grov

A little confused, since you state "refurbished", but then refer to the old Skybed Mk I seating.
Row 1 has bulkhead-mounted monitors and water bottle containers. IIRC, the seats are also slightly narrower, with the magazine container and water bottle areas removed. I found the water bottles too far away when lying down.
Many prefer Row 16 UD - not much passing traffic up there. However, my partner prefers to be "cosy" in other rows.
Some like LD to deplane quickly, other prefer the isolation of UD.

djpjapan

The reply is a month old but given these planes aren't disappearing any time soon on the QF21/22 routes it's still worth answering. I typically fly that route ~4 times a year but often indirect on CX which schedule permitting I don't mind due to cheaper price, better service and more SCs.

But back to QF ... I always fly that route solo and my seat of choice has been 16K. Flew that route last week and booked 16K in advance but on checkin was offered 4K. First time they had offered the F seats for me and actually don't know if I had access to preselect them previously as never bothered looking outside of row 16.

I appreciated the flat F seat in 4K and the service/attitude from the FAs seemed better than you usually get in the UD. But 4F is very close to you and there are no seat mate blinds to hide them across the aisle. There is also a window behind 4K that the FAs leave open the whole flight so light coming in.

I think I was also a bit unlucky in that 4F didn't want to sleep at all on the flight which made my experience worse than it should have. At one point 4E (4F's girlfriend) climbed over the divider and was straddling him. I ended up aborting trying to sleep as I wasn't working that next day anyway.

So what would I pick next time...
If it's F Zone A ... Solo 1A or 1K ... Couple 3E/F
If it's Mk1 Zone A ... Solo 16K ... Couple 16 J/K ... I hate climbing or being climbed on and 4E/F is too close to B/J

djpjapan

Oh - and on Row 16 traffic ... The QF21/22 route being a red eye means no one ever loiters, so no problem at all. Also had that row on QF5 on the SYD-SIN arvo flight and didn't have an issue either.

While I think of it too, since it gets asked a lot, expanding Zone A rule on these planes:
No row 4 = Mk2
Row 4 config 2-2-2 = Mk1
Row 4 config 1-2-1 = F in Zone A and Mk1 in J

ChasingDaylight

I presume seats in F on A380 are all largely great, and I've seen Seat Guru's thoughts, but has anyone got any personal experience with 1A/1K?

mad_atta

Just how bad are these seats? I've had the exit row window seat on other airlines' 744s and even though I had to be twisted around a bit, I still found it preferable to a regular seat. However it has been a while, and the above photo does make it look pretty bad. Any thoughts?

Also, is it possible as a non-elite to get the 744 exit row windows pre-allocated? I know you can't allocate them online, and QF don't sell them at the exit row rate, but if you specifically ask for one will they allow you to have it for just the regular seat allocation fee?

RooFlyer

I found 1K suffered from proximity to the toilets (a matter of traffic, not toilet noise etc) and also being next to the cupboard where they stow the bedding. FAs are accessing this cupboard pretty regularly in the first and last 1/3 of the trip. You also get a flash of light when the curtains are opened to the toilet/stairs area.

1A would be similar, but there would be less traffic, as only the 'A' column uses this aisle. Some regular F travellers are fans of 1A.

My preferred seat is 2A, 3A or 4A but any seat in F is quite OK!

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

they are ok if you are travelling with someone because as Serfty says - your legs will need to be angled to the left (or right) and will encroach on your neighbour's space.

Qantas used to have the seats marked with some sort of annotation like 'for allocation last' implying those seats were only to be allocated if the plane was full (or I guess unless someone specifically asked for them).

Some people like to put their feet up on the slide bussel, but you're not supposed to do that and some FAs will ask you to remove your feet if you do it.

og

That seat has no leg room. Avoid it. You can only sit sideways for so long - a real problem on a long flight or if the person next to you is not comfortable with you taking their leg room.

I once was in the aisle seat of that row and a tall (6'4") guy headed to the K seat and I saw the expression drain from his face as he saw his lack of leg room and he said "this seat sucks". He eventually found a centre seat further back.

And yes, you can put your feet on the slide raft container, but they slip off due to the angled top and slippery plastic. During flight some will mingle at the door space and rest against the slide raft container - or sit on it. Not pleasant for those seated in this exit row.

mad_atta

Thanks for the comments. Best avoided I guess!

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

then move them on... sitting is expressly prohibited on the slide container. the last thing you want is the slide unrolling into the cabin. putting feet on there is likewise a silly idea.

GrizShel

On the 747-400 between BNE / Brisbane and LAX do Row 14 (exit row) Upper deck business class seats have more leg room than in the other rows on the upper deck?

The Qantas website shows available seats in Row 14 but I see in ExpertFlyer a notation that Qantas blocks these (and a bunch of ther seats) for pre-assignment. I am wondering if I can really select these seats - or will my selection just get kicked back and I'll be left without a seat assignment?

Do you have any other preferred business class seats on this flight?

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

if you can select the seats in the qantas website then they'll stick.

NE flier

My wife and I are planning to go from sin to cns october and I was hoping the experts on this board could help me pick the most comfortable aircraft.

We appear to have the option of flying on a 747 connecting through bne or a 330 connecting through syd. do both of these planes feature the old skybed I? Is there a chance either might have the skybed II?

how does qf assign the seats I the old f cabin? Is it first come first serve, based on status, or something else?

Does anyone have thoughts on which flight product would be better with an infant?

Tia for all of your help!

igel

QF 52 SIN-BNE is usually operated the refurbished B744 with the skybed II
QF 6 SIN-SYD when operated by B744 is sometimes older B744 with old F sold as business (and skybed I), sometimes 3 class B744 (skybed I), sometimes also refurbished B744 (skybed II) - YMMV

davem4

Flying from SYD-HKG again
Premium Economy on QF127/QF128

Worth the 25,000 points to upgrade one leg to business?

Would you suggest the flight over on the 747-400 (I have an exit row Premium) it is a daytime flight. Or the 380-800 back (I have the last row Aisle) overnight flight?