Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airlines

[Berlin]

I must admit that I'm getting spoilt lately as I've just been back from my third and fourth flight on Qantas First in just the past two months. This time, it actually was a joy trip, just two weeks by myself to the states and back. I took a bunch of photos and also had the 'pleasure' to enjoy a couple of side trips on AA in between so I thought some of you might be interested...

I had booked Qantas J class (I class, actually) on a good special deal which got me SYD-LAX-JFK-LAX-SYD. I prefer the A380 triple and quadruple over the 747s (and my experience on the latter definitely proved me right) so I decided to go via LAX both ways which would also give me the chance for a points upgrade to First which, luckily, indeed came through both times. I was a bit scared of both connecting in LAX (which turned out to be easy as but we'll get to that in a minute) and flying on AA trans-continental (which turned out to be even worse than expected) but it seemed well worth flying on the A380 and the upgrade to first proved me right of course. I then flew on to Miami on a separately booked AA flight in First (the strange "Instant Upgrade" called fare which is in effect a cheaper F class fare and really good value if you can get it), made my way back up North and then connected on the QF 747 flight back to LAX where I had a stop over for a few days. I finally went back on the QF A380 to Sydney, once again upgrade to First using points.

In my recent experience, it seems to be now standard as a Platinum to get your upgrade confirmed not at T-48 but rather at T-60 which has happened four times to me now so can't be a coincidence. I also got a separate call from the QF callcenter about ten hours later which of course was not really necessary anymore, had I seen my txt way earlier. On the day before departure, the Flounge also called with the usual and I booked in a massage and decided to try out the curb side welcome as well. With the latter, they make a big deal of secrecy out of it and you get sent a txt message with a phone number to call 5 minutes before arrival. Funnily, I did exactly that on the day and the QF people needed way more than 5 minutes so I spotted them searching for me in the terminal when I was already half way to the F check in area. They apologized ten folds and I assured them it was not a big deal (I found the entire service a bit too much over the top anyway so the fact that it didn't even work out and spoilt me seriously had to carry my suitcase myself :shock: was just ironic). Check in, emigration and security check was a breeze and I was in the Flounge in no time. The friendly attendant down at the Flounge entrance always recognizes me because of the massive tattoo I have on my arm so he always wishes me a very warm welcome back which feels really nice and excites me even more about the upcoming time in the lounge.

What can I say- I don't think many will disagree, you cannot really complain about the Qantas Flounges which I believe are amongst the best in the world. I started with the irresistibly greasy corn fritters which seem to have featured on the breakfast menu for quite some time now so maybe I'm not the only one who absolutely love them? The fact that the Bollinger was on the menu again only helped with that and it was time for my massage appointment quicker than expected.


The massage was a bit strange this time as it was a guy giving me the treatment. He was dressed almost like a QF flight attendant which made me feel a bit weird. The treatment itself was fine and I shouldn't really complain but yea- I didn't quite relax as well as usual. Luckily, I still had enough time for lunch and went for a meal from the daily special section. I don't quite remember the exact name of the dish but a photo is below and it was some sliced meat (pork I think) Asian style with a hot chili sauce and tasted absolutely divine. I always think that Neil Perry is at his (or who ever really does the work for him is at his or her best ) when re-creating ethnic food in his own style whether it's Asian or, lately, middle Eastern- it usually is better than the original in its twisted way. Maybe that's just me- in this case, for sure, the result was to die for!



After this it was time already to board the plane which was standing right in front of the lounge waiting for me. As always, such a beauty the big bird and what a particular pleasure to see it stand there with the kangaroo on the tail!

