After a fun-filled couple of weeks in Hong Kong, we were on our way home again.  This time we would be flying on Qantas’ A380 which I was really looking forward to after our great experience flying on one with Singapore Airlines the previous year.

Airline and Flight #

Qantas | QF128

Aircraft

Airbus Industrie A380-800

Airport and Terminal

Departure: Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong | Terminal 1

Arrival: Kingsford Smith Airport Mascot, Sydney NSW Australia | Terminal 1

Scheduled Departure and Arrival 

Departure: Sunday 27th January 2013 | 07:50pm

Arrival: Monday 28th January 2013 | 08:15am

Flying Time

9 hours and 25 minutes

Luggage Allowance

Carry-on: 1 x 115cm (45in) bag or 1 x 185cm (73in) non rigid garment bag up to 7kg (15lb)

Checked baggage: 1 piece up to 23kg (50lbs).  Total dimensions must not exceed 270cm (106 inches) with no one piece exceeding 158cm (62in)

If you are a Qantas club member or have silver or gold frequent flyer membership you are allowed an extra piece of checked baggage.

Fun Facts

• Qantas is the third oldest airline in the world and Australia’s largest airline
• Qantas is an acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services
• Qantas is the founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance
• Qantas’ main hub is in Sydney, Australia

Website

The Qantas website is easy to use and provides plenty of details when booking flights including type of aircraft, flight duration, any meals and snacks, stopovers and even how many frequent flyer points and status credits you will accrue on your chosen flight.  If you pay by BPay there are no extra costs incurred.  Unfortunately for international flights, you can’t book seats without incurring a fee of $35 if you’re travelling on a sale fare unless you wait up to 48 hours before departure.  Extra legroom seats cost an extra $20 per person on top of the $35.

Check-in 

Check-in for Qantas flights opens from 24 hours up until 45 minutes prior to departure.  This can be done on-line or at the airport using the self-service kiosk or at the check-in counter.  You can check-in three ways:

1. Mobile check-in – by downloading the Qantas app you can check-in and access your digital boarding pass without the need to print it out.  Other benefits of this method include being alerted to when check-in first opens, access to real time flight data in case of delays and the ability to view any entertainment options prior to your flight.  You can also choose your seats.
2. Desktop check-in – by logging on to the Qantas website http://Qantas.com and clicking on Manage Booking.  Enter your booking reference and last name to bring up your booking.  Select the Checkin/Print Boarding Pass button and remember to take your boarding pass with you to the airport.
3. At the airport – via the self-service kiosks or at the desk in the Departures area prior to passing through security.  Here you can also select your seat, enter your frequent flyer number, upgrade your flight using Qantas points and print out your boarding pass and bag tags so you can drop off any bags at the bag drop.  Otherwise Business class passengers can check in at the counter at the Priority counter.

Seating

Layout – The Qantas A380-800 is a wide bodied jet with 484 seats.  These are made up of 14 First Class seats, 64 Business class seats, 35 Premium Economy class seats and 371 Economy class seats.  Economy is set out in a 3-4-3 configuration. We were seated in row 58 of 88.   The entire cabin interior including the seating was designed by Australian Marc Newson.

Features – The seats are made from maroon cloth with with a light grey antimacassar draped over the  headrests.  Each seat has netted foot rests and winged head rests that you can adjust to support your neck better whilst sleeping.  Armrests don’t fully retract on this aircraft. The black tray tables aren’t folding but are adjustable and a good size.

On each seat – On our seats was a blanket sealed in plastic, a set of headphones also sealed in plastic and a pillow.  Once we were in the air and the seat-belt lights had been switched off, amenity kits were handed out.  These contained a toothbrush and mini toothpaste, an eye mask and a pair of ear plugs.  You don’t often see amenity kits in Economy anymore so this was a pleasant surprise.

