SIN has security at the gates, so you have to go through a security screening process before you can board, where your passport and boarding pass are checked. Boarding was about 5 minutes after I arrived at the gate and again a dedicated boarding lane was available for First Class passengers.
A new crew on board for this flight and again, they were amazing. The QF crews on all the flights I have taken thus far have been wonderful. This to me is a stand out particularly when previous experiences highlighted though media and social media have been so negative. There is certainly a perceived culture at QF that staff are not supported by management. That was not evident at anytime by any crew member who all appeared to want to be doing what they were doing.
More pre departure drinks and canapes followed by more PJs and slippers etc.
Dinner was the beef fillet followed by the coconut panna cotter for dessert. The beef wasn't great but given I had the fish on the previous flight it was the pick on this flight.
The panna cotta was delicious. I then decided it time for another nap and had by seat again converted to the bed. The Sheridan bed linens along with the think mattress topper make it a very comfortable bed.
On thing I did really like about the seat, was the little display controller for the seat. The screensaver had a count down clock for arrival time, which I found really helpful throughout the flight. You can also get the moving map on this little screen, so you don't have to interrupt your movie etc to see where you are or how long you have left.
I will leave the menu attached at the bottom should you wish to peruse them. The breakfast menu wasn't correct apparently as only the healthy bowl and brioche rolls had been loaded on board along with fruit and cereals.
Arriving in SYD the customs/immigration process was relatively quick and easy with the new e-gates. There seemed to be a long delay before bags were available on the carousel but once out into the terminal it was a quick walk to the domestic transfer area which delivers you to Gate 15 at the domestic terminal. Bags are re-checked here and boarding passes issued at the international terminal before boarding a bus that takes you airside across to the domestic terminal.
To sum up, this was my very first time flying First Class on any airline, excluding domestic US products. I did not have high expectations as things with QF have been very hit an miss. I have to say, although there was a huge delay in starting this trip, it has been extremely enjoyable and well worth it in my opinion. When booking this trip, I was ultimately looking to get away for a short break and had no intention of flying F. When searching available fares, there was a First sale on at that time which had F fares some $1500-$2000 cheaper then the J Fares. I was speaking with Craven Morehead about these fares and he hadn't seen those sort of prices previously and agreed it was a no brainer. So I ended up booking the First Class fares and making something out of it.
Thanks for coming along with me on the Trip Report. Hopefully a few more in the future from me. I will try and remember to take more photos and better photos at that. Cheers RC.