 

[Berlin]

Trip report part 2:

I was on the F bird which was still missing in my tick list of the 12 Qantas A380s so quite happy about that. First class service on QF is usually absolutely top but this time around it lacked the personal approach a bit which the crew usually gives you. The cabin was almost entirely full but they didn't up the staff which might have to do with it (on the way back, First was full to the last seat while loads were rather light in both J and Y so they shuffled the crew around to have the J crew help in F which made a huge difference). Still- the flight was lovely and both food and wine excellent. I have taken the menus with me and will try to take a few pictures and post them on here soon. The one thing missing, of course, once again was the Pol Roger which was featured on the drink list but did not materialize in reality which was exactly the same that happened to me on my F flights to Dubai and back a few weeks earlier. This meant that poor me was 'stuck' with the Taittinger Blanc de blancs as per usual I wonder if the Pol becomes one of those running gags that Qantas seem to like so much, like the Domestic Priority boarding or the Priority luggage?

Food wise, as always I decided to select my own meals from the a la carte menu and pair it with my wines of choice rather than going for the tasting menu which is basically just a forced upon you selection of meals from the a la carte anyway. I decided to start light so I had the soup first which was really lovely- I must say, I always like those soups on Qantas even though I am usually not a soup person at all.



I then opted for the pot pie as an in between, I think it was chicken and leak but am not quite sure anymore but remember it tasted lovely and went very well with the Riesling.



I then had the calzone which was the best part of my meal, one of the best ones I've ever had and that on an airplane! This is one of the reasons why I like combining my own tasting menu as this one was not part of what QF had combined and it worked wonders as an in between before the main course. I absolute hate rocket to death so that little side salad remained uneaten

I then finished up with the steak which, as per usual, was too dry and well done for my liking and exactly the same as the one I had to Dubai a few weeks back, served with a potato and cabbage gratin which was the highlight of this course. Still- not bad and definitely filling so I was ready for bed afterwards and skipped the desert entirely.



After a pleasant and deep sleep, aided by the nightcap of malt whisky just before passing out, I was woken up with my breakfast that was the usual scrambled eggs with bacon QF style but yummie as always and enjoyed with yet another glass (or two) of the Taittinger.



I really dreaded the change of planes and terminals in LAX but was surprised to have my name called already when de-boarding the plane and was given a bright orange "One World express change" envelope and sent on my way through the terminal. The gate was one of the first new ones at Tom Bradley so it was quite a hike to the immigration area. On the way were more AA employees exchanging my orange envelope against another orange envelope which contained an American print of my boarding pass for the onward flight (I already had the QF printed one from Sydney so it as all a bit weird). They fished that one out of a folder which had all connecting passengers sorted by last name- all a bit inefficient but at least they tried! The actual connection went like a treat, I was given priority at immigration, got my luggage as one of the first passengers (priority luggage worked this time around!) and then through customs, dropping my luggage again at Connections and onto Terminal 4 within a matter of minutes. Again, priority lane in T4 and in the AA "Flagship" lounge less than half an hour after touching down. The lounge lady told me how to get to the special First bit of the lounge which I already knew anyway and whispered to me how super nice apparently that "special part" was. Ouhm- it's maybe en part with the QF Domestic lounges around Australia. Maybe, but certainly nothing compared to a proper First lounge. Welcome to America!

 

[Berlin]

Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airlines

Trip report part 3:

I booked the onwards flight to New York on AA so that I could fly on the A380 to LAX (I really wish Qantas came to their senses and replace the SYD-LAX-JFK flight or the SYD-DFW flight with an A380 but given their stinginess that will probably never happen) which definitely was the right decision but boy, it feels like a journey back to the 70ies when you step from that nice new plane onto the old rattler AA flies... On the trans-continental, AA actually has a proper three class layout so you don't end up in "First" but indeed something that is called "Business" on a domestic US flight. As expected, the seat is absolutely horrid compared with what Qantas flies in Business even domestically and there are a tiny few F seats in front of it which are a bit wider but otherwise also don't look like anything to write home about. Staff was to run away as ever so often and I ended up with a real egocentric cough sitting in the aisle seat next to me who stuffed the back pocket of his seat with piles of magazines and newspapers while not moving out of his seat when ever I wanted to go to the toilet and then gave me evil looks if I dared to touch him while trying to get out. Besides that- and you get people like him everywhere, I won't go down the "typical American!" route though admittedly, the thought had passed my mind - there is nothing much to say. American now has a working system where you can pre-select your entree (which, in the US weirdly is the main meal while what we call an "entree" is called starter of appetizer) online prior to your flight. I had called up QF to get my AA booking code and it all worked perfectly fine and the Turkey with stuffing sandwich sounded weird but actually tasted delicious. It was served with a cheese platter for desert and a side salad smothered in one of those awesome unhealthy thick and creamy American sauces- yep, I well and truly was in the land of the free now!





