Trip Reports - Qantas First Class to Auckland

Finally redeemed a significant amount of miles for Qantas First Class to New Zealand. I have to say it was fantastic! I fly to Europe from New York on a fairly regular basis (in coach, business and first) usually on American. But as has been stated here before those experiences really don’t compare.

I decided to go to New Zealand at the last minute to attend a friend’s wedding. Made the reservations about two weeks before my departure and was pleasantly surprised to be able to find first class available. This can be one of the perks of last minute award travel – as the date gets closer and they don’t sell first class seats they start releasing them.

I have to say the lounge at LAX was nothing special. Lots of good food, full bar, nice selection of wines but the decor was pretty basic. I was in the separate First Class lounge and found it just too quite. Too few people. I could hear myself turning the pages of my magazine. So I headed off the Business Class lounge in search of a little more commotion. I suppose the New Yorker in me was coming out. The other lounge was nearly identical in decor but three times the size. Since Qantas and BA share the same lounge there were actually tons of people. Much better.

They made the announcement for the flight to Auckland and I headed off to the gate. Luckily they had a separate entrance for First and Business since there were tons of people in the waiting area. It had been a while since I had been on a 747 and forgot how many people they pack on.

As soon I entered the plane a very friendly flight attendant welcomed me by name and escorted me to my seat. They seem to have the first class flight attendants and purser manning the door so they can take first class passengers to their seats when they arrive.

The cabin is very private and the seats are as billed – very big and lots of personal space. I sat down and had a glass of champagne (Krug) and soon after was given my sleeper suit. Since the flight leaves LA late at night nearly everyone changed before the flight left the gate. Went to the bathroom (which is big, has cloth towels and a window) to change and was given a hanger for my clothes. After changing into my blue Qantas PJs the flight attendant took my clothes and hung them up for me.

After take-off we were asked what we would like to drink and was soon brought more champagne and several slices of bread with foie gras. Fantastic. At this point I knew I wasn’t on American!

A short time later they came buy and set-up my table for dinner - tablecloth, glassware, silverware, bread plate. It was really quite a big set up. I was then asked whether I’d like olive oil or butter for my bread. I started off with the mushroom soup (which was great) followed by roast chicken, string beans and au gratin potatoes. Sounds pretty basic (I wanted the lamb but they had run out) but it was actually very, very good. Incredibly tender and juicy chicken and the beans were incredibly fresh and NOT overcooked. Had a wonderful 2000 Sauvignon Blanc with dinner. After that I opted for the cheese course and a glass of port. Nice selection of soft and hard cheese. Stinky and mild. Perfect.

Was very full by this point so I passed on dessert and instead sipped on my port as I finished watching the Royal Tannenbaums.

Now it was time for sleep. The flight attendant came over and helped me make my bead. After the seat was totally flat he helped put down the duvet that also included a sheet. I also had a nice wooly blanket and two big pillows. Time for some serious sleep.

Eight and a half hours later I woke up for breakfast.

I brought the seat back up just a bit but stayed warmly tucked under my duvet. I was offered a variety of juices but took the basic OJ. Then they brought a selection of warm croissants, muffins and toast. This is the first time I’ve had toast on an airplane and still not sure how they did it. You could have a variety of cereals but I opted for the warm breakfast. You could have as many of the following as you liked: eggs, bacon, sausage, grilled tomato, sautéed mushrooms, potato cake or salmon. Everything was very tasty including the eggs. When I order coffee they brought a glass Bodum coffee press and left it on the tables for refills.

Soon after I changed back into my clothes and got ready for our early morning arrival in Auckland. The trip was fantastic. The crew could not have been nicer – very professional and seemed to really care that you were happy. I highly recommend this trip to anyone. The only problem is having to do this trip again in anything less the First. You get very, very spoiled.

great report.. I'm taking the United LAX-AKL flight tonight in F, and I can already tell it won't be anything as good as QF's product.. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif

Great report! I flew QF business class a couple of months ago and was thrilled with that, but first class sounds so much better. I guess I'm going to have to start flying more!

You missed out on the best part of the Qantas F service: their killer steak sandwhich (offered on demand as an in-flight snack). In fact all of their snacks are good, but that steak sandwhich puts some NY restaurants to shame (and I used to live in Manhattan).

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Buster:
Great report! I flew QF business class a couple of months ago and was thrilled with that, but first class sounds so much better. I guess I'm going to have to start flying more!</font>
There is a huge difference between QF J and F service ... more so than most airlines. They really do have a great F service and some of the stewards are quite skilled (they manage to do it with that "butler service" touch, attentive without being obtrusive or obsequious). It makes an interesting contrast in style to CX/SQ and even BA.

Great report - I'll use this as a basis of comparison for my upcoming CX trip in F to HKG & SYD.

Great report! I'll have to think about working in a QF First flight one of these days.

As for the toast, I'm sure they made it on board with a toaster or a griddle. CX makes eggs to order for breakfast, using a griddle with hot plate.

