Qantas Airways review & opinions

A full service distinctly Australian airline with four separate arms. The flying kangaroo of Qantas lands in most of the cities of the world, flies an intense internal network between the 5 main cities in the continent of Australia, and runs a small feeder network to small outback communities.

The old Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services used to be partly owned by British Airways, and some of its features are very familiar to those who fly the UK's airline, such as its Frequent Flyer scheme (pretty good with some decent perks) and food (basic on pretty much every internal flight, but hot on longer flights). However its "robust" customer service is distinctly Aussie, and the cabin crew have been known to greet passengers with an eloquent "yeah mate?" - reviews are not always favourable.

Qantas 767 economy class seats

At times it can seem inconsistent, however by and large it does what it does well, and it endears Qantas to most of its customers - of whom on a long haul flight half are backpackers, and the others mostly Aussies who travel mostly because Australia is such a long way from anywhere. Domestically, you could be forgiven for thinking you are on a bus service, and the route from Sydney to Melbourne is the 4th busiest by traffic in the world, far exceeding most domestic USA routes.

Qantascityflyer is the name for the internal flights linking the main cites, like Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. It tries to run rather like a bus service, with take off on the hour, each hour. There is inflight entertainment, and it will consistently be priced just a little bit more expensive than VirginBlue. There is now a free wine or beer service in economy on Weekday departures after 4pm.

Qantaslink is a wholly owned subsidiary which flies many of the smaller outback routes for Qantas. It flies mainly small prop planes with minimal facilities, and no inflight entertainment. The trading companies consists of Easterns, Southern, and National Jet (which also runs services under it's own brand). Qantaslink also used to include Impulse Airways, which Qantas took over, and used as a vehicle to start the low-frills service Jetstar.

Jetstar is wholly owned by Qantas but is managed separately as a low cost airline, originally using the old Impuse Airways planes - the old Boeing 717s - but these are now being replaced by A320s. It operates using pretty much the Ryanair model, with no free inflight food, flight connections or baggage transfer. You can spend Qantas Frequentflyer points on Jetstar, but not earn them (except on expensive JetFlex fares). JetStar has in-flight entertainment (audio) available for a fee on most of its flights. Video players are available (for a fee) on a few services. Nearly all JetStar flights now have a Qantas code share for incoming international customers, so you may accidentally end up on these flights. JetStar has a two class configuration for non-Tasman International services with what it calls the "StarClass" but this is little more than premium economy.

Australian Airways is a brand that no longer exists, although some planes were until recently still in Australian colours. It had long haul international flights, with one-class with some frills (such as meals) approach. It came into being when Qantas found that some routes, such as to Cairns, were mainly used by cost-consious backpackers and so it couldn't justify two or three class planes. Many of these routes are now flown by Jetstar.


Qantas Airbus A380 viewed from the windows of the Qantas Club in Sydney. The size of the aircraft can be judged by the small car at the front.

Qantas Classes, Seats and Fleet

Qantas has a modern and well maintained fleet of aircraft, of pretty much every type flying. Qantas has been a dedicated Boeing customer for more than forty years, and operates a 130 strong Boeing fleet of 747s, 767s and 737s. QantasLink Airlines operates another 67 aircraft, including 12 Boeing 717s. In the past couple of years Qantas has moved from the US to the European camp, and has put in a large order to Airbus.

Qantas Boeing 747-300 / 747-400 / 747-400 ER

On the longhaul international routes you're pretty much guaranteed to get a Boeing 747, called by Qantas the Longreach - oddly, not because of the long distances they fly, but because it is the original home of Qantas.

Qantas 747-400 ER

These come in four main variants - and these will have a significant effect on the comfort of your journey. There are three seating plans for the 400 variant, plus the older 300 type.

The 747-300 is an older version of the jumbo, without the drag reducing wingtiplets. They seat 52 in business, and 398 in economy. The 6 left in the fleet are pretty old and uncomfortable, and are used on less heavily trafficed routes. They are used on International routes out of Perth, and on the route from Melbourne to the US via Auckland (where the extra range of a 400 isn't needed). They are two class only and do not have Spacebeds, only the old Dreamtime seat. As such they are pretty uncomfortable for a long distance overnight flight.

