Francophileonthemove - 18/07/2011 07:32 GMT
I flew Qantas from Melbourne - Hong Kong - London Heathrow in seat 17A (upper deck). I usually use BA and this flight was indeed a code share but using Qantas aircraft. The seating is dreadful! They are billed as flat bed but aren't! When seated, my seat was impossibly hard and too upright. When lying down, you end up on a slope with your feet wedged under the seat in front. Again, the seat is impossibly hard. The constant buzzing of seat mechanisms as passengers attempted to get comfortable was really irritating. Because the seats are so ugly, grey and large the cabin looks smaller, darker and more old fashioned than other airline's business class products. Apart from that the amenity kit, pillow and blanket were great and much better than BA. However, the food service was odd. On boarding in Melbourne we had an ultra quick and very minimal
'supper'. Before landing in Hong Kong we had breakfast (1) which was basic but acceptable; we were then offered breakfast (2) in the lounge and on boarding for London we were offered breakfast (3). How many breakfast's does a guy need! During the flight there was the offer of some spectacularly unhealthy sandwiches and chocolate bars but nothing vaguely healthy. We finally had a rather rushed but very good lunch 2 hours before landing. QF food was generally very good. The wine list and the offer of an inflight sommelier and highly trained cabin crew (in relation to wine) is the classic marketing mistake of overpromising and underdelivering. The crew on the first sector didn't have a clue even which champagne they were serving! All in all a mixed experience. The marginally better food, blanket and amenity kit than BA don't make up for the back breaking seating and the crew do need some training and supervision. They lack polish, decorum and knowledge. I would choose BA on this route next time.