As number_6 mentioned there did seem to be a big difference between Qantas First and Business. Business looked fine but they seemed to really pack 'em in. Including the upper deck I think they have about 60-70 J class seats. As I walked from Business to First you felt like you were entering this other world. Very private with a very attentive staff. They didn't hover but seemed very aware of when you got out of your seat and were always ready to help you out with whatever you would need.

On my return flight I actually had the same steward as on the outbound. As soon as I walk on the plane he recognized me and was very friendly. We chatted and he automatically took me back to the seat I had on the previous flight 1K. Then he noticed I actually had 3K. He said that 1K was free and if I wanted to take it I could. I kept 3K just because I wanted to compare and the seat allowed for more people watching.

As has been stated on other posts 1K is very private. Though it looks more cramped than the other seats, it isn't. It's very nice. 3K is good if you like to see what is going on in the cabin and maybe feels a little more airy. 2A and 2K wouldn't be the greatest (thought they would be more than fine) if the plane is full since they are relatively close to the paired seats in the middle.

I enjoyed reading your report! I've vowed to NEVER fly int'l F out of fear of getting too spoiled and raising my expectations when traveling. (The average int'l J service is fine for me.)

- Pat

So, any thoughts on New Zealand? I'm looking at it for 2003...

JP

As always, I still think UA has the best service, remember the first time I flew UA, was the first time I flew C class, that was about 4 yrs ago, when they still have the 747-400-OP, the largest C class on a 744, I think UA is the only airline made that choice for a big business section. That segment is ORD-NRT. I would really thank the lady in the check-in if I know her name now. My booking was H class in economy, a window seat. I requested an aisle seat when I check in, she put me in the aisle seat in C class, 27C, I never knew that til I was on board the 744. After that time, I know I would really love this airline, and I have so many nice experience on it, also including economy plus.

Well, what can I say? I have flown BA, QF and NZ in J, and QF wins hands down - but only for me. I have trouble sleeping on board, so since I know I will *NOT* be sleeping, the dreamtime seats on QF win for me at the moment. I would not dream of paying the extra to be laying down flat, since I know I would be equally as awake as I would be in the dreamtime seats. Go figure.

As for service, some people have claimed that Qantas can be either exceptional or appalling. I have never encountered appalling, I have, however, encountered mediocre, and this tends to be on short-haul ops, and even then only when circumstances prevail (SYD-CBR, or when turbulence is such that even the cabin crew have to remain strapped in for the first 40 mins).

Overall, I have never had a bad flight with Qantas cabin crew, and I welcome the Aussie accent when I wander on board, particularly if they have some Vegemite sachets for my toast (always welcome after a few weeks overseas!)

Dave

Thanks for your interesting trip report. I had that roast chicken dish over 1 mth ago on QF154 SIN-BNE, in C class though. Even though on the menu, roast chicken sounds pretty basic, what came out was rather good, given that the caterer for QF ex-SIN is SATS, which always manages to produce culinary disasters for one of their major client airlines operating out of SIN. Even in C class, I had the impression that QF assembles the meat and the sides of the main course on a plate in the galley after each item is heated up to its ideal temperature before serving it out to the pax.

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UA 1P, QF Silver
I like NZ,NG,NH,UA,SK,LH & QF
Star Alliance defecting to Oneworld

I hate reading these QF LAX-AKL trip reports, b/c it just makes me realize that my flight is still five months away! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif

But it does get me excited. Thanks!

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by igel:
Thanks for your interesting trip report. I had that roast chicken dish over 1 mth ago on QF154 SIN-BNE, in C class though. Even though on the menu, roast chicken sounds pretty basic, what came out was rather good, given that the caterer for QF ex-SIN is SATS, which always manages to produce culinary disasters for one of their major client airlines operating out of SIN. Even in C class, I had the impression that QF assembles the meat and the sides of the main course on a plate in the galley after each item is heated up to its ideal temperature before serving it out to the pax.

</font>

Gosh, igel, you don't like Singapore anything, do you?

I will fly QF First in about a month, on AA award ticket. I have never flown QF in First before, only Business so have high expectations about Qantas. I do notice their menus seem simple in words but that could be misleading. Do you want fluffy stuff like SQ whose menu is appearantly as sophisticated as the bible but has little substance due to the thousands cost cuts that they have been implementing or do you want uncomplicated things that are simple but elegant and well presented? I'll choose the latter.

To give you guys a taste of what I will be doing on Qantas, here is my itineary (QF portion only):

LAX-SYD-AYQ(Open Jaw)ALS-CNS-BNE-AKL (Open Jaw) CHC-AKL-SYD-LAX. LAX-SYD-LAX and BNE-AKL are in QF First, the rest in QF Business. These flights are in addition to the North American flights on AA in First as well. I will try to give a quasi-live report on those QF flights, should be very interesting. With all those positive trip reports from fellow FTers, I have full confidence that QF will deliver as so many people have been please with Qantas. Likewise, thanks to the warning of fellow FTers, I have also belated a SQ trip to DPS b/c of all those cut backs and downgrade in service in the front cabin. But apperantly, SQ has been listening and realized they need to change that. That's a good sign when a company is willing to listen to criticism sand stop living in the past reputation (e.g. a carrier who operates out of Canada).

