Qantas First - is it worth it

[dfcatch]

For me, F is worth the extra cost.

My main priories are privacy, space and the ability to enter and exit the aircraft quickly.

The food and wine are a bonus, however not a major consideration for me.


Boss.

Yep - loved being the first person to exit a full A380

5A with the jetbridge at door 2

 

[JohnPhelan]

I have yet to fly the A380 in F but I would put the space/comfort of the A380 J up there with the the space/comfort of the 744 F.

Except in J, if you are in a window seat on a night flight, you have to step over the person beside you to get to the aisle. What's great about F is direct access to the aisle.

 

[awilcockson]

Clonakilla is generally recognised as Australia's benchmark shiraz viognier.

There you go, you learn something every day. I'm looking forward to sampling it next week

 

[Flying Fox]

Like most things in life, the improvements moving from Y – J and J – F are incremental. As others have said, the main differentiators are additional selections of all things, priority selection of things that cross-over with the J menus, additional space and better service.

I love F but if I was stuck in J I would be most happy (given that I mostly travel Y). IMHO the jump from Y – J is massive but the jump from J – F is much smaller.

Things I love from the F menu and would recommend –

Canapes

Corn and Manchego Fritters with Capsicum Relish; Spanner Crab and Ruby Grapefruit on

Salad and other things

Chinese Style Duck Salad with Pickled Cabbage
Salad of Jamon Iberico and Arbequina Olives Balsamic Vinaigrette


Light Meals

Pan Fried Blue Eye with Lemon and Olive Oil Dressing and Steamed Vegetables
Reuben Sandwich
Our signature Steak Sandwich with Tomato and Chilli Relish


Main Courses

Potato Gnocchi with Braised Italian Vegetables, Pesto and Parmesan Cheese
Pan Fried Blue Eye with Spiced Eggplant, Gai Lan and Ginger Glaze
Chicken Kapi Kapitan with Fragrant Rice, Fried Eschalots and Snake Beans
Seared Rangers Valley Skirt Steak with Potato and Leek Gratin, Asparagus and Horseradish
Slow Cooked Spiced Kurobuta Pork with Fresh Salsa, Soft Tortillas and Sour Cream


Side Salad

Salad of Baby Cos, Radicchio and Frisee with your choice of dressing:
Aged Balsamic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Fresh Lemon Juice and Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Palm Sugar Vinaigrette


Desserts

Date, Orange and Cinnamon Tart and Double Cream
Nice Cream Chocolate Coated Raspberry Ice Cream

 

[JetLagged]

John, I've flown in window seat on the A380 with someone else lying right out beside me - and was able to go sideways past there feet without having to setp over them. Have found others experienced the same - one of the great benefits of the A38-0 with MkII skybeds.

 

[JohnM]

There you go, you learn something every day. I'm looking forward to sampling it next week

Gives us your best James Halliday - like assessment .

 

[JetLagged]

I live in hope of the A380 F experience and have my fingers crossed for 1st time lucky next week on points upgrade ( have been 0/4 for past requests).

Fiona, I don't know who the ogre god of flying is - but you seem to have upset it big time!

Honestly, over the past four years have flown the A380 to both LHR and LAX, bought my J ticket and applied for a points upgrade to F, and every time had the joy of the massage before the degustation menu. Only one time did I end up flying SYD-SIN in J then the long leg in F (joining the 4 members of a staff members family who were in F all the way, but that's another ogre-ish whinge).

Mind you, have taken the advice of others online here and booked at times during the week when the opportunity was best.

BTW - found one of the BEST days to travel to the US is on Thanksgiving - the suit brigade aren't travelling, the family holiday travellers have already gone - was a light plane all the way - if I remmeber right, there were only 5 of us up in F, and J was pretty light on as well. THEN there was the unexpected magic of the Black Friday sales!

 

[GDV 747-24/7]

I'd echo a previous poster. The step up from Y to J is enormous and worth every cent. The step up from J to F is marginal and makes it hard to justify the extra dollars. QF A380 F clearly trumps QF A380 J given direct aisle access but there's really not much in it between QF new F and CX new J (the post "coffin class" seat) in terms of seat/bed.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Fiona, I don't know who the ogre god of flying is - but you seem to have upset it big time!

lol!!! I think the God I've upset is the Yield Management one who spots the large "I" class booking I am inevitably ticketed on.
Problem is I am so OCD about travel arrangements that they are ticketed well in advance and I class is usually available and booked by the corp TA.

