Platy

Most of my flying is international these days, but I did take a BNE-CNS in J on a QF 737 recently and experienced the new product for the first time.

No dividers / curtain

I note that the dividers have gone between J and Y and replaced by see-through materials - there is no longer a curtain or even a "rope" such as the magnetic one used on VA.

Accepting it may be a matter of personal preference, but IMHO this greatly lessens the sense of exclusivity and privacy of the J cabin.

There's also nothing to stop folk wandering through to the J toilets.

The changes also now make row 3 much less attractive than rows 1 and 2.

IMHO QF now has a less exclusive and less private J cabin than VA, which is very disappointing.


IFE

It seems that to have any IFE you now need to have your own iPad, laptop, etc., and pre-load the application. Not sure why the premium-paying customer should be compelled such, (I'm also not sure what the latest practice is on VA having not flown VA for many months, but at that time they handed out pads), save QF once more lessening service levels to save cash at the expense of the customer.

I don't accept the argument that most folk will have a device anyway (many may carry snacks or bottles of water but that does not negate the supply / service of food or drink onboard).

tt7

To each their own.....

We flew MEL-DRW in J on a 737 yesterday (1A / 1C). Personally, I couldn't care less about any curtain between J and Y. Various people went to the tollet over the course of the 4 hour flight, undoubtedly many of them from the Y cabin, but it was never a problem (except perhaps for the one passenger who must have gone about half a dozen times - he walked so heavily the floor vibrated every time, even though he had no shoes on .... in relation to which, rather him than me going to the toilet).

As for IFE, I would vote for ripping it all out and save the weight. I'm very much in the "bring your own" camp and never bother with the in-flight IFE, no matter who / where we're flying. Obviously, YMMV.

og

QF certainly has reduced the amenity in the 737 Business cabin but has not changed the way they charge for it. It's great to have a more "open" feeling if you are in row 4 and backwards, but does nothing for the implied privacy that you should get with he purchase of a seat up front.

As for IFE, i'd rather have a book and not be paying for something I'm not using or need.

moa999

VA is all BYO IFE.
QF will be about half the 737 fleet with seatback IFE and half with BYO IFE... There won't be many passengers who dont have a mobile that they could use to watch the IFE, let alone a tablet or laptop

I don't mind the new setup, and cabin crew can enforce the toilet issue - for much of a short flight there is a trolley in the way in any event

Blackcloud

I hate the BYOD IFE, why would I want to watch something on such a small screen S5 or my laptop eating up my battery power?
For domestic flight of 1 hour, I can understand why there is a question of whether there is a need for AVOD IFE but there are not dedicated fleets flying these short flights or aircraft flying over 2 hours.
For the loss of the cabin partition, I would hate it. I do not like Y pax coming up and using the toilets, it just appears that QF is going down the AA road and I would think that seriously erodes the value proposition of paying for Business.

cavemanzk

For an domestic product its ok for short-hops, we're it fails down is on the Tasman. Qantas and Virgin pretty much have the worst Intentional J Product on AKL-MEL,SYD,BNE.

The NZ PE hard product is on level or probably better than QF/VA J Hard Product on the Tasman.

With EK/NZ both selling lie flat J products on these routes, for the same price.

Baghoarder

I don't mind BYOD (I tend to use my own device even on long haul international J/F, as it's the best way to avoid being stuck with a disappointing selection), but I think there should be in-seat power wherever there is BYOD.

NZbutterfly

+1

As for IFE I watched a movie a month ago, I don't otherwise remember. I'm a cloud watcher, sleeper, reader, worker. I think I watched it more when I was an infrequent flyer which is likely a significant portion of loadings?

I'm don't think I'm fussed about dividers or people answering the call of nature on the 737.

perthite

Virgin supply J passengers with tablets, so not all BYOD.

number_6

Has QF stopped supplying ipads? Its been available for my last couple of flights with BYOD IFE.

PaulST

They fly trans-Tasman? I thought all of the QF flights between the east coast and NZ were in EK or LAN metal!

I guess there hasn't been a huge amount of competition trans-Tasman but now there's so many options. I'm still amazed that QF seem to fill their J cabins (on my most recent flights anyway) considering how superior the EK product is (and LAN's hard product, even if the service has been pretty poor IME).

Kiwi Flyer

Not everyone is flying to/from AKL (or SYD-CHC route).

SRS65

Definitely need FA's policing the Y passengers using the J toilets as on my last flight it seemed a constant flow of interlopers.
If you aren't in J you don't get access IMO - same applies for overhead locker space in the J cabin.
At the premium price structure QF market J at (not that many pay this though) there still needs to be some exclusivity attached.

Globaliser

And even if they are, the timings of the EK and LA flights often simply don't work for a particular trip.

TheBOSman

Never mind the frequent delays and cancellations of the LA flight.

Also as a note, only QF and VA serve WLG (and ZQN for that matter) with a premium product at all trans-Tasman. EK doesn't fly to WLG or ZQN at all. Until the SQ CBR-WLG flight starts, QF and VA have a duopoly on premium cabin trans-Tasman to WLG.