Qantas has begun a program of refitting its entire A330 fleet with a new business class based on the Thompson Vantage XL with their A330-300 also receiving a new economy seat. Recently, I discovered that the first A330-300 would be coming out of maintenance and operating a revenue flight in order to position for its standard international routes. I booked a normal economy ticket and then used frequent flyer points to upgrade to business. I arrived at the airport at about 5am in preparation for a 6am departure. I headed to the Qantas business class lounge where I waited for about 40 minutes before heading down to gate 20. When I arrived it soon became apparent that boarding wouldn't begin on time. While I was waiting, a large number of people who were on QF605 were called to the adjacent service desk. Boarding began at 6am where I was one of the first to board. I was greeted with a great looking cabin.
New Cabin
Seat
Divider, with storage and workspace
Legroom
IFE Screen
First impressions were good, with the cabin feeling fresh. The business class cabin quickly filled up and it was fully loaded. The captain came on and announced that there would be an extra delay while the potable water was changed as what was in the tank had been in there for a month. Welcome drinks of juice or water were offered.
After take off, the crew came around taking orders for breakfast. I found this a bit unusual, but I later found out that I was only one of four paying passengers in business class. For breakfast, there was a choice of eggs with bacon and sausage or bircher museli. I chose the eggs.
As the breakfast was served, I pulled out the large tray table. It was a good size and felt very sturdy.
To celebrate the inaugural flight, sparkling wine was offered
After breakfast I snuck back to the economy cabin to check out the seat. The IFE screen was large and there is storage area underneath.
The legroom was good, but I think there is a touch too much recline on the seat.
I headed back to my seat in business where my partner had put her seat, 3A, into bed mode.
Additional storage on 3A that not all seats have
I played with the new IFE which has a great UI and the touch screen was very responsive. Towards the end of the flight the CSM came around to get my feelings on the new seat. They even offered me a bottle of wine because it was the inaugural flight. We descended into Melbourne and taxied around to the gate where we parked next VH-EBV which is the first A330-200 to be fitted with the new seat. The seat on the 200 is slightly different as it has a leather cover as opposed to cloth on the 300.
Some additional pictures:
View across the aisle
Controls
Great report! It's very nice to see their new product, especially their new economy class!
Thanks fors haring this special report with us. It was a great idea to book on this flight and try the new Business Class cabin on a short segment.
The new business class cabin looks nice and the seats offer comfort and privacy . So does the economy class with wide screens for the IFE.
The catering looks tasty and big enough for the length of the flight.
I have flown Qantas twice and have a very good opinion on this airline and crew members.
Nice! Way to score a seat in J on the inaugural flight! The cabin looks really good and the seats look way larger/wider than any Thomson Vantage seat I've been on on other airlines--I guess that's what makes it the Thompson Vantage XL. Catering also seems great for a 2.5hr flight from Brisbane to Melbourne. As I've recently shifted most of my flying from SkyTeam to oneworld, I'm looking forward to flying Qantas' new Business! I went to the new Qantas lounge in HKG the other day and loved it! Almost found it better than the CX The Wing First Class lounge. Thanks for sharing this unique experience and giving us a glimpse of this brand new seat!
The business class seat is good for this kind of flight ! Thanks ;)