After a couple of great days in NYC -how can you not have a great time in New York?- it was time to catch a flight down to Miami. I love South Beach at least as much as New York so it was definitely a must do for me while at the East Coast. The flight down in First turned out to be about half price if going from Newark so I ended up flying from there- I find the airport itself actually much easier to navigate than JFK and the ten or so bucks more for your transfer drive, oh well, so be it. I usually find the domestic First flights on AA quite pleasurable and with the new option of pre-ordering you meals, even more so. I was a bit unlucky as the First crew consisted of only one guy while they usually got two so he was a bit struggling with the service. Still, I got nice meal (chicken with sauce) and a couple of drinks so nothing to complain about for a 3 hour and 15 mins flight.



As per usual, the pilot switched off the "Fasten your seatbelt" signs for about 5 minutes and kept them on for the rest of the flight and I had a nice little chat to the steward about it and he agreed that this is an idiotic system as everyone just starts ignoring the signs. As expected, it's fear of any legal issues that is the reason for this but really- it just renders those signs useless! A bit like the kid that cries about the wolf for no reason and then when the big bad wolf really comes, no one cares...

I now had a great week or so in Miami, Toronto and Ohio going to the beach, riding wild rollercoasters (hence Ohio) and eating lots of unhealthy food. If anyone is interested in the good (and not so good) hotels I stayed at, I have lots of separate reviews of those over on Tripadvisor, I'm "Sydneyberlin" over there: Member Profile - TripAdvisor

After my whirlwind through the Eastern part of the US (and a short side trip to Canada), I was booked on the Qantas flight back to LA. Upon arrival at JFK I found out that the flight was delayed by over 5 hours so I received some vouchers for coughpy food in the terminal and was told I could eat a meal up in the BA lounge. Unfortunately, this was incorrect as this is limited to actual BA passengers so I was stuck with some truly horrid food in one of the restaurants in the terminal. To make things worse, what QF didn't mention on their voucher was that beverages are not included in the deal (they should really specify that as the voucher states "meal and refreshment") and in combination with a decent tip, I ended up paying 20 bucks after all which was definitely not worth it. Finally on the plane, I realized once again why I avoid the 747s like a plague. I know that the Boeing fanboys will reply to that how new these old rattlers apparently are- well, they don't feel like it and the airplane model was obviously designed decades ago. Yes, they have plunked some of the new A380 style business seats in there but everything else still feels old and dated, the bathrooms are horrid compared to the A380 and the cabin air and everything else is just not the same standard in my eyes. The human "equipment" also was way past their due dates though I must admit that the two crew members in charge of the upper hump in that 747 clearly knew what they were doing due to the many decades they've obviously been in the job! The male one made a face as if he's falling asleep out of boredom at any time now but turned out to do an excellent job. Without me even daring to ask, he poured me a little farewell scotch just upon landing and if there's a way a crew member can make it right into my heart, then that is it! The food was the usual Qantas J stuff which wasn't too bad, I had a zcuccini soup with parmesan and croutons followed by some Mexican-style tacos with shredded slow cooked pork which was all quite tasty indeed.





I ended up arriving into LAX at about 2am and they were doing some heavy construction outside the terminal at this time which was really a nightmare to get through. Before that, upon debarking the airplane, it's all quite odd when you leave on this domestic lag but arrive into Tom Bradley which is clearly not made for it. They place staff members at the corners who guide you your way through the intestines of Tom Bradley and who ever knows LAX can imagine that this is neither pretty nor straight forward. First one says in really bad English "next corner", then you have the next one standing there snarling at you "end of hallway" followed by someone there saying "Elevator, level 2" and so on. Very funny and really bizarre but it worked and still better than having to clear immigration! Sadly, the priority baggage didn't work at all this time and I received my suitcase as the very last.

