[1nfrequent]

My takeaways from the trip are as follows:

– I don’t like the BA A380 and it wouldn’t be my first choice of plane. I think the CW cabin is too big and too cramped (although the storage on the upper deck is a lot better) and the toilet to passenger ratio is woeful.

– The ex-OSL route to Australia was very good value but I booked it pre-Brexit and with the effects of that still playing out on the value of the £, I don’t know whether you would ever be able to get an ex-EU fare to Australia on BA for such a good price again. For all my grumbles, the price I paid meant that I wasn’t unhappy with the experience (although if I had to do it again, I’d overnight at OSL on my return and fly back to LHR the next day because the jet lag was brutal) and for the first time ever, I have achieved BAEC gold so am looking forward to trying the first class lounge and other benefits this year (in fact, I got an immediate benefit straight after turning gold as I was immediately able to get a front row CE seat for a trip I’ve got this summer to HEL).

– What this trip has done is made me keen to try other J products in the One World family – particularly CX, which really impressed me – and I have just booked a fight in a Finnair sale to PVG for later in the year, purely because I am keen to try out the Finnair A350 J product (the fact that the fare was over £2000 cheaper from LHR than an equivalent BA direct flight didn’t hurt either).

– I think that internal flights in Australia come down to price and lounge access. The only reason we went with QF was because we both had status for lounge access, which came in useful.

Anyway, hope that some of this is useful to others on the boards. It’s mainly thanks to the tips I’ve picked up here and on FT that have enabled me to do trips like this – so my bucket list is steadily being whittled down.

1F

[TominScotland]

IF, what an amazing series of reviews!! Bill Bryson in the making, me thinks. Thanks for these.

I have flown through all the airports you used and am familiar with the lounges in each – the one in Alice Springs is homely but still a better place to be than the city which I had imagined to be something special after reading Nevil Shute so many years ago. Pity you did not hit Gold before leaving Sydney – the QF First Lounge is something special.

We are off to Oz twice this year – first time in August, mainly CX with BA and QF domestics and the second time, mainly MH with BA and QF domestics at Christmas/ New Year. Mainly in Economy so I am glad that we will beat the CX 10 across change and, with MH, probably close to the end of the A380 on the LHR route. As a tip, Avios redemptions on QF domestic flights are readily availably and really good value. We are doing two legs in Business for something silly like £16 plus 15,000 Avios per person per leg, I cannot remember exactly.

[paulkaz]

1infrequent,thank you for a great review.A few of comments;
1,most QF domestic planes 717,737-8 and 330-2 have Qstream which streams quite a lot of entertainment to your own device once the app is installed,
2,sadly the business lounge in Sydney which you thought just acceptable as a BA out station is in fact QF’s principal business lounge in their home base!First is exceptional,
3,conversely the QF lounge in Singapore is far superior to the actual BA out station so should be used by BA passengers and,
4, if you had tried to eat a pie any where in Australia with a knife and fork you could face immediate deportation hence the lack of on board cutlery!
Cheers

[1nfrequent]

Ha! Thanks, Tom – I don’t think Bill Bryson’s going to be looking over his shoulder any time soon, but I appreciate the comment. 😀

TominScotland:
the one in Alice Springs is homely but still a better place to be than the city which I had imagined to be something special after reading Nevil Shute so many years ago.

An Aussie friend of mine described Alice Springs as being a certain body part in the middle of nowhere. Gotta admit, it really put us off.

Thanks for the Avios redemption tip on QF – even though this was supposed to be a one-off bucket list trip, I’d like to go back. Quite envious of your forthcoming trip!

paulkaz:
most QF domestic planes 717,737-8 and 330-2 have Qstream which streams quite a lot of entertainment to your own device once the app is installed,

Ah! I didn’t know that. Damnit. Could have done with that on the route without entertainment.

paulkaz:
sadly the business lounge in Sydney which you thought just acceptable as a BA out station is in fact QF’s principal business lounge in their home base!

Seriously? That’s … disappointing. It’s such a weird space. It’s not bad so much as a random collection of areas.

paulkaz:
the QF lounge in Singapore is far superior to the actual BA out station so should be used by BA passengers

To be honest I made another rookie error and didn’t think to look up lounge options in Singapore. I should be drummed off these Forums in disgrace as an example to others … Although I do have the possibility of a trip to Singapore next February so could check out the QF lounge then.

paulkaz:
if you had tried to eat a pie any where in Australia with a knife and fork you could face immediate deportation hence the lack of on board cutlery!

LOL!

1F

[Flightlevel]

Excellant review and should be compulsory reading for airline staff, especially cabin crew, perhaps one word used to be changed to mice to be politically correct! You noticed CX has the best service (along with SQ) and even that QF is improving too. Cabin crew should know by now that little things mean a lot!

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