‘Disappointing’: My Qantas business class experiences were miles apart

The national carrier offers the premium cabin on three different types of planes. Although the seats are identical, the experience is miles apart. We compare the A380 with the B787 and rivals such as Qatar and Emirates.

Business class on the Qantas Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

When it comes to business class seats, no one can accuse Qantas of being inconsistent. Save for cosmetic differences, business class seats on Qantas’s three different types of wide-body aircraft – the A380, B787 and A330 – are identical. Book a business class ticket with Singapore Airlines and you could end up sitting in one of five different types of seat. Qatar Airways goes one better with six. You might therefore assume that the aircraft type doesn’t matter on a Qantas long-haul flight in business class. But as I’ve recently found, the overall quality of experience can differ significantly.

I’ve used Qantas points to snag a business class seat on an A380 flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles. I’m allocated seat 28A, in the last row of the 70-seat business class cabin. Having previously flown business class on Qantas’s B787 from Melbourne to Dallas Fort Worth, I’m expecting a comparably excellent experience. But it’s continents apart.

The service on the A380 is not great.

From the moment I sit down it’s clear the crew (who seem tense and harried) are struggling to attend to all the passengers. My welcome glass of Champagne takes forever to arrive, and the crew member is back to collect the glass approximately 30 seconds later. My request for a minute to finish is met with a stern, “I need to clear it now.” Around me I notice fellow passengers doing their best impression of the six o’clock swill. It’s a sobering reminder, perhaps, that unlike the B787 and A330, where business class flyers are top dogs, we’re effectively second-class citizens compared with first-class passengers on the superjumbo.

With the flight well under way and lunch service nowhere in sight, I take a wander to the front of the cabin to check out the onboard lounge (no one tells you there’s an onboard lounge, by the way, but I guess travel is about the joy of discovery). It’s a cosy, dimly lit space, with olive-green leather lounges arranged into conspiratorial booths, perfect for closing business deals or stoking elicit affairs.

Qantas business class on the A380.

I return to my seat and lunch is eventually served, sans the promised aperitivo. I ask the crew member about this oversight, and she insists my aperitivo was indeed served.

I politely explain that I generally have good recall for whether or not a roast pumpkin and mozzarella arancini ball and a glass of white wine spritz has recently arrived my way. After some farcical back and forth her eyes light up and she says, “Oh, you must have been in the lounge.” Then without further comment, moves on.

Not once am I offered a top-up of wine after lunch. In economy class this would be considered inattentive; in business it’s inexcusable. A hot breakfast that doesn’t live up to its modifying adjective is served so close to our landing I start to wonder whether customs might be cleared before the trays.

The slack service surprises me, given how attentive (to the point of fawning) crew were on the B787, so I raise my concerns with the customer service manager. With admirable candour she confesses that crew are stretched to their limit on the A380, that more galley space is sorely needed on the top deck, and that my position in the posterior of the cabin undoubtably contributes to my disappointing experience.

Qantas Airbus A380 landing on tarmac at Sydney Airport.

I’m also seated next to the toilet, and the conga line of people to and fro highlights the woeful ratio of toilets to passengers, which is a sometimes overlooked but important consideration in premium cabins. Qantas A380s used to have four toilets in business class, but two disappeared during the latest cabin revamp, leaving just two for 70 passengers. A further two are shared with premium economy passengers, making it four toilets for 130 passengers, or one for every 32.5 passengers. The B787, in comparison, has three toilets in the 42-seat business class cabin, or one for every 14 passengers. But despite these drawbacks, there’s a compelling reason for booking business class on the A380, and it has nothing to do with just the class of travel. Many Qantas frequent flyers prefer to book business class on the superjumbo simply for the opportunity of upgrading to first class (try doing that on an aircraft with no first class). The onboard lounge is also a nice perk. And if you can snag a seat in the more exclusive front section of the business class cabin (rows 11 – 15, typically allocated to Platinum passengers) there’s every chance cabin crew will notice you exist. (Note: alternating A and K business class seats on the A380 also have an extra storage bin under the window.)

How business class seats on other airlines compare

Emirates flies both A380s and B777s on Australian routes. The A380’s stylish direct aisle access business class seats have long been a favourite, but B777 passengers have had to put up with outdated seats, arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration involving stepping over your neighbour (or being stepped over). These planes are being retrofitted with the A380-style business class seats, and new, fully enclosed, “game changer” first class suites. They operate the daily Melbourne-Dubai service, but Adelaide and Perth passengers will have to put up with the older style B777 seats for a while longer.

The newly refurbished Business Class on Emirates.

Singapore Airlines flies five types of aircraft to Australia, with the same number of business class configurations. All except the B737, which flies to Darwin, have lie-flat seats, and despite the vast age discrepancy no particular seat style comes out as the clear winner (although the seats on the 777s and some of the A350s have the disadvantage of needing to be physically flipped over for sleeping). Only the A380 is fitted with the new fully enclosed first-class suites, and its business class seats are the best choice for couples, with the middle seats converting to something you could almost call a double bed.

Qsuite on Qatar B777-300ER, which only goes to Doha from Melbourne and Brisbane.

Qatar Airways raises the business class bar with its self-contained “Qsuite”, which is frequently rated the best business class product in the world, with sliding doors for privacy and flexible configurations. Qsuites are aboard Qatar’s 777s flying from (and to) Doha to Melbourne and Brisbane, and its A350s flying the Adelaide route. Sydney and Perth are served by Qatar Airways A380s, featuring first class.

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