flyer200

Next in my occasional series on BA v QF we move to Domestic.

I won't compare with a specific BA domestic flight as that's not really comparable but the flightI am referencing was BNE - SYD in Y, 90 minute flight, akin to Amsterdam I suppose. We are doing a bunch of QF domestic so I hope the comments reflect that.

So let's view this as Euro traveller V QF domestic.

In a nod to the illustrious @Raffles I will include the pre flight aspects

• Checkin / Bag drop / security
  • Fully electronic bag drop with QF, equivalent to first wing for myself as Gold, excellent care for my less abled wife, super fast and straight to the lounge
  • Winner QF (marginally)
• Special assistance for my wife
  • This can be hit and miss with BA but usually good, QF were great incluiding getting an 'ambassador' for boarding.
  • Winner Draw
• Lounges
  • I'm confused by the QF business lounges v QF club lounges domestically but we went to the business lounge and it was better than BA GC but GF would surpass for me. Will give this to QF as they don't fuss about number of guests, so family of four were through no drama. The lounge was super. Great selection of food and drinks and super spacious.
  • Winner QF (Ba would win if all pax had access to GF)
• Plane
  • 737 on all the QF flights so far, fine in my opinion. If you are in J they have dedicated, larger seats. Probably marginally better than our 319s/320s
  • Winner draw
• CC
  • No point in faffing around here, it's BA, it's always going to be BA
    • Winner BA
• Food / Beveredges
  • BA BOB
  • QF warm snack (pork rolls) and soft drink - no emerald alcoholic drink offered (this is very hot and miss and I'm too polite to ask)
  • Winner QF
• IFE
  • BA none
  • QF streaming APP is awesome, download app in advance to your ios/android device then stream all sorts of movies and TV - this is the future, really great
  • Winner QF

Overall whilst Long haul on QF is something I am not looking to rush back to their domestic is pretty great. I wish we had a few of those little enhancements on BA like food and the QF streaming app.

Dan72

Agree with a lot of your observations, but it is a different market with different prices. It appears most passengers prefer BA's prices, which has shaped the product they offer. In terms of inflight offering, QF have cut back quite significantly on what they previously offered, but obviously it is more than what BA now offer.

On QF lounges. They are nice spaces, but the hospitality is more limited than that available at BA GCs, particularly in respect of alcohol, where only wine and beer are available in the domestic QF lounges and only at certain times. Certainly no option of a glass of champagne, albeit on request, as is available at the BA GC.

subject2load

jk156

I'd agree with most of this - although I'd argue that the First Wing at T5 is a greater amenity for GCH than the OP gives credit. It's certainly vastly better than any experience I've had (whether domestic or international) at any Australian airport! The electronic tags that QF give their frequent fliers are neat, but then again they have the advantage of their SH network being largely domestic and therefore a true 'network' rather than hubs and outstations.

On the lounge point - I've always enjoyed the QF domestic business class lounges, but they are just nice business class lounges. If I were a OWS and only able to access the Qantas Club when travelling Y, I'd be less impressed.

And going slightly off topic here, but it's worth recognising that this is the corollary of QF having such superb international F lounges... as a GCH using T5 I can access the same nice/middling GF lounge whether I'm on a £49 domestic HBO fare or a £4000 CW ticket, whereas QF have the ability to segment their offering between their so-so domestic lounge offering and world-class international lounges. The comparisons either way need to bear this in mind.

babats

Down under do they have competition on domestic routes? If so then airlines probably have to try a little bit harder to provide a decent service else they lose custom.

In the UK it very much fly BA (mainline or CF) or get the train as the domestic services are really there to feed regional pax into BA's hubs at LHR / LCY (and not forgetting day trippers mainly for business). Thus the need for a winning proposition doesn't really exist.

LTN Phobia

QF domestic Business lounge: J ticket or OWE only (can't remember if some kind of a EK status gets you in too, it might do, I don't know).
QF domestic Qantas Club lounge: J ticket, OWE, OWS, or Qantas Club members (can't remember if some kind of a EK status gets you in too, it might do, I don't know).

