Madness: Last QF9 A380, First QF10 B787

[serfty]

A question from a friend: Where is the headphone socket located on the QF 787 Y seat? He says he always breaks his plug connector on the A380 inside-left-leg one.

If any thing like the refurbished 330's then there are generally two sockets.

One as indicated in the tip of the armrest, the other at the bottom left of the IFE screen frame.

 

[JessicaTam]

A question from a friend: Where is the headphone socket located on the QF 787 Y seat? He says he always breaks his plug connector on the A380 inside-left-leg one.

There is only one and it is on the end of the arm rest.

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

Yes I did. See discussion here: Duty Free liquids LHR-PER-MEL

When I got to PER there was no security screening. We were ushered to the transit lounge which was pleasant enough. PER close off some gates for QF9/10 much like ADL do.

So PER international transit is the same as CBR (SQ & QR) but with the bonus of having a lounge available to international transit passengers.

 

[Ansett]

Seat width has a significant impact on the quality of sleep onboard.

.[17] A research report commissioned by Airbus concluded that an extra inch in seat width improves sleep quality by 53 percent.[16]

Airline seat - Wikipedia

Qantas has carried on about the 787 being designed to help passengers get better sleep and therefore less jet lag etc, so why on earth would you fit such low width seats if passenger comfort and health was so high a priority?

 

[kpc]

Seat width has a significant impact on the quality of sleep onboard.

.[17] A research report commissioned by Airbus concluded that an extra inch in seat width improves sleep quality by 53 percent.[16]

Airline seat - Wikipedia

Qantas has carried on about the 787 being designed to help passengers get better sleep and therefore less jet lag etc, so why on earth would you fit such low width seats if passenger comfort and health was so high a priority?

Maybe profits have a higher priority? ...I have flown J on the 787 from Syd to Mel and even found the J seat felt a bit like lying in a coffin in bed mode. I personally would be avoiding QFs 787 at all costs irrespective of cabin flown for longhaul travel! I see in another post AJ came back on the A380 not the 787 presumably in F. Says a lot

 

[Pushka]

Maybe profits have a higher priority? ...I have flown J on the 787 from Syd to Mel and even found the J seat felt a bit like lying in a coffin in bed mode. I personally would be avoiding QFs 787 at all costs irrespective of cabin flown for longhaul travel! I see in another post AJ came back on the A380 not the 787 presumably in F. Says a lot

Well in reality for Perth people they don’t have much choice now if wanting to fly Qantas and avoid the ME on the others. At least I know to avoid that route when searching from Adelaide.

Interestingly it’s actually a shorter duration to fly Adelaide - Dubai - London on Emirates than using the route Adelaide - Perth - London. And people in Adelaide are pretty much used to ME transit now.

 

[Lat34]

I got a QF Customer Advisory Panel survey this week asking if I would fly on the direct PER LHR flight. I declined

I received the same survey and likewise, firmly declined

 

[Sukina]

I have indeed landed safely. I will post my thoughts once I collect them. Suffice to say the seats are narrow. Bloody narrow.

And no, I won’t be in J. When I asked in LHR about upgrading the second leg they said you have to do that in Perth. When I asked in Perth I was told it was too late and I should have done it in London. Grr.

Something similar happened to me recently on QF10 via DXB on a fully flexible Y ticket. Got a Y+ upgrade at T-24, called and availability in J LHR-DXB was the problem. Asked at check in and was told to ask at lounge, at lounge I was told to ask at gate, at gate I was told J was full, but there was good availability on the second sector so an upgrade wouldn’t be a problem. All good, flew Y+ to DXB and went through the same process, asked in lounge, told to check at gate, at gate told it “wasn’t possible” because as it was all QF9 and as I was flying straight through I had to be upgraded for the entire flight or not at all. You can imagine how unimpressed I was to see J nearly empty when I boarded! I was more unimpressed at the run around I was given...!!!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Maybe profits have a higher priority? ...I have flown J on the 787 from Syd to Mel and even found the J seat felt a bit like lying in a coffin in bed mode. I personally would be avoiding QFs 787 at all costs irrespective of cabin flown for longhaul travel! I see in another post AJ came back on the A380 not the 787 presumably in F. Says a lot

I think profits is on the right track. But i think it goes deeper than that... is it in QF’s DNA to innovate? Other than the introduction of business class in 1979 - almost 40 years ago - i can’t readily think where QF has innovated in terms of on board passenger amenity.

