My trip started with the typical cramped American Eagle flight to LAX. Basically an old flying moth with wings. If there is any fleet of planes that needs retirement out in the desert somewhere it is every American Eagle plane. I avoided this old tired aircraft for years. However One World loyalty swayed me. If you want to earn the top tier One World Emerald status you are either with the enemy or without in the US.

Upon arrival at LAX was slightly disappointed that one must transfer to yet another older terminal by bus to catch the Qantas flight.
Not sure what the reasoning here is.Will assume no room or term 4 is overwhelmed with flights. I spent some of my time in the First Class lounge in the AA/ One World lounge which I would describe as small but very nice facility with meager dreadful offerings for a truly dedicated first class lounge. Bad mushy pasta in a steam table with industrial strength cream thickened heated glue as a sauce simmering for hours. Fit for animals not humans. Tired looking croissants with ham and cheese. Typical low end offerings like potato chips nutrigrain bars and other offerings that lack any creativity or excitement in snacking.
Sliced fresh fruit on the other hand was very nice as was a well stocked refrigerated glass door beverage center.
Pellegrino has since replaced Perrier water which is not my preference but we don’t fly for our favorite brands of water do we. Employees seem robotic and uninterested in passengers. The front desk team was slightly above average but not as good as past experiences with United First class lounge in past years that were heartfelt and engaged personally.

After an hour I made the transfer over to the older terminal where the A380 would depart and set foot in yet another lounge the dedicated Qantas lounge that can be described as long and narrow. It was just fair and crammed with pax.Not luxurious or memorable in any way. Offerings there too were slim however a real nice soup was offered and little snack items like olives and other little noshes. Nothing was bad just not good or exceptional in any way. The experience just fair or barely adequate. I looked forward with great anticipation to the meal service on board as typically Qantas excels with in flight dining in First.Being this was the A380 this could be extraordinary

The big moment came and the excitement was building as we all went to board. Qantas has improved here with separate lines for premium customers.
This has two huge benefits it moves the line quicker and gives privilege to those who fly premium cabins to breeze on board without waiting in massive lines.
There was a time when all cabin classes moved like one pack of herding cattle years ago when I reviewed my first QF premium cabin experience. It was one push shove heave for all which ended up as a major cluster **** and rattled nerves.It was interesting to note the improvement in most boarding areas within AU.It looks like they took a cue from their American partners in crime

Once on board the exceptional cabin crew sprung into action creating warm welcomes and heartfelt connections with pax.They were proud to be on board and gave the true spirit of AU & Qantas. The new cabin is indeed well done. Seating is superb overall with the largest tv screen that electronically moves the tv forward on an angle from the side wall at the touch of a button. The window shades have two coverings see through and black out and are also controlled by power/touch of a button. The dining table is stunning with real inlaid wood. Only lighting seems to have missed the mark while it is dramatic visually I would say what appears to be the attempt to use led lighting is somewhat of a failure IMO.First the multi position of the seat requires the ability for the light to function in various positions when seated or reclining. Reading was very difficult and the quality of lighting is odd with the blue led tint. For some reason the flight path screen was inoperative on this flight.
Interior seat lighting was the only failure I could isolate to any large degree

Noticeably missing and odd no nuts were offered on board (at least I wasn’t offered them)
As many already know there is a partnership with Neil Perry the restaurateur known for Rockpool fame.Mr.Perry is typically a food genius.Particullarly in Melbourne in my own experience. I was not impressed with the Sydney location. And way off topic both units frequently have terrible service problems something Neil Perry has vastly overlooked in his otherwise exceptional undertakings.Management sadly appears to be arrogant in the Melbourne location and some servers appear to take their unhappiness out on diners. Mind you these are isolated cases but glaringly apparent when one is spending 1000 dollars on dinner for a party of 5 or 6 people
However being a food genius doesn’t translate into up in the air execution where the best dishes can suffer the lack of professional line cooks and proper equipment to finish dishes correctly at the right temperatures and textures.

