Review of Qantas flight Melbourne → Tokyo in Economy

Introduction

Back in January this year, I flew on a Qantas Airways A330-300 from Melbourne to Tokyo Narita. There was a slight delay, however, the flight overall was a great experience.

Qantas flies there A330-300 from Melbourne and Brisbane to Tokyo Narita, and a mix of A330-300 and B787-9 from Sydney to Tokyo Haneda.

At the airport

Melbourne Tullamarine Airport was rather quiet with not many queues at the counters. Check-in ended quick and the security went rather fast as there were not as many queues. The airside of Melbourne Airport was good, having large duty free, restaurants and shops. There were plenty of seats, however there was a lack of toilets in the area.

Qantas Check-In Counter at Melbourne Airport.

There was a 55 minute delay, so I was pretty bored inside the airport since I had checked in too early. Eventually it was time to board, starting from business class passengers and then economy class.

Boarding

With a 55 minute delay, I was guessing everyone was excited to get on the plane, so boarding went descently fast. My seat was 31A, a window seat in the middle economy class cabin. Upon arriving at my seat, there was a pillow, blanket and a pair of headphones waiting at my seat.

The seat

Qantas A330-300 aircraft comes in a 2-4-2 seat configuration for economy and a 1-2-1 configuration for business class. I prefer this layer over the 3-3-3 configuration, as it can feel a little cramped
The seats come with a large touchscreen IFE screen, with a storage pocket for belongings such as phones and passports. Under that there's a foldable tray table which can be extended towards you. Below that there is a storage net, which contained a safety card, inflight magazine and a sickness bag. There was also a netted footrest.

My seat, 31A. (Don't mind the mess at the seat, I took this photo after landing!)

Food and drinks

The first service was a service of drinks. Qantas serves a wide range of alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages on their flights. I opted for a lemonade and it came with a nut and pretzel pack.

The second service was the first meal service. On this flight there were 3 options, yakisoba, wagyu beef or a pasta. I chose the yakisoba and it came with a focaccia and a drink. It was rather tasty.

Around half an hour after the first meal service, there was a tea, coffee and hot chocolate service. The crew also provided Tim Tams, which I thought was a nice touch!

Around 2 hours before landing, the crew started the second meal service. This time there were 2 options, fried rice or a ratatouille. I chose the fried rice, which came with a focaccia, a drink and a chocolate brownie. All were delicious.

Between the first and second meal service, the crew went around serving drinks and snacks, such as chips around the cabin. There was also a self serve bar at the rear of the cabin which had drinks and snacks.

Inflight entertainment

The IFE screen had a wide range of movies and tv shows, and there were plenty of my favorites. Unfortunately there is no wi-fi on Qantas international routes (only on domestic flights)

Service

The cabin crew on this flight nailed it. They were really attentive, helpful and friendly. They went around checking the cabin to check if everyone was ok.