They do have a pretty strong competitor in the form of Virgin Australia. In the early days they were called Virgin Blue and pretty much the LCC model but they have morphed into a pretty good non-LCC carrier (a somewhat unusual development, you could say) and is very much a full-on competitor to QF on domestic routes.
In addition QF have their own LCC, Jetstar, and Virgin Australia has its affiliated LCC, Tiger. So there are four airlines prying many of the domestic routes.

Where there is a much more stark difference between BA short haul and QF short haul than economy class is business class, where QF has dedicated J seats, however, if you look at the lowest cost of a J seat for the equivalent duration, you also see a very stark difference. Different markets...

subject2load

anniegray

I don't care for the QF lounges or flights.
However on a recent domestic flight from Melbourne to Sydney, business class, we flew on a brand new plane, lie flat seats with the sash seat belts. Very nice it was too

sxc

Andriyko

I think it's the lack of competition that keeps the prices high and the sandwich present. I believe as recently as 3 years ago QF had a little over 60% of the domestic market. I don't think any airline holds that huge of a share on the intra-European market. There is so so much more competition in Europe. History shows that if an airline has to compete that airline does not add a sandwich but lowers the costs and offers cheaper prices instead.

But I'd agree with Dan72. While it was interesting to read the OP's thoughts, these are two very different markets and I am not sure what is the relevance of such a comparison.

PAL62V

The Australian domestic market has, as mentioned, only four real airlines, of which just two offer real competition for the business traveller. Because the distances are so vast, travelling between main centres in Oz has to almost exclusively be done by flying (500 miles between Syd and Mel) and so there is a large number of customers who fly between cities that in the UK we would drive or take the train. Fares are therefore much higher but my impression has always been that the service is a bit better on QF/VA compared with BA's domestic or SH offering.

Must keep in mind though that the chance of flying in Y between say Syd and Mel for the cost of flying between say LHR and EDI is nigh impossible. Far lower fares here and of course very cheap avios offerings (8000 plus £17.50 taxes) so I guess you get what you pay for.

Telecasterman

Hi, Ive done this run many times with Mrs T. Interesting points.

1. I like both BA and QANTAS staff equally
2. Lounges are, well lounges. One exception is being able to bring my family into the domestic departure lounge at Brisbane, its a nice touch and helps when saying goodbye to your loved ones.
3. Biz product on QANTAS domestic great and good redemption value. Always looked after as OWE.
4. The app - yeah great love watching the latest movies etc...on my iPad.
5. A side note on QF staff - BA had cancelled my wife's biz avios booking without any notification, prob an IT glitch. Anyhow the QF staff at SYD were amazing, they could see the booking and the admin mess up. They had her booking reinstated asap, no fuss, re issued her ticket and sorted the seats. All v professional.

Dan72

Like you, alcohol is not a big part of lounge visits for me. More often than not I am arriving at the lounge in the morning, when there is no alcohol at all. At lunch, I have spotted lots of wine and beer, but never seen any spirits on display. Good to know, if I ever need it... that it's available on request.

On Business/Club lounge differentiation, to their credit QF lounge staff are good at directing you to the business lounge if you're entitled. First time I went I was unaware that there would be two lounge offerings.

Yachtman

As an expat who moved from the UK to Australia 5 years ago, I would choose QF over BA any day, but thats because they are different products for different markets. The quality of the lounges with QF vary significantly from the Qantas Club through to the First and Chairmans club. The Perth Domestic Business lounge for instance has a some sommelier at a dedicated wine bar and a pizza oven, the Sydney domestic business lounge on the flip side is much busier and more practical. The Perth-Sydney-Perth flights have always been a favourite of mine, fantastic crew, great seats and great food. I'd choose the personal friendly touch of QF/BA over the serious almost clinical service on Asian & Middle Eastern airlines any day.
The aircraft also tend to be clean and well maintained unlike many of the BA aircraft, in addition to providing a real business class seat on short haul services. But again this is all down to what the market wants. If real business seats and proper meals on European flights were in demand and people were willing to pay for it, I'm sure it would exist.

flyer200

There was indeed spirits available in the lounge we were in