 

[ozmille]

[QUOTE]
The Leeuwin and the Clonakilla (despite its age) were my choices and most enjoyed.
The dessert wine was also very good.[/QUOTE]

I was thrilled when they served the Clonakilla (maybe not this exact one but can't remember if I took a menu or not, probably because I had a few too many) in J to LHR last year. One of my favorite wines.

 

[moa999]

You may have been very luck but I suspect a J class Clonakilla would have been just the Shiraz, which I have seen in the F Lounge previously, rather than the Shiraz Viogner which is their flagship and as awilcockson points out comes at a fair price!

 

[Canny man]

Hell yes -it's worth it when you get the chance to enjoy it. On a recent flight to Jo'burg there were only 5 of us in F. Great crew, lovely banter with the other pax when the mood was right. The Tatt is one of the worlds finest champagnes (I've done my due dilligence on this one) and is on tap for those that want. The cabin is lighter and more spacious and you can really dial in how much privacy you want.

The wine is usually wonderful, although sometimes the quality level varies - but at last this means variety.

I would concur that the food isn't as exceptional as the rest of the package. I guess this comes back to the constraints of the kitchen. Other airlines try and seduce with the ingredient - 'more caviar sir '- but Quantas works with the flavours that survive the cabin atmosphere.

Given all of the above, I am perfectly happy in J when I'm going to spend the best part of the flight asleep.

I find the chance to indulge my hedonistic side, uninterupted for several hours, a rare treat in today's hectic world.

 

[EmilyHoward]

I have found the 'jump' from economy to business on the long haul flights on Qantas between Oz and the UK is big and very much worth it. I have never travelled premium economy but have often wondered just where that sits in between the two (how close to one or the other). My preference in business is; number 1 - upstairs on the 747, number 2 in the front section in business on the 380, number 3 anywhere else in business on the 380 and number 4 downstairs in business on the 747. Upstairs in business on the 747 is brilliant. It is such a peaceful haven which is just not reproduced on the 380 in any way.

As for travelling in First, I went just before Christmas on the 747 Syd to LHR all the way and it was really great. I think there is a big difference in First on the 747 compared with the business that you can get in and out of your seat without any worry. I also like the open space of the First Class on the 747. On the way back from LHR I got an op up to First on the A380 to SIN and that was my first time in F on this aircraft. That was also great but for different reasons, the TV is bigger, the seat more comfy and the privacy but I do think you lose that sense of spaciousness a bit compared with F on the 747. If I had to choose between first on the 747 and 380 I think I would mix my trips between the two.

One more thing is that it always excellent when you have a spare seat beside you in business or economy. It is a very underrated benefit of being WP I believe.

I think all the food offerings on Qantas in all classes are very good. I have never really had a problem with them at all. I am flying out of Sydney to LHR next Thursday and the dilemma really is just eating too much food. The menu in the First Class Lounge in Sydney is so good you have to eat ... and drink then onto the plane.

I think this flight I will take a walk through the plane though from F up and down on the way to LHR and then a circuit on the 380 on the way back a la bossreggie!

EH

 

[browski]

Whilst comparing QF F and J is interestingi, can wehave even more comparisons to make it even more meaningful.
So for example is QF F on SYD-HKG worth it compared to CX F, or VS F?
is QF F on SYD-LHR worth it compared to SQ F or EK F?
........anybody done the journey on the other options to help give us some perspective.

 

[Flying mermaid]

To me the service is the most critical thing - let's face it you can buy really nice wine/bubbly and go to a really nice restaurant, when you get off the plane for a fraction of the cost. J is more than good enough when I can't afford F, but when I can the things I appreciate are the extra space and the quicker service. Also things like being able to wake up in the morning and brush teeth, put in contact lens etc without having to wait (or minimal wait) for a bathroom to come free. When we first started flying F there was more of a differencial. e.g First had flat beds, J didn't and (given we were flying with 3 ankle biters this was important), F in BA had personal videos where you could extend the film options by picking videos to watch from a library. Can't remember if QF had that.


