The best part of this trip was that I was actually able to obtain a seat on the front section of the Business class which had 3 rows of seats giving it a more quiet feel. I got around to placing my bags into the overhead bins and realized the ones on the side are smaller and it seems upper decks always have smaller overhead bin which is to be expected. However, it was still good enough though to fit my bags.


Onboard QF94

The flight steward soon came over and offered drinks and I chose to go with orange juice. Both flight stewards serving the front section of the Business class seems to have the aura of English butlers and it was really respectable for an airline to have such great staff quality. Something different from the usual female stewardess!


Welcome drink of orange juice


Business class lounge on the upper deck

Blankets and pillows were already at the seat and I really liked the Qantas grey and red seats which Garuda has also adopted for their Executive class seats. There was also the flight menu which could be hanged by the front so that the steward could bring food for a later dining time and also allow travelers to pre-order their breakfast. I filled mine up and specifically requested not to be served with beans. From the choices, I am expecting a very nice spread for breakfast before arrival. Great feature that is not found on Cathay. I am loving the little details so far. My window seat also had a stowage area by the side which meant I could place my pillow and blankets by the side for the moment. But the stowage bin was a bit dirty and even had some leftover almonds stuck on the edge. I also had time to explore the mini lounge by the front of the aircraft which had an array of magazines and the nice backlit Qantas logo at the bulkhead by the stairs.


Breakfast menu


Nut stuck in storage bin

By 23:20, everyone has boarded and the plane's door closed, though the plane remained stationary as it seems to be a busy time for LAX with several international departures going on. The only drawback so far is the lack of footrests while on the ground waiting for take off and no entertainment either since the TV is hidden away. This was unlike seats in First and Economy I think. At least the narrow Cathay seats had an ottoman for resting one's travel-weary leg up while waiting on the ground. But I am not going to let this small issue affect my mood. While waiting the captain came back with news that the fuel tract is broken and they're trying to fix it, but well take your time since I am well relaxed in my nice seat up there the delay continued until 12 midnight when the plane started its pullback behind a CX service to Hong Kong. While waiting on the ground, the crew started to pass out amenity kits to passengers. The crew also came around with special editions of the Sydney Morning Herald for passengers.


Sydney Morning Herald - Qantas special edition


Amenity kit in business class


Taking off from LAX

Finally the plane took off for the night skies at 00:21, nearly an hour behind schedule, and it seems I just do not get an on time departure ever on the A380. Hot towels were soon provided to passengers after take off and I found the towels to be thinner and gets cold really fast. SIA's hot towels are still the best ever and they even provide it to economy class passengers! The flight steward then went around with trolleys filled with pyjamas and water bottles. I got offered a medium size one which i think should fit me quite well. They also mentioned that Australian customs forms will also be given out shortly. I changed into my pyjamas before settling into the seat.


Pyjamas and bottled water

Returning to my seat, the flight steward soon came over and offered beverages and enquired my choice for supper and I requested for the lamb option. The supper menu for the flight was:

SUPPER

Our extensive Rockpool designed menu allows you to enjoy a completely personalised dining experience. You can choose the full menu after take-off, or if you prefer to dine later, simply complete the dine-later card for collection by your Flight Attendant.

MAIN COURSES

Toasted Ciabatta with Pastrami, Cheddar, Slow Cooked Tomatoes and Dijon Mustard

Big bowl of Minestrone with Pesto *Healthier option

Seared Steelhead Salmon with Radish, Celery and Lemon Salsa and Fingerling Potatoes

Roast Rack of Lamb with Caper and Olive Sauce, Broccolini and Cannellini Beans

Green Leaf Salad with Asparagus and Cucumber

DESSERT

Selection of Seasonal Cheese and accompaniments

Chocolate and Pistachio Semifreddo with Poached Cherries

Sliced Fresh Fruit

CHOCOLATES

Valrhona Chocolates

REFRESHMENT

Enjoy a range of snacks and drinks at any time throughout your flight. Your Flight Attendant will be pleased to prepare your selection or simply snack from our inflight bar.

Toasted Ciabatta with Pastrami, Cheddar, Slow Cooked Tomatoes and Dijon Mustard

Char Grilled Zucchini and Ricotta Pizzette with Rocket Leaves

Sea Bass, Leek and Dill Pot Pie

Jalapeņo Tortilla Chips

Oat Cookie with Chocolate Ganache

Whole Seasonal Fruit

Ice Cream Tubs

Chocolate Bars

The first course was a salad platter with some sort of soy vinaigrette and there was whole meal or white bread to choose from. I also got the 2008 Cookoothama Botrytis Semillon which was a nice dessert wine, sweet and fragrant, but not as fruity as the ice wines of Canada. The lamb that came was good and much better than other lamb dishes I have ever tried on a plane. However, the middle of the lamb chop was a bit on the rare side...


Meal service set-up with appetizer of salad


Roast rack of lamb for supper


A bit on the rare side...


Qantas iQ home screen

While having the meal I took the opportunity to watch a movie from the iQ system of Qantas. I really liked the touch screen function and the nice name of the inflight entertainment. Though the selection of movies pales in comparison to Cathay's StudioCX. What it wins in is the ease of use of the system and how it just works instead of failing on me in CX.


Chocolate cake for dessert

Dessert was chocolate cake and I also requested for the fruit platter since it is my habit to have some fruits after every dinner/supper and I didn't have any at the lounge.There was an additional beverage service and I got a cup of hot chocolate to come with the dessert. The chocolate cake was delicious and the poached cherries made it even more wonderful. I would have to say I enjoyed the dessert most.


Dessert with hot chocolate


Watching Silence of the Lambs

After finishing dessert, I checked out the various parts of the jet to digest the food. From what I can see, Qantas has a pretty good premium economy product, they even have similar snack bar at the back. I walked to the end of the A380 on what appears to be a full flight and head down the stairs towards the economy cabin, which was quiet and noticed that there wasn't any crowd at the back galley.

On returning back to the upper deck, I noticed an enclosed drew rest area behind the small premium economy cabin. Back in my seat, I restarted the psychological thriller 'Silence of the Lambs' the first of the Hannibal Lecter movies. Having read 'Hannibal' and watched 'Red Dragon', I chose this from the Oscar selections in the iQ system. It was a fitting portrayal of Hannibal though being tired out from the day's activities, I fell asleep halfway through and converted the seat to the full recline mode. Again compared to CX's lie flat seats, I would have to say Cathay's old Herringbone system was equally good and provided as much shoulder room as Qantas on it's business class. In fact by making sure all the seats connects to the aisle, the seats on Cathay was much more private and perfect for the single traveler. Though the A380 wins by a long distance on cabin comfort and noise, and this is all that matters in the long haul service. Even with the turbulence encountered along the way as we cross the Pacific, the plane felt stable and comfortable so much so that I was able to get a nice 4 hours sleep.