2nd July 2019
QF63 SYD-JNB
1055-1700
Qantas 747-400ER
Seat 5J

Some of you may or may not know that I had a brief dalliance with the cabin crew in the early 2000s; my primary aircraft was various iterations of 747 and as such it still holds a very special place for me


For this flight I had selected 5J, which is one of two seats on the main deck which do not have a seat next to them and thus highly recommended for a solo traveller




The state of the surroundings led me to believe QF is taking their cleaning cues from BA, however I was overall happy with my choice
This seat has the added benefit of a massive storage locker accessible while seated

Pyjamas, menus and amenity kits were distributed
My whinge at this stage is that the smallest PJ size is M/L which is quite large on what I would describe as average sized females. I am led to believe they used to stock S/M but these have been enhanced away
My policy is not to change until after take off but I was just about the only one not already in “uniform” at push back

There were pre-departure bubbles; other than a disproportionate love of the 1992 vintage Dom Perignon I'm not much of a champagne snob; I'm not sure which one of the 4 listed on the menu they were but were perfectly drinkable

Astonishingly given this service’s track record, we boarded and pushed back more or less on time

This flight is blocked at around 14 hours which makes the catering something of a challenge
Shortly after take off, there was a further drink service with snacks

The purser, who I think was called James, came around the cabin to greet the many business class passengers. He was an utterly delightful gentleman, very humble and charming. I asked if I could visit the flight deck on arrival (I explained my history so that he hopefully knew I wasn't a complete maniac)- he said he would ask "the boys". I asked galley FM for some hints on the 747 retirement plans- he advised a lot was still up in the air but that the SYD 747 cabin crews also operate a330 services

The cabin crew looking after my section (unfortunately sleep deprivation and time has affected my memory for names) was also charming and I felt very well looked after. The SYD-JNB and vv flight in general seems to get fairly poor reviews. She explained that she tries to bid off it if at all possible- I imagined this would be due to the flight length or possibly the passenger demographics but she said it was because the extreme southerly flight path meant they had far more cosmic ray exposure than on most of the 747 routes.

After these introductions lunch was served



I have become conditioned to have a preference and also a second preference when ordering business class meals
Happily my first choice was available for all 3 courses

Tables were set and drinks served from a cart, with dishes themselves hand delivered subsequently

To start I opted for the roast pumpkin soup with garlic and thyme croutons

It was tasty but not that memorable
Qantas makes a big deal of Neil's vinaigrette on everything. Again, seemed fairly ordinary to be but then I suppose it's not intended for idiot territorians

For main I went with the vegetarian option, pan fried polenta with braised greens, mushroom ragout and salsa verde

The polenta was really good. The rest had good flavour but was a bit oily/liquidy

Most of the rest of the cabin seemed to choose the fish which we were reminded of for the next several hours

Deserts were brought on a cart meaning it was possible to look and then choose. I went for the chocolate mousse with sour cherries and toasted almonds

This was not terrible but certainly was not that great, the chocolate flavour being extremely subtle. The cherry was the highlight

I'm not sure if the IFE was deliberately loaded with African themed content but I did think it was highly appropriate to watch Invictus during the lunch service; subsequently I enjoyed The Last King of Scotland during dinner