Review: Qantas First Class SYD - SIN

After over a two-year hiatus, it was wonderful to see the Qantas superjumbo back in the skies; at one point during the pandemic we thought we may never see them back in the skies. The resurgence of international travel showed that clearly the so-called ‘pent-up demand’ was well and truly there for all to see. This led to Qantas deploying these birds much earlier than the first predicted time-frame of 2024.

This review chronicles our flight from Qantas’ hub airport, Sydney International to Singapore, aboard the flagship A380, which was recently refurbished.

Flight Number: QF 1

Aircraft: Airbus A380-800

Flight Date: 18th July 2022

Duration: 7 hrs 30 min

Booking

Qantas is notorious for making it very difficult to book first class seats using award points, however, whilst still in the midst of the Covid pandemic, I was very lucky to find a seat flying from Sydney to London Heathrow via Singapore using Qantas frequent flyer points.

I paid 216,900 points + AUD $418 in taxes and fees for a Sydney to London flight in First Class. The retail price for this flight is normally over AUD $ 10,000.

Ground Experience

Check In, Security and Immigration

The check in area for Qantas first class passengers in Sydney is an easy and smooth process, however, getting through security can be an annoying and frustrating procedure. There is a fast-track lane at Sydney International, however, security often send passengers from the regular lanes over there when it is busy and therefore the lines are extremely long.

For people that have Australian passports, the immigration process is fairly straight forward through e-gates.

It took approximately 35 minutes from the time I left the check in to get through past security and immigration.

Lounge

For passengers travelling in first class on Qantas, they use the Qantas First Class Lounge, which in my opinion continues to rank as one of the very best lounges globally. The lounge has amazing food, a spa, great amenities, beautiful décor and fantastic runway views for those of us that love aviation.

Boarding

The boarding announcement was made in the lounge, which prompted me to head towards Gate No.8 for boarding. Boarding was a mess, and this seems to be a problem that Qantas refuses to fix. There appears to be four lanes for boarding – First, Business + Premium Economy and two Economy lanes, however, these are there in name only. There is no enforcement of these lanes and staff don’t care who boards from where. Boarding took me 20 minutes from when I arrived to the gate to get to my seat.

Seat and Cabin

The Qantas A380 First Class cabin is located at the front of the bottom deck of the aircraft. It is configured in a 1-1-1 layout, with no middle seat in the first row, for a total of 14 seats. As you can see in the images below, the seat is beautiful, spacious and very comfortable.

I was seated in seat 2A – on the left hand-side of the aircraft. These seats are not suites, however, they remain one of the most popular in the sky. Even though these seats don’t have doors, there is plenty of privacy thanks to the angled shape of the seats and the high walls that almost ‘cocoon’ around.

Shortly after taking my seat, I was given some nuts, a drink and canapes. I was then presented a pair of Martin Grant pyjamas, slippers and an amenity kit. The male and female amenity kits are identical apart from the colour.

Just before 5 pm local time, we began the short taxi before departing from Runway 19R heading for Singapore. There were some beautiful sunset views as we climbed out of Sydney, however, you’re seated quite far from the window which makes it difficult for one to get great views out of the aircraft. Furthermore, the seats must be angled forward during take-off and landing, making it even harder to enjoy window views.

Onboard Lounge

The upgraded A380s sport a new lounge area in the upper deck where people from business and first can meet and mingle.

Entertainment

There is a good selection of entertainment available, but once again this falls short compared to what Emirates, Qatar Airways or Singapore Airlines offers. This aircraft was refurbished within the last 18 months, and it is disappointing that the TV screens (18 inches wide) remain considerably smaller when compared to the likes of Emirates, Qatar, Singapore Airlines and others.

The headphones offered are low quality, and once again, this is really disappointing when you consider that the major competitors offer high-quality, upmarket branded headphones in premium cabins.

There is no internet or wifi as Qantas A380s are not quipped with this. To some people this is not an issue as it is nice to have a break from being connected on the flight, while others possibly would prefer that connectivity in the sky.

Food & Drinks

Orders for dinner were taken shortly after take-off. As you can see in the menu below, the food options were quite nice. I struggled to choose what to eat as there were so many amazing choices, however, I settled for the signature steak sandwich and the beef fillet for dinner.

Qantas is notorious for doing two things well: lounges and food, and today’s flight was no different.

The signature steak sandwich is quite simply amazing. I was lucky enough to be allowed to order a second one on the flight – I highly recommend the steak sandwich for anyone, it definitely doesn’t disappoint.

While I thought I have had too much steak already, I just couldn’t avoid having the steak as a main, and once again, it was cooked to perfection. It was served with a choice of mustards, I chose hot English and seeded. It is difficult to get a good steak on a plane, however, this steak compares to steaks I’ve had at some great restaurants.

Service

The service on the flight was well intentioned but lacking and unrefined. There were constant delays in between food services and at times it was very difficult to find someone to help. When speaking to one of the flight attentands, he mentioned he hadn’t worked first class and was actually not supposed to be working today, however he was called up last minute. Qantas has been struggling with labour shortages across the whole company, and this was showing.

Final Thoughts

While Qantas First Class onboard their A380s don’t have WiFi, fancy amenity kits, large widescreen TVs or sliding doors, it is still easy to see why this product is one of the most sought after. The seat and bed are incredibly comfortable, offering plenty of privacy. When it comes to food, I can’t imagine many other airlines do it better than Qantas in premium cabins.

The main aspect that Qantas can and really needs to work on is the ground experience, especially at their hub airport. Boarding is a mess and this needs to be fixed as it can dampen the experience somewhat.

All in all, I do believe that Qantas First remains one of the best overall experiences out there.

Qantas First Class SYD - SIN