Apologies for being really slack in posting this report which dates back a few months (February to be exact!).
The routing was fairly straightforward, LHR-SYD (via Singapore)-PER with stopovers in Sydney both ways.
I left London on a really really chilly day – thankfully summer was awaiting down under.
This was my first time to T3 after many years. The revamp is only modestly successful IMHO.
Went to stretch my legs upstairs. The bar had some nibbles but fewer choices compared to the Club kitchen. However, QF has a made-to-order snacks in both J and F.
The crew started serving breakfast about 2 hours out of Singapore. The muesli was delicious but the fruit salad was soaked in some sweet juice or syrup.
I was advised that the flight had an All day dining concept and that I would pick anything from the menu at any time. I chose to have a light breakfast now and dinner before landing and placed the order for both at the same time.
The new crew was friendly but not as efficient as the UK-based one. I was getting tired by now so was hoping of a quick service which was not really forthcoming.
About an hour later the pancakes arrived. They were very nice indeed.
I went to bed immediately after devouring the pancakes. I was a little surprised that the crew did not offer to make the bed, although the lambswool blanket was perfectly adequate.
About 2.5 hours out of Sydney I woke up and freshened up. One of the two toilets was out of order ex-LHR but that had not been an issue because the cabin was only half full. Ex-SIN with a full cabin the crew did a good job to coordinate with their colleagues upstairs to ensure that there was never a queue. Well done!
The salad was equally fresh and tasty.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x206/marcobaghdad/ATR106.jpg
I chose the lamb for main, it was very nicely cooked. Unfortunately after almost 24 hours in the air my taste buds had gone AWOL and the Pinot Noir resembled goon, which I’m sure was not the case at all.
Landing cards were distributed and we began a northern approach into Sydney, which means that those seated on the left side (as I was) were treated to some spectacular views of Sydney harbour.
Landing was on time, and bags took 10 minutes to appear on the carousel. Unlike during my last visit to Oz I was not chosen for a luggage scan so I joined a very long queue for a cab (apparently the SQ flight had beaten us, judging by the tags of the people ahead of me in the queue).
I stayed overnight at the Shangri-La before my flight to Perth the next day.
NYBanker
Jun 30, 12, 9:33 am
Looks great!
blackmamba
Jun 30, 12, 10:21 am
absolutely stunning photos! would love to be in your shoes someday!
halfcape
Jun 30, 12, 10:32 am
Nice report. Very good quality photos. Thanks for posting.
stu1985
Jun 30, 12, 10:41 am
Wow - great photos! QF F definitely does look amazing and it's something I'd love to try one day!
hilltopper
Jun 30, 12, 1:09 pm
After a good night’s sleep and an acceptable 7am wake up (due to the time zone difference) it was time to get a taste of the aussie summer before heading off to Perth.
The Rocks looked very empty on this Sunday morning.
After the very scenic ferry to Manly (I’m sure I could never get tired of it if I lived in Sydney) it was time to laze for a few hours on the beach.
Loud pubblic announcements were made repeatedly to warn swimmers to swim in the area delimited by the flags only. Look at the size of the waves!!!
After another delightful cruise by ferry through Sydney Harbour back to Circular Quay, it was time to check out of the hotel and grab a cab to the airport.
There must have been a last-minute switch from a 767 to an 330 on this flight to Perth, which I only noticed after boarding. The 2-3-2 layout felt a little tight although the middle seat in the central module is (I believe) unsold.
The pre-departure drink was a fresh apple juice. I quickly developed an addiction for aussie fruit and fruit juices.(please forgive picture quality, the camera battery died at this point and I had failed to buy an adaptor yet, so had to rely on the iphone)
There were 3 choices for main course, no menu was given so I forgot what they were. I chose the barramundi which came with noodles and a light curry sauce. Although presentation wasn’t great, the taste was very decent.
Next up was a choice of cheese or Maggie Beer ice-cream from a trolley. I opted for the former which was served with lavosh, raisins and a date. A glass of Muscat was offered and accepted (alternatively there was Passito too).
We landed in Perth slightly late. Upon deboarding I took a picture of the rather disappointing seat on this 5-hour run. Other than that the flight had been pretty flawless.
