Review of Qantas flight Brisbane Melbourne in Business

Airline Qantas
Flight QF605
Class Business
Seat 2A
Aircraft Airbus A330-300
Flight time 02:00
Take-off 17 Jan 15, 06:40
Arrival at 17 Jan 15, 09:40
QF   #33 out of 96 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 175 reviews
elbarto
By 5419
Published on 24th January 2015
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
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Seat
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Divider, with storage and workspace
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Legroom
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IFE Screen
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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.

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To celebrate the inaugural flight, sparkling wine was offered

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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.

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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.

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Additional storage on 3A that not all seats have
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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
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Controls
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Verdict

Qantas

8.5/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi9.0
Meal/catering7.0

Qantas Club - Domestic

5.6/10
Comfort5.5
Meal/catering5.5
Entertainment/wifi6.0
Services5.5

Brisbane - BNE

6.4/10
Efficiency7.5
Access7.5
Services3.5
Cleanliness7.0

Melbourne - MEL

2.6/10
Efficiency0.0
Access3.5
Services3.5
Cleanliness3.5

Conclusion

The flight was very enjoyable with the crew being active to make sure everyone was happy and getting feedback on the new seat. The new seat is a big improvement over the Skybed or recliners the rest of the A330 fleet are flying around with. It felt similar to business class on Emirates A380s but a bit wider and more thought out. The headphone socket is in a better location, and there is a small mirror under the arm rest where the IFE controller is stored. The seat can be reclined during take off and landing, but I did find the sash belt a bit annoying. Thankfully this only needs to be used during take off and landing.

Information on the route Brisbane (BNE) Melbourne (MEL)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 5 avis concernant 3 compagnies sur la ligne Brisbane (BNE) → Melbourne (MEL).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est Qantas avec 7.8/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 2 heures et 21 minutes.

  More information

4 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 127604 by
    Piterc 4 Comments
    Great report! It's very nice to see their new product, especially their new economy class!
  • Comment 127617 by
    SKYTEAMCHC GOLD 10071 Comments
    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.
  • Comment 127636 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    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!
  • Comment 127664 by
    02022001 GOLD 4375 Comments
    The business class seat is good for this kind of flight ! Thanks ;)

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