Qantas First Class "Nothing more than a premium business class"

[drron]

When I can pay less for BA F than QF J I won't be flying QF.

 

[Genji88]

I suppose it's only a matter of time before some start complaining about the dunny paper....

I personally think Hand crafted LV monogrammed bog-roll would be a great step towards "unsurpassed luxury in QF F!

 

[Genji88]

Trixie-poos

Any chance this is the "English name" of Thai cooking expert Saiyuud Diwon?

 

[Rick93]

I personally think Hand crafted LV monogrammed bog-roll would be a great step towards "unsurpassed luxury in QF F!

I like the one I was presented with at an Asian five star hotel ......

 

[Bob Bugden]

Just returned form a Mel-SIN-Mel first class 'experience' on QF35-36
Well to my opinion this product is nothing more than a premium business class if I want to be mild...
The interior is worn and torn,the pod like seating are awkward with no privacy sat in 1K.
The Melbourne lounge is mostly busy by status FF-s not the real first class Pax,horrible eggs Benedict is served got a runny stomach after eating the over vinegary thing!
The food on board is mediocre-not to mention the breakfast which is a simple disgrace and the cutlery???
The same cheap metal combo both for the lounge and first class-all airlines around the world serve better in economy than this.

The only positive is the crew who were very friendly and chatty and the bed is comfy too!
Also on this trip I took SQ to Hanoi and Saigon on business class-short flights yet they provide a much better service!-book the cook to start with!
My conclusion please avoid this product and don't waste your points and money on them!To start with I had to fork out nearly a 1000$ just for taxes while I booked another ticket with AA points was hardly 200 $ so this is nothing more than a big rip off from Qantas!

Have just flown the same QF35 with Qantas. Service was appalling eg no pre takeoff drink until I asked, no utensil to eat my melted ice cream, steak sandwich served cold, wrong drink served, many button pushes before assistance was given. Plane needs urgent refurbish - hostess had to pry out the tv control with a knife! Seat controls about 80% working.
Probably a good thing I slept for about 4 hours although given no help to set up the bed.
My wife sitting across from me was similarly treated and was shocked when she was told before getting off how lovely it had been to look after her.
However friends travelling the next day had nothing but praise for their treatment despite the shabishness of the plane.

Just returned form a Mel-SIN-Mel first class 'experience' on QF35-36
Well to my opinion this product is nothing more than a premium business class if I want to be mild...
The interior is worn and torn,the pod like seating are awkward with no privacy sat in 1K.
The Melbourne lounge is mostly busy by status FF-s not the real first class Pax,horrible eggs Benedict is served got a runny stomach after eating the over vinegary thing!
The food on board is mediocre-not to mention the breakfast which is a simple disgrace and the cutlery???
The same cheap metal combo both for the lounge and first class-all airlines around the world serve better in economy than this.

The only positive is the crew who were very friendly and chatty and the bed is comfy too!
Also on this trip I took SQ to Hanoi and Saigon on business class-short flights yet they provide a much better service!-book the cook to start with!
My conclusion please avoid this product and don't waste your points and money on them!To start with I had to fork out nearly a 1000$ just for taxes while I booked another ticket with AA points was hardly 200 $ so this is nothing more than a big rip off from Qantas!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Indeed! That is the QF inconsistency. Same as my experience last year. Crew couldn’t pronounce the name of the champagne and asked if i wanted some macaroni (sic) with my coffee. (And no, it wasn’t a joke.)

Plus glacial service... over three hours to serve two courses in a full cabin. So no sleep for anyone as there were only a couple hours of the flight left.

 

[Austman]

But QF35 is lunch time. So I'm not sure why everyone will be sleeping.

It's QF36 (and other late-ish evening departures) that needs to be quicker. I've asked the QF cabin crew from time to time, when in the J cabin, if it can be done quicker? And have received the reply (more than once): "we are told to do it this way".

To be a bit fair to Qantas, I've had the same experience on other "premium" airlines (eg EK and CX) and have been given the same reason...

I suppose you could skip the meal service all together - and some pax do - or go for a fast quick option, if available. But it should be possible, at least on late-ish overnight flights, to give pax a choice of eating if they'd like to, without taking several hours to do it.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I asked for an express meal. Cold entree and the steak sarnie to follow. Over three hours for that to be served. (And that’s not atypical, which is why i stressed the need for an express meal service.)

I know some folk don’t understand why anyone would want to sleep on a day flight but there are reasons... early starts, needing to go out on arrival, connections. The bed is not advertised as a night time only feature.

