kpc

I agree with you. Most, if not all the info in the publication, is just a glossary summary of what you can find on the travel forums, in partic. AFF and FT.

Princi

I'm in the SYD domestic Business Class lounge now, and I must say I'm a little disappointed. Some new chairs, more space, long bench table with cutlery...

big deal

Although there seems to an artificial wall (covered in a dot painting print) that will probably come down tomorrow as part of the official launch with AJ.

I was hoping to get a sneak peak today :-(

justin_krusty

I'm in there now. More space which is welcome, without that it would be hard to find a spot now. The antipasto food has improved. Waiter wandering around with plates of warm olives (yeah weird).

The biggest problem I have with the lounges is they always put the chairs in groups of 2 or 4, when the majority of people fly alone. So 1 person ties up 2 chairs (no one wants to share with a stranger). Using more of long low benches like PER would help with this.

drewbles

Have to agree with the seating. PER used to have the one window bench which was great, and the others running parallel.

The new setup works brilliantly, in fact, I really do like the new PER QP. It's amazing how much larger it is, and how many more hi-viz's they can now squeeze in

I've spent some time in the MEL and revamped SYD J lounge in the past week as well, and it looks like the MEL lounge has started to get the new buffet menu but no sign of the island dining just yet.

Seeing as anytime access to the J lounge was never an official benefit, it's nice to see with the loss of ATA they're actually bringing things up in quality at least (don't get me wrong, i'd still like anytime access back).

nonce

Announced by QF today, sadly Neil Perry is still in charge of catering so no significant changes. I was hoping that they were announcing new hard product such as domestic AVOD and refitting of the 767 cabins to the 777 style interior.

justin_krusty

http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn...010/nov10/5042

The New Qantas Domestic Experience
Business Class
• New Neil Perry designed seasonal menu changing weekly with matching wines selected by the Qantas Wine Panel
• Addition of an entrée course on trans Continent and trans Tasman flights
• Customer Service Manager hosting Business Class passengers
• Silver service in the Business Cabin
• Appropriate time of day offering (i.e. antipasto platters in the afternoon)
Qantas Business Lounges
• New Neil Perry designed seasonal menu changing weekly
• New tray around snack service in the morning and evening
• Island dining offering a "plate of the day" with matching wine
• Appropriate time of day meal offerings and increased portion sizes
• Enhanced environment with new furnishings including Qantas signature Akira Isogawa fabric feature walls and custom lounge furniture designed specifically for Qantas
• Qantas Signature Moooi Light pendants in contrasting sizes which animate the bar area
• Enhanced environment with fresh flowers and a new scent specifically designed for Qantas by Air Aroma
• New Apple Mac technology
Economy Class
• New Neil Perry influenced seasonal menu changing weekly with matching wines selected by the Qantas Wine Panel
• Complimentary Bar from 4pm on all CityFlyer flights
• New premium breakfasts
• New range of hot dinners
• Enhanced refreshments and seasonal fruit
• Enhanced personal recognition for Frequent Flyers by Cabin Crew
Qantas Clubs
• New Neil Perry influenced seasonal menu changing weekly
• Signature Italian wood fired pizza
• Candy Bar
• New Apple Mac technology
• Enhanced environment with a new scent and fresh flowers

Princi

Ah - so they didn't show the new business class seats after all...

chrisb

How do you do wood fired pizza in the middle of an airport terminal?

bugayev

personal welcome from cabin crew, that's nice.. I also like the look of weekly changing menus in Y class. Whether or not that means the death of the lamb curry and spag with meatballs.. we can only hope!

Then again..

This week's lamb curry served with peas
Next week's lamb curry served with beans
The following week's lamb curry served with pumpkin

yemanlj

When will these enhancements be implemented? Is there going to be a noticeable difference onboard?

AndDee

So basically a few changes to the menu.

No new seats
No new/introduced AVOD

Boring indeed

Coathanger

Good to hear that Qantas is enhancing it's offering.

On a SYD-BNE lunch flight last week the offering was a measly cheese sandwich and a napkin. Thankfully for the BNE-SYD dinner flight a decent hot meal (oyster sauce chicken with rice and seasonal greens) was offered on a tray.

It will be interesting to see how the Italian wood fired pizza plays out but at least they are providing a healthy alternative to spring rolls and party pies.

DownUnderFlyer

Calling Pizza A healthy alternative is a good one. ^

Maybe it will be similar to what they have been offering in SIN for years.

justin_krusty

It was similar, the same big slabs in a tray as SIN but perhaps more "artisan" albeit in a try-hard way. The base was thinner, and it actually tasted better than i expected, but end of the day it was some reheated soggy dough with dry tomato paste and melted cheese (there was a pumpkin one too), which if was served to you in anything but a lunch bar, you would be less than impressed with. It's just a simple way of getting hot snack food out there cheaply, without resorting to pies.

It might be "signature" but I am glad it is not my signature.
(disclaimer: i just ate a really good meal, so perhaps i am being harsh when i remember the pizza now)

justin_krusty

Agreed. I was hoping for a 767 refit (787's aren't gonna be here anytime soon) with seatback AVOD.

The announcements were just fluff, and won't actually cost very much. Some of them aren't even new, eg: comp alcohol on flights after 4pm.