The only other F I have flown was a trip in 2009 with Etihad - SYD-ABU-LHR and return. Food was very nice on the plane and in the lounges in Abu Dhabi and London. ON the ABU-LHR return legs we had the new suites which were private little rooms and also very nice. Service was patchy. Good on 3 legs (I was wondering why I bothered to pay QF premiums), but the leg from ABU to SYD seriously bad. Apart from the toilets failing on one side of the plane (which meant we had a constant stream of people walking through the F cabin to use our toilet), the FAs were missing in action most of the flight. I got the impression that J was very busy and they were helping there. In fact I got the clear impression that EY valued their J passengers more than F. e.g. when exiting the plane on all 4 legs you had to exit via the J cabin and so J passengers got off first.

Mr FM and Miss FM would be happy to go on EY again, (they really liked the food), but I have vetoed it and returned to QF/BA - would like to expand my horizons to try F on Singapore, CX and EK though. We'll be flying the A380 in F for the first time in July, so looking forward to that

 

[Berlin]

For me, the step up from the 747 to the A380 in any class is bigger than the step from J to F- have ever only flown F on an A380, both on QF and SQ. While I do love the spacious seat on QF, I still think it is very misleading advertising to call it a "suit" because it is exactly NOT that, a separate space like on SQ. Besides this- the improved service is well worth it if you can afford it. I only ever upgraded with FF points from J to F which I think is excellent value for my points. I wouldn't fork out the money myself at this stage but if I happen to get really rich over the next 20 years, hell- why not!

Absolute highlight for me is the better champagne and wines and the service, I love how they make up the bed for you. On my first F flight ever two years ago, I had the exquisite steak sandwich on the LHR-SIN sector but I absolutely HATE rocket so I picked it all off. Totally different crew on the SIN-LHR sector but guess what happened when I ordered yet another steak sandwich? No rocket on it with the steward smilingly telling me "We know that you don't like rocket Mr. Berlin " No- that is what I call good customer service, I told myself "Wow, Qantas CAN be as good as the Asian airlines" so this point upgrade has shaped my view of QF's staff attitude very much to the positive. I might even be willing to oversea that grumpy dragon from last weekend on one of my domestic flights but that's a different story

 

[Kangol]

I have found the 'jump' from economy to business on the long haul flights on Qantas between Oz and the UK is big and very much worth it. I have never travelled premium economy but have often wondered just where that sits in between the two (how close to one or the other).

The jump from PE to J on the A380 isn't all that big IMO, if anything the service may be better in PE because of the smaller cabin. The hard product in J is obviously better but for the price difference is difficult to justify. I understand that QF PE is marketed as a "business lite" product compared to some other carriers who market it as slightly above economy.

 

[JohnM]

You may have been very luck but I suspect a J class Clonakilla would have been just the Shiraz, which I have seen in the F Lounge previously, rather than the Shiraz Viogner which is their flagship and as awilcockson points out comes at a fair price!

Unless I've missed a further post referring to J, I believe moa999 was originally referring to F and did specifically say the shiraz viognier.

 

[ozmille]

You may have been very luck but I suspect a J class Clonakilla would have been just the Shiraz, which I have seen in the F Lounge previously, rather than the Shiraz Viogner which is their flagship and as awilcockson points out comes at a fair price!

Quite possible I can blame some lounge drinking prior to the flight for not remembering 100%

Unless I've missed a further post referring to J, I believe moa999 was originally referring to F and did specifically say the shiraz viognier.

sorry for the mistake (I did mention that I did not have the menu to verify the exact name of the drop, I just remembered that it was a Clonakilla)

 

[Flying Fox]

Hell yes -it's worth it when you get the chance to enjoy it. On a recent flight to Jo'burg there were only 5 of us in F. Great crew, lovely banter with the other pax when the mood was right. The Tatt is one of the worlds finest champagnes (I've done my due dilligence on this one) and is on tap for those that want. The cabin is lighter and more spacious and you can really dial in how much privacy you want.

I've done F to JNB and I agree that the FA's make all the difference. We had an awesome crew and me and the Mrs were treated like royalty. The turn-down service was excellent as well as the try-and-stuff-the-guests-with-as-much-food/drinks-as-possible-service. The FA's were simply amazing and probably the best F experience that we have ever had. Whilst we didn't have the party atmosphere described above, the Mrs and I had our own personal party dining together etc etc.

I must say that the whole amazing experience started with the Flounge giving us amazing experiences including 1hr massages each before the flight.

I loved it all from start to finish (unfortunately it had to finish - something about not enough fuel to keep circling the world endlessly ).