 

[Austman]

Fair enough, but a slower service seems more understandable on day-time long-hauls.

It's much less understandable on late-ish evening departure long-hauls. At least to me!

 

[GoldCanyon340]

... and asked if i wanted some macaroni (sic) with my coffee. (And no, it wasn’t a joke.)

Hey there's nothing wrong with carbs and coffee, it's the Lunch Of Champions

 

[PineappleSkip]

I've had the luck to sit in 1K on QF (SYD-HKG) and EK (FRA-DXB-BNE) in the last couple of months. Yeah, 1K feels less private but 1K on the EK A380 feels the same. No doors in QF but I didn't bother shutting the doors much in EK, it was just me and the FAs/galley up there. And they close so slowly when you press the button; how can you be an F prima donna if you can't slam the door?

IMHO any first class is an uprated business class. QF has the unique hard product selling point that pax can sit on their F seat and rotate. EK just lashes out with acres and acres of fake tree, and lashings of faux gold.

The MEL lounge can get crowded indeed, but you get the pleasure of a staff escort to your seat . Not sure what they do if there is no seat to be had. One QF9 flight, back in the days via DXB, I too took the escalator instead of the lift and found myself among the great unwashed. The gate attendant's look of horror when I emerged from the milling throng, asked where to board and showed her an F BP was priceless entertainment.

all airlines around the world serve better (cutlery) in economy than this

.
You're kidding me! Examples please?

Cheers skip

 

[stm1sydney]

Seems to me the QF fanbois (whoops) are out and about and making various excuses for why QF F is underwhelming at best, and we should all stop complaining:

1. First world problem
2. Most QF F travellers are on discounted fares or using points, so should not complain - you get what you pay for
3. It's tough for QF to make a profit from F compared to other airlines
4. Customers have unrealistically raised expectations of F
5. The cutlery is designed by a leading designer so must be good
6. The food is just warmed up in alfoil so we shouldn't expect much anyway
7. A refurb is happening soon(ish) (quicker than the QF A330 refurb) [thanks MrMaxwell]

Sorry, but if QF is offering F and advertising it as "unsurpassed luxury," "indulgent features" and "raise your expectations" but fail to deliver a product anywhere near its competitors, then it deserves the criticism.

 

[BD1959]

I think the major issue here is the oft-described (including above) inconsistency of service.

All of the issues highlighted above (except the prising of the control) I encountered last year of QF36:

Started with me being turned away from the Singapore Lounge ("We're crowded and you'll find a better experience in the BA Lounge")
Slow Service - leading to poor sleep time
Had to make own bed
Poor/Little food choices
etc

Contrast that with a QF7 I took in March:

Great tasting menu and matching wines.
Genuine friendly interaction with FAs - we chatted about all sorts of stuff - finished off with the presentation of a bottle of my favourite of the matched wines to take with me.
Only downside was the zoo at boarding through Gate 9 - not a "premium" experience but all lead to the tranquil experience once in the forward section.

Part of the issue is that QF can't possibly provide the same level of service on a 6.5hr overnight jaunt as a 13.5 hr saunter across the Pacific; but doesn't seem to temper expectations accordingly. Another - consistent - issue seems to be FA demeanour on flights returning to Oz. Time and again we see complaints (mostly J) of disengaged crews; this *is* something Qantas can - and should - do something to address.

Regards,

BD

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I dunno... LH, CX, SQ, OZ, EK, QR... can all do pretty much a full service offering on short flights. Even overnight like JFK-FRA LH has its full offering for dinner and breakfast. If the passenger wants it of course.

QF doesn’t even give you the choice.

 

[Austman]

I've been stuck with the SQ "supper" service in J (SIN-SYD) which definitely wasn't a full dinner offering.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I've been stuck with the SQ "supper" service in J (SIN-SYD) which definitely wasn't a full dinner offering.

Fair point.

 

[TomVexille]

I've been stuck with the SQ "supper" service in J (SIN-SYD) which definitely wasn't a full dinner offering.

It's not a full offering in F either

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Agree. But when LH can offer a full caviar service, entree cart, mains, cheeses, puddings on a 7 hour TATL red eye, and offer fresh scrambled eggs for breakfast... the question is not whether an airline can do it, just whether they want to.

 

[Mrmaxwell]

"A refurb is happening soon" is not a defence.

Until that happens every single passenger who flies F experiences a shabby interior when paying top cash/points.

 

[stm1sydney]

I'll add that to my list!