Berlin
Established Member
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2011
- Posts
- 2,933
- Qantas
- Platinum
Hello everyone,
I just came back from the US and thought it's time to repay for all the great advise on here with a detailed trip report
Outbound QF11 SYD-LAX:
I had booked this trip to the US paying for J class outright and then putting in upgrade requests on points. Even though I’ve lost my Platinum status a while back, my upgrade for the outbound got approved well ahead of the 24 hour prior to my flight mark- the txt message from Qantas came in the middle of the night about 30 hours before my departure and hey, could there be any more happy text massages than that? A few hours later, I received the call from Qantas first, gladly booking in a time for a spa treatment at the Flounge and giving me a mobile number to call upon approach to Mascot so that someone could come and take care of my luggage before check in.
On the day, everything worked as it should and a friendly crew of Qantas helpers was already waiting curb side when my Uber pulled in. I got greeted by name and rushed to the First class check in area in no time, by-passing the great unwashed who were EVERYWHERE at this busy morning time at SYD airport. Thanks to the priority lane pass at security, I ended up at the Flounge maybe 10 minutes after being dropped outside. If there’s any super tough new security measures in place, I certainly didn’t notice any of that. The Sydney first lounge was as pleasant as always and I enjoyed two glasses of champagne and a nice serve of Eggs Benedict.
I also noticed that there are unusually many badly behaved children all over the lounge which I didn’t think much about but it should have been a bad omen for my entire flight but more on that later. In the Spa, they used to have really good properly trained massage therapists but on this occasion, it seemed as if the staff had been replaced by a crew of young bogans just out of highschool. I don’t know if this was just bad luck or whether they have indeed implemented some cost saving methods here (I really hope not!) but the so-called ‘massage’ was the worst spa treatment I’ve ever received anywhere. The lady was clearly not interested in her job in the slightest, hardly did anything and in between seemed to fall asleep over and over again. I was there wondering the entire time whether she is just tired as it was in the morning still, or just lazy or maybe on some weird overdosed drugs? It was definitely a rather bizarre experience but who complains about a free spa treatment!
Once ready for boarding, I headed over to the gate where the First class experience abruptly ended. Ah, Sydney airport! The initial passport vs. name check in front of the actual gate area had not priority line whatsoever so you ended up with the common folks and their oversized backpacks and had to queue up for ages thanks to every second one not having their boarding pass/passport/brain handy upon inspection. Eyes rolling I stormed towards the priority boarding lane which, perfect timing, had just started to call First and One World Platinums to start boarding. When I got to the plane, the friendly flight attended who welcomed me guided me to my seat in First, I was in 2A. Only seconds later I received a glass of the most excellent Veuve Grande Dame 2006 which is one of my favourite Vintage champagnes. I had never been a huge friend of the Taittinger Comtes so I was very happy for them to have the Veuve on this flight. As always in First, I couldn’t resist asking the cheeky question whether that flight crew had ever seen the Winston Churchill (the third of the rotating champagne varieties advertised for Qantas first) and as per usual, I got only a very apologetic response. Apparently, there have been the odd one or two days per year where it really shows up but I am yet to see it with my own eyes! As canapes we got served a very nice artichoke tart with Caviar as well as a chicken Dim sum which tasted exactly like you’d expect a chicken Dim sum to taste.
I find it funny that Qantas started to always have one of the two canapes containing Caviar, clearly reacting to customer requests. Well, better than nothing Qantas but I still find the absence of a proper Caviar service to be a real big miss on Qantas First compared to many other airlines. A miniature artichoke tart with a few crumbles of Caviar on top is simply not the same as a proper course of caviar with traditional condiments, a delight which I’d never even think of having outside and airplane but even more cherish when it’s offered in First class! Just when I started to get really comfortable, one of the last passengers arrived in the First class cabin and it was a lady with her already screeching and screaming infant. To my utter horror, she took seat 3A right behind me which I was not amused about at all. I am aware that there’s a Basinet seat at 5A so always avoid this area at all cost but having a baby in 3A was really bad luck.
We ended up heavily delayed out of Sydney and spend at least an hour on the tarmac before finally heading to the runway. During this time, we were still served champagne and as a result, we ran out of the Grande Dame shortly after take off and had to be served the cheaper (and much less tasty) Business class champagne for the rest of the flight. First world problems truly but I quickly changed over to try some of the nice Aussie wines instead. During the entire take off and the beginning of dinner service, the baby behind me was screeching at the top of its lungs and its mom turned out to be extremely pushy and demanding with the flight crew as well. You could literally feel everyone’s spirits to sink during this time, the poor flight attendants included. I decided to first concentrate on my dinner and not letting this spoil my flight, hoping it might fall asleep sooner or later. One of the highlights in Qantas first I find (and something they do better than many other airlines in First) is how nicely they prepare your dinner table for you.
I started my meal with an excellent cauliflower soup which had some pesto and parmesan in it and turned out to be delicious. They offered different breads with the meal and I chose the garlic bread which hadn’t been an option a few years back. I expected something similar to what Emirates is serving (pretty much the same as a heated Woolies home brand garlic bread from the oven) but oh no, it was extra special rather: A nice big proper hot bun that had full garlic cloves hidden inside. It was very delicious but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the flight crew who has endure peoples’ breath for the rest of the flight!
