Review of Qantas flight from Brisbane to Sydney in Business

introduction

Hello and welcome to the 4th review in this new series of Flight-Reports. 

We usually try to take advantage of our son's breaks from preschool to take a trip. We hadn't been back to Australia for 8 years, so winter break in February was a perfect time to leave the northern hemisphere winter for summer down under!

After spending several amazing days in the Cairns area, it was time to head back down to Sydney for the weekend before flying back to the US. We'd never been to Queensland before, and the tropical north did not disappoint! Between the lush rainforests, majestic green mountains, picturesque beaches, and of course the Great Barrier Reef—one of the great natural wonders of the world—our time spent in Cairns was the highlight of the trip. 

For this return to Sydney from Cairns, we transited via Brisbane, giving the opportunity to discover a new airport for me. 

routing

Reviews in this series:

transit & lounge

As we were transiting between domestic destinations, we were able to stay airside without going through security checks again. 

Brisbane being one of Qantas' hubs, there is a "Lounge Precinct" with a separate Qantas Club and Business Lounge in the domestic terminal. 

After the entrance is a large hall with the Qantas Club on the left and Business Lounge all the way in the back. 

Taking a peek into the Qantas Club as we walk by, the space looks nice and open. The concept is different than most lounges as it's a lot of shared spaces with communal tables and large bench seating. 

There are customer service desks at the end of the hallway next to the Business Lounge. There is also a Qantas agent by the entrance to the Business Lounge to verify eligibility. Domestic Business Lounges are reserved for passengers flying in Business class or those with top-tier oneworld Emerald status. Passengers with Qantas Club memberships and oneworld Sapphire status have access to the Qantas Club. 

The Business Lounge is large with lots of seating areas. 

It was very busy on this Friday afternoon—a peak time for business travel with everyone heading home for the weekend. 

It was busy, but not overly crowded and we easily found a table with a nice tarmac view. 

There was a pretty decent spread of fresh food items including some hot options of chicken curry and rice. 

There was also a station where cooks prepared baked ziti with beed. 

While in the lounge I received a notification on the app that our flight would be delayed. Only 15 minutes…no big deal! I usually expect a little bit of a delay on afternoon flights, as it's easy for small delays to accumulate throughout an aircraft's day of flying. 

A check of the FIDS in the lounge confirmed the short delay, as we would be boarding at the normal departure time. In a way, we were lucky with just a small delay as the flight to SYD right before ours had been cancelled. 

boarding

We left the lounge about 10 minutes before the new boarding time to find our gate. Back down the long hallway we go. I checked out the food in the Qantas Club on the way out and found that it was essentially the same except there was no baked ziti station. 

The walk to the gate wasn't very long as it turned out the gate was just around the corner from the lounge. 

Passengers were already queued up for the Priority and Economy lanes. 

I wish Qantas had actual priority boarding for Business class instead of throwing all Business class passengers in with oneworld Emeralds and Sapphires. The priority boarding order on most other oneworld airlines goes Business first (either with Emeralds or Emeralds in a separate 2nd group), and then Sapphires. 

Despite mixing all these groups together, boarding was orderly and smooth once it began.

Qantas' 737 cabins are very consistent throughout the fleet with 12 Cradle Recliner seats in Business class laid out in a standard 2-2 configuration over 3 rows. The only major difference is whether or not they have seatback IFE—about half of the 737 fleet have in-seat entertainment screens, while the other half have streaming entertainment to personal devices. 

Seat pitch is 37", very similar to US domestic First class, which normally ranges from 36-38" of seat pitch. 

All seats feature adjustable headrests, extendable legrests, and footrests. 

Each seat has access to a 110v universal power outlet and a USB-A port. 

A nice premium amenity that I really on domestic Qantas flights is noise-cancelling headphones. The headphones can be used with the overhead entertainment or with personal devices thanks to one-prong and three-prong adaptors. Qantas are one of the few airlines that provide headphones on short-haul flights. 

Another amenity that I love is the free and fast Viasat Wi-Fi, which is available from gate-to-gate. 

Once connected to the Wi-Fi, the streaming entertainment is available through the portal in the Qantas Entertainment app. 

the flight

Boarding wrapped up quickly, doors were closed, and we pushed back from the gate shortly after. 

Taxi time was very short as there was no wait for takeoff. 

Takeoff was beautiful with the warm glow of sunset colours bathing the landscapes. 

A short video with instructions for logging on the free Wi-Fi and streaming entertainment played on the overhead screens shortly after takeoff. 

Nice scenery outside as we followed the coast down to Sydney. 

As it was a short flight, cabin crew were out in the cabin taking drink and food orders as we were still climbing. Our son's child meal was confirmed and brought out first. 

It was described as a lasagne this time. It looked exactly like the cottage pie on the previous flights, but in was indeed a lasagne with tomato sauce. Again, something kids will easily eat. 

For those without special pre-ordered meals, there were two options, one hot and one cold: A Salade Niçoise or Salmon in a creamy sauce. 

As I'd eaten on the previous flight and in the lounge, I went for the lighter option. It was fresh and tasty. 

Here's a look at the salmon in a cream sauce with spinach, broccoli, and potatoes. 

For dessert, the Belgian chocolate bar looked deceivingly small. It was actually very rich and filling. 

Before we knew it, we were making our descent into SYD. 

We only landed a few minutes behind schedule. and it was a short taxi to our gate in the domestic terminal. 

Baggage was delivered impressively fast…bags were already coming up when we arrived at the baggage belts!

We then headed downstairs to the train station.

We caught the train to Circle Quay, where we would be staying in the Rocks neighbourhood for a few days. 

Thanks for reading!