JPNewYork, thank you for a great trip report.

Thanks for the report!

Have just flown FRA/HKG on CX then HKG/SYD on QF and find that CX was at least 25% better. Also the QF 744 had no in-seat laptop power ...
On the way back I will try the steak sandwich, thanks for the tip!

Uli...Qantas is upgrading their entertainment system so some planes have power ports (and larger screens) and some don't. My LAX-AKL had the new system and the return didn't.

Guava...from the looks of your itineary I'm guessing you redeemed a first class cirtificate but were only able to get First on your return. I ran into a similar situation and kept calling to see if First would clear. And thankfully it did about 1-2 weeks before the flight.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by chexfan:
I hate reading these QF LAX-AKL trip reports, b/c it just makes me realize that my flight is still five months away! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif

But it does get me excited. Thanks!</font>

Oh, quit your belly-aching, I've got seven months until mine ...

Of course, this gives me hope that maybe an FC seat will open up shortly before my trip and I can just redeem another award for an FC seat and redeposit my Biz Class ticket ...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by JPNewYork:
Guava...from the looks of your itineary I'm guessing you redeemed a first class cirtificate but were only able to get First on your return. I ran into a similar situation and kept calling to see if First would clear. And thankfully it did about 1-2 weeks before the flight.</font>

Both my outbound and return Transpacific segments are confirmed in First. You the LAX- was separated by the end of line, so you probably only saw SYD-LAX but thank
God I don't have to play that wait-and-see Game. The funny thing though, when I first booked the ticket, segment between SYD and AYQ (Ayers Rock) was only available in economy, but like two weeks later, when I call to make changes to my itineary (there have been like thousands of changes since I booked this trip, had this been an Air Canada award, I probably would have paid enough change fees to buy my ticket down there), but the agent notice seats in Business is now available between SYD-AYQ so she immeidately changed it for me. I then asked if there was a 2nd Business class seat open. She said yes, so I hang up as soon as I can so that I can call Qantas to upgrade my companion who is on a paid ticket on the same flight into Business using my Qantas points (Note: None of them from that Magazine craze! I am QF FF member way before that and had to pay a join fee back then).

One other odd thing I notice is that between BNE and AKL, there are usually a pair of First Class seats available while Business Class seats are mostly unavailable. How ironic? First is available but not Business on QF? I am sure most FTers would have wished it's the reverse on those transpacific flights.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> Made the reservations about two weeks before my departure and was pleasantly surprised to be able to find first class available. This can be one of the perks of last minute award travel – as the date gets closer and they don’t sell first class seats they start releasing them.</font>

Seeing how the last minute award travel can be surprisingly accomodating, it is ironic to see people Beckles and Chexfan booking their awards like 10,000 lights years far out and still have to play the wait-and-see game for Qantas First seats. So I am just curious, how far in advance did you book? I booked about 2 months and half before my transpacific segments in First Class on Qantas and both outbound and return were available when I first call for travel in July/August - high season down there. Had it not being AA's powerful and efficient reservation system, capable of scaning award inventory on a wide range of dates, this would have been a real pain to find seats on Qantas First.

So just how far in advance do you call to get best results?

I personally don't think there is a "best" scenario for booking award travel. I suppose there is one camp that believes in booking as far out as possible (10-11 months) but can't imagine planning a vacation that far in advance. Planning a month or two in advance is a lot for me!

I think it really depends on the route, time of year, time of booking, etc. I litterally booked my tickets two weeks in advance of my departure. I'm sure several factors played into it: A. June is the beginning of winter in New Zealand so somewhat less desirable for tourists, B. Auckland isn't as big a business destination as Sydney so less likely to fill revenue First Class seats, C. waiting until the last minutes allowed me to scoop up seats that weren't sold two weeks out and were newly released for award travel. I know the last part is true because checked availability for the same flights about six weeks back and all I could find was a combination of business and coach.

As far as different routes, I find it easy to upgrade using a mileage certificate going from JFK to London. There are so many daily flights (6 a day from JFK) that I'm always able to upgrade. If not in advance always at the airport.

Like so many things in life...it depends.

Considering I got my tickets for the final round of the Louis Vuitton cup, I was very happy to be able to get Biz seats on my preferred travel dates (leave Saturday, come home Saturday). Luckily I should be in a position that if an FC seat opens up I'll have enough miles available to immediately book and ticket it and redeposit my Business Class award ticket (without needing those miles for the new ticket). I can play the waiting game with no problem when it's Biz to First ... if I was in coach I'd be less happy about doing it! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Actually, I'm hoping they'll announce and start booking that new DFW-AKL at some point before my January trip!

Brilliant report JPNewYork and good on ya'

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I miss Canadian Airlines

Plus it was in our favor to book the QF awards via US before 1May when the redemption levels for Biz and F seats went up.