I just came back from the US and thought it's time to repay for all the great advise on here with a detailed trip report
Outbound QF11 SYD-LAX:
I had booked this trip to the US paying for J class outright and then putting in upgrade requests on points. Even though I’ve lost my Platinum status a while back, my upgrade for the outbound got approved well ahead of the 24 hour prior to my flight mark- the txt message from Qantas came in the middle of the night about 30 hours before my departure and hey, could there be any more happy text massages than that? A few hours later, I received the call from Qantas first, gladly booking in a time for a spa treatment at the Flounge and giving me a mobile number to call upon approach to Mascot so that someone could come and take care of my luggage before check in.
On the day, everything worked as it should and a friendly crew of Qantas helpers was already waiting curb side when my Uber pulled in. I got greeted by name and rushed to the First class check in area in no time, by-passing the great unwashed who were EVERYWHERE at this busy morning time at SYD airport. Thanks to the priority lane pass at security, I ended up at the Flounge maybe 10 minutes after being dropped outside. If there’s any super tough new security measures in place, I certainly didn’t notice any of that. The Sydney first lounge was as pleasant as always and I enjoyed two glasses of champagne and a nice serve of Eggs Benedict.
I also noticed that there are unusually many badly behaved children all over the lounge which I didn’t think much about but it should have been a bad omen for my entire flight but more on that later. In the Spa, they used to have really good properly trained massage therapists but on this occasion, it seemed as if the staff had been replaced by a crew of young bogans just out of highschool. I don’t know if this was just bad luck or whether they have indeed implemented some cost saving methods here (I really hope not!) but the so-called ‘massage’ was the worst spa treatment I’ve ever received anywhere. The lady was clearly not interested in her job in the slightest, hardly did anything and in between seemed to fall asleep over and over again. I was there wondering the entire time whether she is just tired as it was in the morning still, or just lazy or maybe on some weird overdosed drugs? It was definitely a rather bizarre experience but who complains about a free spa treatment!
Once ready for boarding, I headed over to the gate where the First class experience abruptly ended. Ah, Sydney airport! The initial passport vs. name check in front of the actual gate area had not priority line whatsoever so you ended up with the common folks and their oversized backpacks and had to queue up for ages thanks to every second one not having their boarding pass/passport/brain handy upon inspection. Eyes rolling I stormed towards the priority boarding lane which, perfect timing, had just started to call First and One World Platinums to start boarding. When I got to the plane, the friendly flight attended who welcomed me guided me to my seat in First, I was in 2A. Only seconds later I received a glass of the most excellent Veuve Grande Dame 2006 which is one of my favourite Vintage champagnes. I had never been a huge friend of the Taittinger Comtes so I was very happy for them to have the Veuve on this flight. As always in First, I couldn’t resist asking the cheeky question whether that flight crew had ever seen the Winston Churchill (the third of the rotating champagne varieties advertised for Qantas first) and as per usual, I got only a very apologetic response. Apparently, there have been the odd one or two days per year where it really shows up but I am yet to see it with my own eyes! As canapes we got served a very nice artichoke tart with Caviar as well as a chicken Dim sum which tasted exactly like you’d expect a chicken Dim sum to taste.
I find it funny that Qantas started to always have one of the two canapes containing Caviar, clearly reacting to customer requests. Well, better than nothing Qantas but I still find the absence of a proper Caviar service to be a real big miss on Qantas First compared to many other airlines. A miniature artichoke tart with a few crumbles of Caviar on top is simply not the same as a proper course of caviar with traditional condiments, a delight which I’d never even think of having outside and airplane but even more cherish when it’s offered in First class! Just when I started to get really comfortable, one of the last passengers arrived in the First class cabin and it was a lady with her already screeching and screaming infant. To my utter horror, she took seat 3A right behind me which I was not amused about at all. I am aware that there’s a Basinet seat at 5A so always avoid this area at all cost but having a baby in 3A was really bad luck.
We ended up heavily delayed out of Sydney and spend at least an hour on the tarmac before finally heading to the runway. During this time, we were still served champagne and as a result, we ran out of the Grande Dame shortly after take off and had to be served the cheaper (and much less tasty) Business class champagne for the rest of the flight. First world problems truly but I quickly changed over to try some of the nice Aussie wines instead. During the entire take off and the beginning of dinner service, the baby behind me was screeching at the top of its lungs and its mom turned out to be extremely pushy and demanding with the flight crew as well. You could literally feel everyone’s spirits to sink during this time, the poor flight attendants included. I decided to first concentrate on my dinner and not letting this spoil my flight, hoping it might fall asleep sooner or later. One of the highlights in Qantas first I find (and something they do better than many other airlines in First) is how nicely they prepare your dinner table for you.
I started my meal with an excellent cauliflower soup which had some pesto and parmesan in it and turned out to be delicious. They offered different breads with the meal and I chose the garlic bread which hadn’t been an option a few years back. I expected something similar to what Emirates is serving (pretty much the same as a heated Woolies home brand garlic bread from the oven) but oh no, it was extra special rather: A nice big proper hot bun that had full garlic cloves hidden inside. It was very delicious but I couldn’t help feeling sorry for the flight crew who has endure peoples’ breath for the rest of the flight!