 

[QF029]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

Great report. Keep up the good work.

 

[docjames]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

So next time you book US trans-con, will it be a QF 744 clunker or AA 762 clunker??

 

[Princess Fiona]

Thoroughly enjoyable read

I've never flown in J on AA but I honestly think that the Flagship Service in F on the 3 class transcons is excellent.
Admittedly the hard product isn't flash but the service and sundaes are superb.

Looking forward to reading about the trip back

 

[Berlin]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

Trip report, part 4:

After a couple of more days in San Diego and West Hollywood, it was time to say farewell to the US and board my flight back home to Australia. With my upgrade to First, it was a rather easy farewell and I actually looked forward to my flight on Qantas A380 registration -G. The First class cabin was full to the last seat and I ended up with 5K which was the only window seat left. As expected, it turned out to be rather noisy next to the galley and I could hear the crew chit chatting behind the curtain throughout the night which was not ideal. Saying that- it was still a lovely flight and the crew turned out to be the best I had in a while. As First was so full but Business and Coach were rather on the light side loading wise, they had shuffled some crew around so that we had 4, sometimes 5, crew members attending to the First cabin which was excellent. I had on purpose not had anything to eat or drink all day so by the time we left just after 10pm, I was ready for a multi-course meal to make the trip in F worthwhile. Being so self-restrained earlier was made much easier by having to deal with the as always rather awful "F" lounge at LAX which is not worth while talking about, neither when it comes to the limited food selection nor to the rather sub-standard drinks.

Part of why I had applied for an upgrade on this mostly nightly flight was the boring and uninspired food selection on the new Qantas meal selection site for J and I was quite disappointed to see that all those exact same meal options appeared on the First menu as well. I really think there were at least one or two proper mains missing on there and I absolutely hate how Qantas always think they can tell you what you feel like at what time. :evil: It's a 14 hour flight so I expect a bit more for my money than a bloody "supper", thank you very much! Thankfully, in First, you can at least have several of the tiny supper options so I was fine in the end



I started with a creamy tomato soup with sour cream and basil which turned out to be marvelous. Quite ridiculous to feature this as one o the pre-selection options for your meal (!!!) if you dine in J but perfectly adequate as one of the two starters in First. As mentioned before, the soups on Qantas tend to always be quite nice and this was certainly no exception. I paired it with a glass of the Taittinger after finding out that, for the fourth time in a row now, the promised Pol Roger once again was as real as the priority baggage tends to be on Qantas. I followed this course by the pasta with vegetable which sounded nice but turned out to be so bland that I would rate it as the very worst meal I had on QantasI in white a while. Again, they offer that as a stand alone meal choice in J which is just hilarious, look at this tiny portion!



Luckily, I followed this up with a main for which I selected the duck given that there was no choice of proper red meat on the menu. I don't particularly fancy cut open birds with the bone on my plate but thankfully it was quite easy to get the meat off in this case. Taste wise was like most of those dishes are, rather bland and not very fulfilling but hey, it was only yet another course out of many and the Pinot Noir I had paired with it went really nicely!



Luckily, I had decided to move up the menu to the "small plates" in the end and finish of my meal with the burger. I had really been tossing with this one as I truly had enough burgers on this trip and was, quite honestly, rather fed up with the idea of yet another one. But how wrong I was- this Qantas burger was excellent! The bun slightly buttery and the meat with a good doze of fat in it to give it good flavor, it was certainly nothing my personal trainer would approve of but, boy, was that yummie! Not quite the quality of a Steak n Shake burger or similar but it came pretty close, especially considering it was served on an airplane! By far the highlight of the meal and much much better than either the bland and boring pasta or that poor duck on a bone served after. Loved it and the Cabernet went very nicely with it!