Specs – Seat pitch 31 inches (78.7 cm), seat width 17.5 inches (44.5 cm), seat recline 6 inches (15.2 cm)

Cabin Comfort

• The A380-800 is very quiet inside the cabin whilst the ambient LED lighting can reduce the effects of jet lag by simulating sunrise and sunset with it’s range of colours.
• The slightly wider seats provide a more comfortable flight as do the foot nets.
• The high ceilings make the aircraft appear larger and feel more spacious

In-flight Entertainment

Electronic devices

• Electronic devices can be used whilst boarding using the aerobridge but not if you’re using the tarmac to board.
• Once doors on the plane have closed you need to then switch your device to flight mode

 Power

• Shared PC power is available in Economy class
• Power is provided at a maximum of 75 watts which if exceeded needs to be reset on the ground

Reading material

• Qantas Spirit of Australia is the inflight magazine found in the pocket of each seat.

WiFi

• WiFi is not available on this flight.  Qantas has decided not to offer inflight internet as a result of a trial it conducted back in 2012 where less than five percent of passengers took up the service.  The demand for internet on international flights is a lot lower than domestic flights given the majority of international flights are overnight and most passengers prefer to sleep.

Entertainment System

• Each seat has a Panasonic eX2 inflight entertainment system with a large personal touch screen and a remote in the inside arm rest.  There are over 100 on demand movies to watch and over 500 TV shows.  There is up 1500 audio CD’s as well as a selection of audio books, language tutorials, destination information, business education and radio channels.
• The screen also has a Flight Path allowing you to see details including where you are, the time and distance to your destination, air temperature and speed you are travelling at.  A camera situated outside the aircraft enables live views from outside the plane.

 

Catering

Menus

The menus on board Qantas were thoughtfully put together.  On the front page was a close-up of the inside of a pomegranate which I thought looked quite good with it’s vibrant red pips that formed a star against the white flesh.  Upon opening, the left hand page was the menu in Cantonese with a little welcome section in English down the side letting the reader know the tableware is Marc Newson and the coffee is Grinders Bodum.  It also points out the journey planner that runs across the bottom of both pages which I thought was a good idea by Qantas.  This is essentially a timeline showing you roughly when meals and snacks are served, when comfort kits and arrival documents are handed out and when duty free shopping is available.  The right hand page of the menu is in English.  Dinner was a choice of an Asian or Western meal. Later in the flight there is Cadbury hot chocolate or peppermint tea. Fresh fruit is available as are Nissin cup noodles on request.  For breakfast you could also choose between an Asian or Western style meal.  On the back page of the menu are two columns of beverages including a variety of sparkling wines, Australian wines, apertifs, spirits, beers, juice, soft drink and hot beverages.

Food/Drinks

Cabin crew handed out bottles of water whilst we waited for our lunch to be served. This was a choice of:

1. Chinese style chicken, egg fried rice, pak choy and roasted pumpkin or
2. Steamed dory in a champaigne cream sauce with parsley potatoes, carrots and green peas.

Each meal was served with a garden salad with balsamic viniagrette, a bread roll and butter, a packet of M&M’s and a blueberry cheesecake with vanilla sauce.  It was 10pm when dinner was finally served.  I chose the fish whilst hubby and the Girls had the chicken.  I think the chicken was the better choice.

Cadbury Hot chocolate or peppermint tea was offered after the meal service whilst fresh fruit and Nissin cup noodles were available upon request.

Breakfast was a choice of:

1. Tomato omelette with pork sausage, sauteed potatoes and mushrooms or
2. Stir fried egg noodles, char sui portk steamed bun and fish shao mai.

Both meals came served with orange juice, yoghurt, seasonal fresh fruit salad, and a banana and pecan muffin.

Service

The service on board this flight was friendly and professional.  It would have been good if dinner was served a bit earlier though.

Pros

• The food was reasonably tasty
• Large individual entertainment screens at every seat
• Cabin crew were friendly
• Modern aircraft with high ceilings

Cons

• Dinner was served quite late
• The plane was very full
• Two meal preferences instead of three as on some airlines

Conclusion

I like the A380 and the layout in Qantas provides enough room so you don’t feel too cramped.