Canapes: Grissini with Herbed Goats cheese and black olives with roasted garlic
Choice of Cream of Cauliflower Soup with croutons and parmesan (very nice)
Smoked salmon celery and cucumber salad with caper mayo
Light meal options pumpkin and blue cheese pizza or steak sandwich with tomato and chili relish

Main Courses
Parsley and lemon crusted Sea Bass with braised fennel, sugar snap peas and crème fraiche
Roast Organic Chicken in rosemary broth with potato puree and broccolini

I was surprised that there were only two main options and not being a fennel fan I jumped at the chance to order the chicken.This is something Qantas has done well through the years. Seafood can always be a gamble anytime in the air
Presentation of plates/ dishes were highly attractive for in flight dining though they went back to plastic knives again. Word on the street is they will be bringing back the metal again. One of the things that Qantas catering has done exceedingly well in the past is bread. Sadly this was the worst offering I have ever seen with the typical US catering style bread supplied onboard
Rubbery soft crust and not salvaged by some basic heating. Even the fantastic Australian Joseph olive oil and nice quality butter couldn’t save the bread experience.

The chicken dish was killed by the creativity of the dish in the air.Chicken was essentially poached/ boiled in water as opposed to potted grilled or baked which could have held up better. When you steam for too long or leave in a heated broth you end up with tough stringy chicken. This is exactly what was served and was indeed disappointing. The brocccolini accompaniment was excellent. Side salad offered was rocket with choice of dressing
This once again was a fantastic brand standard of Qantas for many years as one of the choices was an excellent balsamic vinegar they bring in from Italy and then mixed with the outstanding Australian Joseph olive oil. Unfortunately it too was deeply disappointing Apparently Neil Perry departed from the Qantas outstanding tradition of putting on the delicious imported Italian balsamic with his own creation which tasted water drenched or void of any balsamic dressing at all.Talk about understated balsamic and oil

Dessert to which sounded great was disappointing I had the toffee pear pie (more a cake as I remember it) with cream anglaise and toasted macadamias.The cake was dry and unappealing the sauce saved it some however. In order for the dry cake to save face the sauce would have to coat and drench the dry cake and it would have worked successfully. It would also need to be served very hot like a sticky date pudding.
The other choice was Orange tart with date salad perhaps I should have tried that.........

All other snacks/desserts served in the galley were below Qantas high quality standards from the years past including my last flight in First to Syd last taken in 2008
In years past they had outstanding lemon tarts and beautiful bakery cookies with baskets of fruit. Even chocolates were common on the commercial side
My FA mentioned that I would be much happier with the catering out of Sydney in First.
She was 100% spot on with her assessment the food in all regards was vastly superior SYD to HK in First on the 747.
Here was the superior aircraft with inferior food yet the older 747 in First was inspiring (review to follow)Looks like the caterers in LAX need a bit more love on the job Sydney caterers for QF are gods !
I am not a wine expert however my colleagues always give praise to Qantas in this area.

Other thoughts Qantas once had classy looking pajamas in black with their logo on it that looked prestigious
The new pjs over the past number of years make large folks look larger and the look of the garment ugly and drab
The new amenity kits on the other hand are the best ever offered on any airline and feature a metal logo on them with legendary luxury retailer Georg Jensen name on them inscribed in metal.
Kudos for such a touch of class to a typically drab China import throw-away.I will keep and use mine and long remember the flight as a result
If only the same could be said for the Neil Perry food ruined by LAX caterers

So why was my flight so brilliant? even if the food service failed to meet its promise?......
The service was terrific as was my personal comfort
I felt appreciated was well looked after for my any needs and I was able to get one of the most comfortable nights rest I have had on any aircraft
I arrived into Sydney feeling better than I ever have historically. Now get this (read my lips) no jet lag and slept great my first night at my hotel/
This marks one of the first few times ever I didn’t take a few days to recover! Essentially I was good to go from day one with good energy and feeling ready to tackle any work or leisure activity

Knowing how excited I was to be on the A380 for the first time my wonderful FA insisted I tour the cockpit upon arrival and meet the pilots. At first I felt awkward to do so. I really wanted to run to clear customs before the sea of masses descended. However I remained on board and she escorted me into the cockpit where the pilots warmly welcomed me and even let me sit in the main pilots seat. I felt welcome and joked I felt like John Travolta up there or at least like a little kid fascinated by the control center of this big flying beast of an aircraft.We took some photos together shook a few hands and went on to clear customs and connect to Mel.
All in all a magical experience ^ with the exception of the elegant but mess hall chow beautifully presented by the passionate cabin crew
Even the typically not admired food service from American Airlines had superior food in First on a 777 from NRT to LAX this week with a big tasty tender filet mignon that had respectable flavor as any airline steak goes
Though the filets on domestic AA routes could easily be substituted for tires anytime the new A380 is in need of replacements
Cheers

Next review QF SYD to Hong Kong in First if anyone is still alive after the rambling review here