Sitting here in the EK lounge in Perth very bored, thanks for writing this. I love seeing reports on my home (and) favourite airline.
amaroo
Jul 1, 12, 2:09 am
Nice TR.
Yes, the J class cabin over to PER is pretty tired:td:
Due to some hot competition from the other, not so local mob (Virgin Australia) QF have started to deploy 747's on selected flights on the East/West commute^
A380 F is very good - it's an easy choice over the now very tired BA OF lottery that flies LHR-SYD....currently running around 33% NF:td::td::td::td::td:
matthandy
Jul 1, 12, 2:39 am
What a great straight forward no-nonsense report!
I'd love to try QF F one day. It's a shame that QF is having difficulties on their international routes as they really do provide an excellent product.
BA5E
Jul 1, 12, 7:45 am
Hi great TR, did the same LHR-SYD journey in January and apart from the SIN-SYD where i could not eat anything, what you had on the LHR-SIN was exactly what i ate, must say it was amazing, the crew were so happy to serve you and took an interest in each passenger. Yes, it is a shame that the morning flight has now gone into the evening, and 2 A380's going out almost after each other.^ Enjoyed also your SYD-PER trip, seats do not look very comfy
malkie
Jul 1, 12, 1:06 pm
Fantastic report - great photos. Recently went LHR-SYD in PE on QF - great service there too!
Went to stretch my legs upstairs. The bar had some nibbles but fewer choices compared to the Club kitchen. However, QF has a made-to-order snacks in both J and F.
They have the same in PE - similar open bar and snack shelf at the rear of PE. They do hit snacks to order too - I tried a hot beef sandwich which was excellent.
davewho??
Jul 1, 12, 2:15 pm
Great TR. Thanks for posting^^
oneworld82
Jul 1, 12, 7:19 pm
I look forward to trying QF J on my upcoming MNL-SYD run in less than 2 weeks! :)
hilltopper
Jul 2, 12, 2:47 pm
Sitting here in the EK lounge in Perth very bored, thanks for writing this. I love seeing reports on my home (and) favourite airline.
Thanks. Your home airline is a damn good one!!
Nice TR.
Yes, the J class cabin over to PER is pretty tired:td:
Due to some hot competition from the other, not so local mob (Virgin Australia) QF have started to deploy 747's on selected flights on the East/West commute^
A380 F is very good - it's an easy choice over the now very tired BA OF lottery that flies LHR-SYD....currently running around 33% NF:td::td::td::td::td:
Yeah I cannot think why anyone would chose to fly with BA (even NF) over QF on this route, considering they codeshare.
What a great straight forward no-nonsense report!
I'd love to try QF F one day. It's a shame that QF is having difficulties on their international routes as they really do provide an excellent product.
Yes, their F product is fantastic and sets the standard on the Kangaroo Route IMHO. No fancy suites or caviar, but a genuinely understated great experience!
Hi great TR, did the same LHR-SYD journey in January and apart from the SIN-SYD where i could not eat anything, what you had on the LHR-SIN was exactly what i ate, must say it was amazing, the crew were so happy to serve you and took an interest in each passenger. Yes, it is a shame that the morning flight has now gone into the evening, and 2 A380's going out almost after each other.^ Enjoyed also your SYD-PER trip, seats do not look very comfy
The seats on the A330 domestic were similar to Y+ on the A380, which was disappointing considering it was a 5-hour flight. However this was a tag flight which was thrown in with the fare so can't really be too fussy about it! The older 767 on the way back was more comfortable.
Fantastic report - great photos. Recently went LHR-SYD in PE on QF - great service there too!
They have the same in PE - similar open bar and snack shelf at the rear of PE. They do hit snacks to order too - I tried a hot beef sandwich which was excellent.
I did see the open bar but was not aware they offered the toasted sandwiches as well. Glad you enjoyed your flights!
Great TR. Thanks for posting^^
Thanks!
I look forward to trying QF J on my upcoming MNL-SYD run in less than 2 weeks! :)
Looking forward to your trip report then :)
hilltopper
Jul 3, 12, 12:48 pm
This was my first trip to WA and I have to say I love it. Sunny, wild, remote, fewer tourists compared to other parts of Australia… It was a definite hit and I hope travel there again some time.