Flat beds in business class were only being introduced when some other airlines were already on their second generation. New aircraft weren’t ordered at all, or introduced years after their competitors. Cabin enhancements, such as the a330 refurb took more than four years from announcement to delivery... and it’s still not delivered.

The QF F lounges are great. And no doubt there might be innovation on the flightdeck. But passenger cabins haven’t been part of that.[/QUOTE]

 

[Denali]

My Facebook page just now

 

[andyhui01]

I think profits is on the right track. But i think it goes deeper than that... is it in QF’s DNA to innovate? Other than the introduction of business class in 1979 - almost 40 years ago - i can’t readily think where QF has innovated in terms of on board passenger amenity.

IIRC, QF did invent the PE Class

 

[yohy?!]

Thank you Jessica, what a marathon -

disappointing that QF didnt heed the backlash and persisted with importing the JQ Y cabin into the 787 (albeit with more pitch).

Have previously done EWR-HKG with CX in PE which with the bulkhead seat allowed for foot support in the magazine holder, no other pax on either side allowed for 7hrs of quality sleep - couldn't imagine surviving in the packed Y cabin - points very well spent to upgrade!!

 

[Le Clair]

IIRC, QF did invent the PE Class

Hmmm... I don't think so. I believe it was EVA back in 1991. BA were heavily marketing it in 2000 with their slogan "surprise - not all tall people are rich". QF, IIRC only introduced PE in the mid 2000's - but they did it EXTREMELY well!
Sorry..off topic.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hmmm... I don't think so. I believe it was EVA back in 1991. BA were heavily marketing it in 2000 with their slogan "surprise - not all tall people are rich". QF, IIRC only introduced PE in the mid 2000's - but they did it EXTREMELY well!
Sorry..off topic.

QF introduced PEY in 2008.

 

[ayebee]

Thanks for the review.
Agree with others that shoulder room is key, and usually the reason why you get "pushed" into the aisle with associated bumping.
Y with an empty seat beside can be OK for long flights.
As the curiosity factor declines and demand stabilises, unless QF can fly close to full every time maybe it would be better to have fewer seats but fill those that are there.

 

[Denali]

Maybe have a "empty seat guarantee" price in Y.

I think Etihad does this.

 

[kookaburra75]

I received the same survey and likewise, firmly declined

I haven't seen that survey, but I did get a "gushing" trip report from our travel provider FCM last night - about how wonderful the Dreamliner is. The Marketing person from FCM flew in Business and Premium Economy, courtesy of Qantas. I sent a note back saying that I get enough Qantas marketing fluff, and I don't need it from a supposedly independent travel provider. And to send me their next trip report when they do it in Y like the rest of us for work. I received a call this morning from our FCM rep, and I think he got it and was going to push the comments up the line - apparently I wasn't the only customer who provided negative feedback on the email.

 

[timster]

There must be a company memo out asking all staff to promote the seat. When I told the CSM that the seats were narrow, the answer was to promote the extra leg room. The captain (Andrew) came past for a chat and I said the same thing when asked how I was enjoying the flight. The response was the same - 'but there is extra leg room'.

It's 32 inches pitch right ? That's 'extra' ????

Certainly not compared to the Y international cabins of most of the airlines I fly with ...
Airlines with the most legroom and biggest seats in economy

 

[chocks]

Thanks - great info as I was weighing up options for a trip to the UK in July with the family. Suffice to say that I'll be going on the A380.

However, I am doing QF9 to Heathrow in J for work next week so if anyone has any burning questions they want me to answer let me know (although I am sure someone else will have provided a comprehensive (unpaid) review by then...)

 

[Lord_Lenny]

I had to talk my father in law out of considering this for a London trip. He's a large man at the shoulders, the front and in height so tried to explain that even though they'd get there in one flight (after spending a few days in Perth) it would not be worth the journey. The mother in law would be fine, she's tiny (much like Lady_Lenny)

Absolutely no incentive for me to consider this as a viable option to get to Europe, even if I had status in QFF, but thanks Jessica for actually committing to the flight and confirming what we all knew it was going to be like.