Paying $50 to choose my seat on this Qantas A380 was money well spent

The airline: Qantas

• Route Sydney to Johannesburg, flight QF63
• Frequency Six times a week.
• Aircraft Airbus A380-800
• Class Economy; seat 70H
• Flight time 14 hours, 30 minutes (delayed 45 minutes). It can be under 14 if the winds allow; the return trip is about 12 hours.

A Qantas Airbus A380 – the airline was first to fly this route with the superjumbo.

Checking in

Qantas introduced the A380 to its Sydney-Johannesburg route in September 2024, the first A380 service across the Indian Ocean by any airline. My booking was done through a travel agent. Under permutations of Qantas’ seat selection policy, it costs $50 to secure my preferred spot ahead of check-in time. This surprises me – but I pay up. Online, the seat map indicates the flight is not full, with possible free rows down the back and I’ve chosen a seat in one of these and hope for the best.

Baggage

One carry-on bag up to seven kilograms, two checked bags up to a total of 30 kilograms.

Loyalty scheme

Qantas Frequent Flyer. Qantas is a member of the oneworld alliance.

The seat

The economy-class jackpot – empty rows mean it’s time to spread out.

There are 341 economy seats in a 3-4-3 arrangement. I’m in 70H on the aisle and as the doors close, it’s my long-haul, economy-class dream come true – I’m alone in my three-seat row and can get horizontal. Offer me an exit row seat? No thanks. A premium economy seat? Nope, not budging. The cabin manager, however, announces everyone can move into spare seats after the seat belt sign goes off. So, when it does, I flip up the arm rests, flop down, cover myself with my blanket and become an immovable napping lump across the entirety of my real estate.

Entertainment + tech

Before take-off, a man in front of me is bantering with a flight attendant: “No Wi-Fi!” he exclaims. “But you’ve got literally hundreds of choices of movies and shows in our system,” she answers. I’m with him – no Wi-Fi does feel old hat, but Qantas is rolling out Wi-Fi on its A380s throughout 2025. The flight attendant is also correct about the entertainment system. There’s lots of cool content, including good new releases and a collection of Tim Burton movies. I’d forgotten how good Big Fish is.

Service

There’s something about hearing a flight attendant call someone “darl”, as in “Can you pull that window shade down for me please, darl?” that makes my heart stand up and sing “I still call Australia home”. They really are the best crews in the sky.

Food

We do not go hungry. Lunch is chickpea and zucchini pasta, prawns with garlic sauce and veggies, or chicken parmigiana with sweet potato mash. I choose the latter. It’s bland but fresh and filling. The second meal is a couscous and carrot dish, a chicken, or beef choice. Qantas virtually throws snacks at you between meals – cookies, dips, soy crisps and apple slices, of which I partake to stave off boredom. So, for dinner, I choose the couscous, the lightest option. It’s just too carrot-filled for me (the clue was in the title of the dish). But wait, there’s more – tasty arancini balls before landing.

Sustainability

Qantas was one of the first airlines in the world to set a plan for achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and capping net emissions at 2019 levels. This involves targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2030 and investing in carbon market projects.*

One more thing

Qantas is set to introduce new uniforms from 2027. The airline has announced it is on the hunt for the perfect designer and will consult those wearing the new gear via a workforce-wide survey on the direction of the first major uniform redo in more than a decade.

The price

From about $2000 return in economy. **

The verdict

My row 70 fiefdom aside, A380 space is unsurpassed. The number of loos for economy class alone feels comfortingly humane – this cabin has seven, including one wheelchair accessible. Add in the terrific Qantas crew, and these 14.5 hours pass pleasantly.

Our rating out of five

★★★★

The writer flew as a guest of andBeyond. See andbeyond.com; qantas.com

*For more information about air travel and sustainability, see iata.org

**Fares are based on those available for travel three months from the time of publication and subject to change.