Pinnacles National Park
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x206/marcobaghdad/ATR158.jpg
Flew back from Exmouth to Perth with Skywest Australia. It was a fairly long flight (2h45min if I’m not mistaken) on a turboprop, but despite the very cheap fare this was a full service airline. Very impressive snack and lovely views from aloof.
The flight was Sydney to Perth left at a very unsociable 5.40am. The lounge in Perth (Qantas Club rather than Business Lounge, not too sure what the difference is, was huge but surprisingly busy considering the departure time).
The flight to Sydney was operated by an older 767 with a 2-2-2 layout. The seat was a little wider than on the A330 but IFE was provided by overhead screens only. The cabin was 3/4 full.
Again there was a delicious apple juice to get started.
Breakfast had three choices: a spanish omelette thing with sausages, muesli or banana bread. I chose the hot option which was quite tasty bar the onion puree on top of the eggs which was a bit heavy for that hour of the day. It came with a small fruit salad and a choice of breads.
Again the crew was very good, with unlimited unsolicited refills of drinks and tea, plus a proper tea trolley service before landing on time in Sydney.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x206/marcobaghdad/ATR214.jpg
The cabin with most passengers sound asleep.
Great to see a good report on QF and awesome pics.
amaroo
Jul 3, 12, 6:17 pm
This was my first trip to WA and I have to say I love it. Sunny, wild, remote, fewer tourists compared to other parts of Australia… It was a definite hit and I hope travel there again some time.
Nice photos - WA is a great place to visit.
flight was Sydney to Perth left at a very unsociable 5.40am. The lounge in Perth (Qantas Club rather than Business Lounge, not too sure what the difference is, was huge but surprisingly busy considering the departure time).
Qantas Club also known as QP (Qantas Pub) is for passengers flying economy that are paid members of the Qantas Club or QF Gold FF (OWS) & their guests.
Qantas Business lounge is for passengers flying J class or QF Plat FF (OWE) & their guests.
Perth is one the busiest lounges in Australia due to high amount of FIFO (fly in fly out) mine workers.
hilltopper
Jul 4, 12, 3:04 pm
So back in Sydney we are.
Sometimes things just go wrong from the outset, and it certainly was the case with my last night stay at the Shangri-La.
Firstly, when the taxi pulled up there was no porter to take the bags so I had to drag them myself to reception.
Then, it was a good 10-minute queue before I could approach one of the desks to check into the hotel. The overstretched front desk staff were most apologetic and embarrased by the queue stretching all the way through the lobby.
Finally, when I politely asked the help of the concierge to get in touch with Qantas to help out with seat al location (I had pre-booked 2A but then the OLCI showed it had been changed to 4A for no obvious reason), I was told that Qantas reservations held on the line usually for 30 minutes or more and that he did not have time to do that. Very, very poor. Needless to say I wrote a letter to the Hotel management to let them know all of the above.
And to top it all, I was offered a very sorry 1-hour extension as a “late check out”, from 11 to noon. Considering my flight left at 17.30, and that it was a Sunday, I’m sure a couple of additional hours would not have been too much trouble. I politely declined the offer, checked out at at 8am sharp and left my bags in the storage while I went to enjoy my last half day of summer on the beach.
Anyway, the corner room had great views and was quite comfortable.
A quick cab ride to the airport saw me checking in for flight QF31 all the way to London about 3 hours before departure. The check-in lounge was not overly impressive and was similar to the offerings at T3 at Heathrow (which says is all really).
Apparently seat 2A had issues, the friendly check in agent said, so I had been automatically pre-allocated seat 4A. No big deal, but needless to say after boarding seat 2A was occupied and looked perfectly fine (including going fully flat). Go figure.
A brief passport check and security check later I found myself in the First Class lounge where I asked the charming First Host whether I could book a massage, considering I had a couple of hours to kill. She escorted me to the spa at the end of the lounge where I was told that there were no slots available, and the First Host was quite surprised that I had not received the customary phone call the day before to pre-book such service. I suspect this had something to do with my booking which was under BA’s codeshare flight number? Or perhaps the fact that it listed a UK mobile number? Either way I was not very happy at this point, especially when I found out that there were no seats available in the restaurant area either. Oh dear not a good start.