After a long and very relaxing sleep that only got disturbed from time to time by the noisy crew members chit chatting right behind my head, I finally woke up and ordered my breakfast. For some reason, this whole process took ages and the crew seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by taking the orders and rushing out food and drinks etc. Odd, as it wasn't an issue over dinner but maybe too many people had been asleep already rather than ordering anything at all. Definitely not quite first class and I was rather annoyed when being told that they had run out of the eggs by the time in row 5 I finally got my order through. However, they had a Croque Moniseur on the menu as an alternative and I was quite happy in the end to having had something else for a change than the usual scrambled eggs. Funny to see that they went all out with the pork options on this breakfast menu given that any sliced pig is now taboo on the SYD/MEL-DXB-LHR flights! The croque turned out to be absolutely lovely and I enjoyed every single bite of it!



And, oups , yes- this is yet another glass of the champagne with my breakfast! Immigration and customs went super easily in Sydney for a change and I was out of everything within minutes to the surprise to my partner who came to pick me up rushing into the terminal while I was already waiting landside. You never quite know in Sydney!

 

[drewbles]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

View attachment 16209

Holy cough they're still serving that??

For those complaining about QF and VA's lack-of-menu-rotation, I had the *exact* same meal on AA F 4 times in a week... 2 years ago! And then last year, 2 times in a week.

It was also very average

 

[jukebox333]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

Your TR makes for great reading - thanks for sharing!

 

[Flying Fox]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

Thanks for the great TR

Holy cough they're still serving that??

For those complaining about QF and VA's lack-of-menu-rotation, I had the *exact* same meal on AA F 4 times in a week... 2 years ago! And then last year, 2 times in a week.

It was also very average

Ha ha, its probably from the same batch too

 

[drewbles]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

Thanks for the great TR



Ha ha, its probably from the same batch too

Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest (Was bland and tasteless back then too!).

Oh and great trip report. Always nice to see onboard services

 

[Berlin]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

Holy cough they're still serving that??
It was also very average

Yes, I have had that very same meal at least three times before as well. I must admit though that I personally love all that American cough food and especially the soft drinks- my latest fav is this awesome mix of chemicals with complicated names I don't understand:



I'm telling you: Coffee for breakfast is sooooo out! :shock:

 

[drewbles]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

Yes, I have had that very same meal at least three times before as well. I must admit though that I personally love all that American cough food and especially the soft drinks- my latest fav is this awesome mix of chemicals with complicated names I don't understand:

View attachment 16222

I'm telling you: Coffee for breakfast is sooooo out! :shock:

I fly out en-route to the USA tomorrow. I reaaaaally wish you hadn't just shown me that (Mountain Dew was a crutch of mine in the USA with Caffeine and i'm casually ignoring the fact the AU one now does too ).

I prefer these in the USA, in lieu of coffee (As Starbucks != coffee IMHO):

One of those every morning before the OMGO'clock AA Status Run flights gets me going every time =)


(I may have also made a habit of calling by a grocery store like Publix/Ralphs/Vons etc depending what state i'm in, buying many 4 packs of it and emptying out the hotel mini bar to put these in to chill )

 

[Flying Fox]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

I can't stand Starbucks and what they call coffee. I've always said that they make it from toilet water and simply put it in a cup (putting it politely).

Apparently I was correct -

Starbucks 'used toilet water' to brew coffee

Starbucks staff are caught making coffee from TOILET WATER | The Sun |News

 

[Fifa]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

I prefer these in the USA, in lieu of coffee (As Starbucks != coffee IMHO):

One of those every morning before the OMGO'clock AA Status Run flights gets me going every time =)

Mmmmmmmmm - I'm going to have to take your advice and try one of these when I'm next in the US

 

[drewbles]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

Mmmmmmmmm - I'm going to have to take your advice and try one of these when I'm next in the US

They are sweet, but it's a great pick-me-up in the morning =)

 

[drron]

Re: Part 3:Qantas First SYD-LAX connecting to NYC and onwards to MIA on American Airl

Will definitely have to try the A380 F.however when we fly LAX to NYC it is always LAX-DFW-LGA.More SCs for mrsdrron and you fly in F even though on a J ticket.I enjoy the AA F service.