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Qantas First Class is incredibly underrated

a stuffed animal on a plane

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Earlier in the week, I flew from Los Angeles to Melbourne in Qantas First Class ( 70k Alaska Miles +$45). While a full review is coming, I wanted to take a moment to express how incredible the experience was onboard.  Perhaps Qantas doesn’t get the recognition because of ground services in the States.  No, you don’t get a Porsche to your gate, but the Qantas First Class Lounge at LAX offers sit down, a la carte dining, with fantastic food. Their lounge is nothing to shrug at, and until AA debuted Flagship dining, it was unchallenged as the best in America. And no, you don’t get escorted to the gate in a golf cart, once on the plane the magic never ceased. I was incredibly impressed with the experience.

a room with a bed and a table

The cabin crew was incredibly friendly, taking Miles all over the plane, assisting in every way possible, and making it feel like they were enjoying being of service. This is a rare.  While other airlines may provide professional service, the Qantas crew made us feel like guests in their home.

In terms of the seat and cabin. Qantas’ First Class consists of just 3 seats per row in a 1-1-1 configuration on the first floor of the A380. It provides an immense amount of space within the “suite.” No their aren’t doors, but if you have a window seat, they are incredible private.

a seat in an airplane

I ate quite a bit in the lounge prior to take off because I wasn’t quite sure how the food on board would be. It was arguably the best food I’ve had on a plane. If not the best, then in the discussion. No formal caviar presentation, but it was offered as a canape. I always think breakfast is difficult to nail on a plane. These eggs and smoked salmon were excellent.

a plate of food on a table

The bed was uber comfortable with a large, soft mattress pad with comfy sheets, comforter, and spare blanket. The cabin was also kept very cool. So cool, in fact, that I doubled up on blankets. Exactly how I prefer to sleep…chilly, but snuggled up. The only problem was I slept over 7 hours 🙂

Qantas First Class A380 Los Angeles to Melbourne

I’ll post a full review, but Qantas First Class will go down as one of my favorite flights. No wonder these unicorns are so hard to find!

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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10 Comments

  • SK April 21, 2018

    Nice to read a positive take on QF F for a change – glad you enjoyed your flight. At their best, Qantas crews are exceptional -warm, engaging and attentive without being servile or obsequious. The new bedding is particularly comfortable – up there with CX. Hopefully your culinary experience ex-LAX represents a sustained improvement rather than random good luck!

  • John Basedow April 20, 2018

    Do they fly F to anywhere else besides London and the US?

    • Miles April 20, 2018

      John – Yep, they fly it to Singapore, and on some routes to Hong Kong. In fact, it’s a pretty solid redemption between Asia and Australia using AA

      • John Basedow April 21, 2018

        That’s way. I travel often to the Orient. I’ll also need to test whether the F cabin is spacious enough for exercising.

  • Tony April 20, 2018

    Like main F products, their product is great for point redemption but I would never pay $20,000 to fly on a plane without wifi.

  • Joe April 20, 2018

    Qantas F is one of the only major FC products we haven’t flown at PointsMD (along with Qatar, Korean and Thai, but we’re rectifying all those over the next 6 months!). Looking forward to your full review!

  • Bill April 20, 2018

    That QF first-class lounge at LAX is incredibly disappointing. It feels like something leftover from the 80’s, except that the waiters keep putzing around on their phones.

    • John Basedow April 21, 2018

      Bill, I’m excited to check it out. All too often the 80s are made fun of, I beg to differ because it was indeed some glorious years.

  • Gene April 20, 2018

    Sshhh..

  • Jarvis Marcos April 20, 2018

    100% agree. Last year I flew LHR to SYD r/t. Outbound on QF F, return on EY apartments. QF blew EY out of the water.

    Glad to hear you enjoyed your flight too!

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