A few minutes later however a table became available and I had a really nice lunch.
The starter was salt and pepper squid which was delicious and the dippings were very nice indeed.
We pushed back on time but sat at the end of the runway for quite a bit and did not take to the air before 18.05. Bizarrely no explanation was given.
Once airborne I fiddled with the seat for a bit, just for fun. You can do pretty much anything with this seat. This position has your legs flying upwards for instance
Note: the passenger you see in this pic spent a good deal of time autographing some stuff during the flight. I wondered who he was and a friend identified him as the captain who safely landed the A380 whose engine had blown off on the flight to Sydney.
OK, back to the flight itself. The Tasting Menu offerings.
Before landing the crew came round asking if I wanted anything, I ordered the steak sandwich and a Little Creatures Pale Ale.
Having read many reports on this board I had high expectations and was not disappointed, the beef was beautifully tender and the bread crunchy, however I could not find much of a kick in the relish.
Before I knew it we were landing in Singapore for our refuelling stop.
I was quite surprised to see that quite a few passengers originating in SYD on this flight preferred transferring in Singapore to flight QF9 (which left some 40 minutes after landing and arrived in London about one hour before our flight) rather than flying straight on. Not sure how that works if there was a delay ex-SYD, for instance.
The F lounge was very quiet. There was food on offer but did not partake, opting to use wifi to place my order with Ocado for the next day.
Boarding began on time and F passengers were summoned ahead of everyone, thus attracting quite a few stares at the gate.
I resettled in seat 4A, and each seat on this sector, just like on the previous one, was filled (including 2A obviously).
Champagne was offered with a plate of biscuits and aubergine dip.
Boarding was completed and it looked like we were ready to go but then we waited. And waited. The airbridge was reattached to the upper deck and SATS ground staff reappeared onboard which obviously meant something was wrong.
Shortly afterwards an announcement was made that we had an ill passenger onboard who would have to disembark, his luggage had to be located and offloaded and that would take some time.
The captain came in the F cabin to explain to each passenger the situation and give expected arrival time into LHR which was a nice gesture.
Similarly the CSD came round to apologise and commented that we were quite lucky that the passenger felt sick while we were still on the ground because diversions are much more complex to handle.
Finally we leave the gate about one hour behind schedule.
hilltopper
Jul 5, 12, 2:05 pm
Perhaps owing to the late departure time service on this flight was the weakest of all my sectors with QF (including domestic ones in J).
The FA serving my aisle was perfectly efficient but lacked that extra touch I had been spoilt with on previous QF flights. Also, none of the FAs serving in F came to introduce themselves which is something I understand is standard in this cabin. Not a huge problem though considering all passengers chose to sleep for the best part of the flight.
Dinner was good but certainly not outstanding.
The chicken salad for instance, while tasty, was not the most ambitious of starters.
Next was a Malay-style noodle prawn soup which was extremely hot (I don’t have a problem with it) and full of flavour. However I would associate this dish more with Singapore street stalls than with F.
The quality of the food picked up with the seabass which was as tasty and as well cooked as the fish I had in the lounge in Sydney. Again it was accompanied by a flavourful romesco sauce.
With the delay and time zone difference it was getting very late at this point so I changed into PJs and went to bed.
I had a solid 9-hour sleep thanks to the cabin being quite cold. The duvet was definetely needed!
I woke up somewhere over Eastern Europe with 2.5 hours to go. All passengers were awake and were having breakfast.
After a few minutes while he was attending to the lady in 3A the FA serving my aisle took my breakfast order and asked if I wanted him to clear the bed.
The tropical cut fresh fruit was nice as was the yoghurt with honey. I was also offered a guava drink which appeared not to be milk-based and was light and refreshing.
IFE crashed, thankfully we were just 20 minutes away from LHR.
The CSD passed by to enquire whether I was satisfied with the flight, I did let out that the crew on this sector were not quite in the same league as the other ones I’d come across. She looked very concerned but I told her not to worry, after all we all have bad days!
Landing at LHR was interesting because the first approach was aborted when we were litereally over the airport, adding the unexpected excitement of a low altitude go-around.
The captain explained that it was because we needed to “conform to the landing pattern at Heathrow”, whatever that meant.
