a real professional polish, the excellent CSM - David really knew his stuff (its a trend Ive seen a lot of late) and understood what it means to serve a premium cabin well.
Food some interesting Menu choices and real variety, i had the bilgogi beef - it was surprisingly good and tasty for a light meal b4 dinner.
In Summary, they are a huge improvement in the Mk I Skybeds they replace, however I think they stuffed a few things up, the bassinets, the no couples seating and the sub shoebox foot well really detract. For a single traveler give me the K side of a CX herringbone any day of the week.
Nothing is final, folks... save any excitement for when you're physically walking down the aisle of a refurbed aircraft.
