Second Sector: SYD-SIN QF F

We had breakfast at Rydges (a solid buffet, included in the tariff we chose) and then headed over (literally across the road from the hotel) to the SYD international terminal well ahead of the 3pm departure time. Check-in would have otherwise been over in a jiffy, save that as a dual Canadian-Australian citizen, I need to travel to the US on my Canadian passport (as I am not ESTA-eligible being Canadian). The dual thing can - and did on this occasion - cause a bit of a kerfuffle at check-in. But all was well, and we were soon in the QF F lounge at SYD.

Here I can provide a photo:



Once seated, I ordered the more-or-less compulsory salt & pepper squid:



I also enjoyed some champagne and a flat white (the best kind of coffee in the world).

Boarding was on-time, but there was a bit of a scrum at the gate and the far-too-common lack of boarding queue organisation by QF. While there was a separate lane for priority passengers, the entrance was blocked by the sign saying priority passengers board here. One day QF will get boarding right!

Once on board, I settled into my seat, the steward looking after my section of the F cabin introduced himself and I was offered a glass of champagne (Rare Millesime Brut), with some olives and mixed nuts. QF F's greatest strength is the hard product. It isn't the most advanced in the world in the sense that it doesn't have sliding doors or TV-sized screens, but it is comfortable and spacious. The A380 I was travelling on was refurbished, so things were looking clean and in good order.

After take-off, our steward took our lunch orders from the Neil Perry-curated menu (Neil Perry, an Australian chef who is now of some antiquity, has been designing QF menus for a very long time - nearly 27 years). There are some who think his time is done, but there's no signs of him going anywhere. I chose mushroom soup (my experience of years of flying QF F is that the soups are always good, and this was no exception), Balinese duck leg curry, cheese, and praline panna cotta (accompanied by a glass of De Bortoli Noble One botrytis riesling, my favourite sticky). QF F food is, in my experience, solid but not blingy (no caviar). Everything was good, with the duck leg curry particularly delicious. As for wine, I am not especially hung up about vintages and prices (other than for champagne perhaps), so I thought the Flowstone cabernet sauvignon I had with my meal was perfectly fine, and the Noble One was good as always.

Here's today's menu:





A thing that lets QF F down is the inconsistency of crews and service, and today's flight was no exception. The steward looking after me was perfectly nice and pleasant, but I'd describe the service as well-meaning but unpolished. Things were overlooked (I didn't get my side salad and had to ask for the rice accompanying my curry, +1 had to ask for bread, and things did not seem well-coordinated between the galley and the crew doing the cabin service). That said, I had some trouble with my IFE, and the Purser proactively offered some points as compensation for the inconvenience, which was a nice gesture.

As I mentioned, QF's F hard product on the A380 is very comfortable and spacious. A memory foam mattress is provided, and there's a choice of pillows so, if like me, you prefer a firmer pillow, that wish is QF's command. I spent the rest of the flight watching Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan in my comfortable bed. A pre-arrival into Singapore light meal was offered, but I did not partake as I was still full from lunch. I did enjoy what I think will be my last proper cup of tea until my BA sector in late September (sorry USA, you just cannot do proper English/Australian/Canadian tea correctly).

We landed on time in Singapore and headed to the Qatar Premium Lounge, to which we had access because our next flight was in a oneworld business class cabin.