The second attempt was successful. I thought we were going to land on the other runway and that the switch had caused us to abort the first attempt but that was not the case.
We were on the ground about one hour late, with no significant improvement on our delay ex-Singapore.
We were held onboard for 10 further very long minutes while the BAA staff appeared undecided as to which airbridge to attach to the A380 (and the poor QF staff were seen running from one to the other). This was the longest I’ve been on an airplane ever!
Immigration and baggage claim were quite quick and I used the AA arrivals lounge before picking up my car and driving home.
The lounge is nothing fancy as you would expect but I actually prefer the shower rooms to thier equivalents offered by BA (they are better appointed, larger and without those hideous drain noises)
On a Sunday morning the drive on the M4 was light and I was home in central London before 9am, some 31 hours after getting on a cab in Sydney (yes, I was counting!).
Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed this report!
Tony3021990
Jul 5, 12, 5:16 pm
It's starting to look like Quantas F is better than CX F? Looks unreal, great TR
Coathanger
Jul 5, 12, 11:19 pm
Fantastic trip report, hilltopper!
I've only experienced QF F on the MEL-SIN sector of QF9 but highly rated the A380 experience too.
There are several configurations of the domestic A330 and you happened to get the newest ones with the Recaro seat (VH-EBO & VH-EBP). As you pointed out the middle seat in the row of 3 isn't sold, but it's still a noticeable downgrade from the other domestic A330s with the Silverwing seats in 2-2-2 configuration.
Thankfully my SYD-PER-SYD sectors have been on the Silverwing equipped planes, and my sole flight so far with the Recaro seat was a short MEL-SYD hop.
Moomba
Jul 7, 12, 3:25 am
Thanks for the report hilltopper.
QF F really is the way to go when travelling down-under. Those steak sandwiches do hit the spot.
hilltopper
Jul 8, 12, 3:28 am
Great to see a good report on QF and awesome pics.
Thanks, in many ways QF First is impossible to fault...
Nice photos - WA is a great place to visit.
Qantas Club also known as QP (Qantas Pub) is for passengers flying economy that are paid members of the Qantas Club or QF Gold FF (OWS) & their guests.
Qantas Business lounge is for passengers flying J class or QF Plat FF (OWE) & their guests.
Perth is one the busiest lounges in Australia due to high amount of FIFO (fly in fly out) mine workers.
Thank you, good to know. The decor and offerings of the Qantas Club did appear to be a slightly scaled down version of the QF Business lounges (domestic)
It's starting to look like Quantas F is better than CX F? Looks unreal, great TR
Thanks! Cannot comment as I have yet to fly on CX Suites but QF First is very good.
Fantastic trip report, hilltopper!
I've only experienced QF F on the MEL-SIN sector of QF9 but highly rated the A380 experience too.
There are several configurations of the domestic A330 and you happened to get the newest ones with the Recaro seat (VH-EBO & VH-EBP). As you pointed out the middle seat in the row of 3 isn't sold, but it's still a noticeable downgrade from the other domestic A330s with the Silverwing seats in 2-2-2 configuration.
Thankfully my SYD-PER-SYD sectors have been on the Silverwing equipped planes, and my sole flight so far with the Recaro seat was a short MEL-SYD hop.
Thanks coathanger!
Was not very impressed with the domestic A330. The seat is very similar to the one in Y+ as far as I could tell, which is quite poor for a 5h flight. Dont know why they placed the PTVs on the bulkhead below knee level either... not very comfortable to watch.
Thanks for the report hilltopper.
QF F really is the way to go when travelling down-under. Those steak sandwiches do hit the spot.
Thanks Moomba. The steak sandwich was great, pity I could only manage half, but I had to give it a try :)
thadocta
Jul 8, 12, 3:19 pm
This was my first trip to WA and I have to say I love it. Sunny, wild, remote, fewer tourists compared to other parts of Australia… It was a definite hit and I hope travel there again some time.
Nice photos - WA is a great place to visit.
I hate to hijack the thread, but there is a young band originating in Perth called Gyroscope, their recent hit Some of the places I know (http://youtu.be/SHURiXd91vY) deliberately chose to highlight stunning Western Australian scenery in the film clip, and is well worth a look, if for no other reason than the scenery (and I think they are a great band).