747-300 The best seat in the house; Upstairs Dreamtime business 15A

They are however used from some trans-continental routes from Perth to Melbourne and Sydney, and here they should be taken at all costs instead of the 737 services. Not only do you get a faster plane (the 747 saves half an hour over the 737) a seatback video, but in business you get a bigger better seat, and a full international service - which vastly improves the daytime meal service. There are 5 rows of business in the nose, in 2+2, and 8 rows upstairs in 2+2. Here row 15 is an exit with lots of legroom, but in AB you get two crew in the seats ahead of you. In economy seats are in 3+4+3. Row 29, 46 and 58 are emergency exits. Rows 36 to 41 only have a window every other row, and are best avoided.

The 747-400 is much better, with 30 flying in kangaroo colours. They fly all the long haul routes with a range of 6000 miles - which is better than the -300 variant, and can be distinguished from the classic 747 by the wingtiplets. When this aircraft was introduced it enabled Qantas to cut out the Middle East or Indian stop-over from its European routes and keep only one stop-over in South-East Asia.

Qantas also is the launch customer for the new 747-400ER (for extended range), deployed on the Los Angeles and New York routes from Sydney and Melbourne.

Economy The best seat in the house; bulkhead 46A on a 747

They have Boeing's latest entertainment system, and have business class in the long bubble behind the cockpit. All have 14 first class seats, however there are 3 sub variants. There are 12 planes in the "Kangaroo" version (used on European routes – in reference to the Kangaroo Routes, a name given after the multiple stop-overs for the earliest UK-Australia flights resembling kangaroo jumps). Their three-class arrangement seats a total of 424 passengers (14 first, 65 business, 345 economy). The "Pacific" variation (technically the most demanding) with 12 planes having a larger business class (79, and 265 in conomy). And there is the "Skybed" version, with 50 business class seats and a bar.

In Economy as with all 747s the emergency exit seats are the best, and come with a folding out TV screen and a tray hidden in the armrest. Plus of course lots of legroom, although with the seats right at the overwing exit there isn't a window. Alas most regular customers know to ask for them, so its hard getting one at checkin.

Business The new Skybed business class seat

Row 34 gets a window, but also a bulkhead with the danger of fold down cots (and hence noisy children). Row 46 gets a door but no window, and it's over the wing. Row 58 is by far the best, as it is clear of the wing, gets a door and a window.

All 747s come with the video system "Q", with 12 channels at every seat. All seats have a slide up headrest, with little fold out wings.

Business Class seats are in a 2+3+2 formation downstairs. Qantas is rapidly installing its new Skybeds which fold almost flat, and have a kind of eggshell appearance. With the new skybeds they are in 4 rows, 23 to 26. Plus 6 rows of 2+2 in the bubble upstairs, with row 16 getting extra legroom. The Skybar for business class is just by the door economy enter at (no doubt so they can drool over it, and dream of an upgrade). It's right in front of 34 A/B/C. Throughout the flight business class passengers will be at the bar, and will be noisy - however in these seats you can't get to the bar. To get a decent nights sleep - avoid these seats.

Business class 747 flowers in the bathroom

Three of Qantas' 747 fleet are unique - and are called "The Ugly Sisters". After the Asian financial blip in 1997, Qantas bought three very cheap 747s secondhand on the basis that it was cheaper than ordering and waiting for new aircraft from Boeing. They soon discovered why they were cheap - one came from Asiana (VH-OEB) and was OK, but two are ex-Malaysian Airways (VH-OEC and -OED). When the aircraft were being repainted for delivery, an unapproved metal scraper was used to clear the paint. It scratched the aircraft's skin. This became a significant crack. A significant amount of work was done to make sure the aircraft are now OK.

Qantas 747-400 Longreach at Sydney

One of Qantas' 747s (the 747-438 variant VH-OJH) is notorious as the survivor of the 1999 QF1 accident. In this, the worst jet-liner crash of Qantas' history, the nose and right wing landing gear collapsed after landing at Bangkok (old airport) runway in a storm, with the nose landing gear being forced back into the fuselage, after the aircraft collided with a ground radio antenna and came to rest with its nose resting on the perimeter road. It cost Qantas 100 million Australian dollars to put right the damage - pretty much the cost of a new aircraft. The aircraft is known among the crew as the jet-ski.

Qantas Airbus A380 superjumbo

The new A380 superjumbo is Qantas' latest flagship plane for long haul. Qantas currently has four in the fleet, which are used on flights from Sydney to London and Los Angeles.

Qantas A380 being towed to the gate at Sydney

For a flagship plane the interior is a major disapointment, particularly compared to what other airlines have put in their A380s. Forget Emirates with their showers, or Singapore with a double bed, Qantas have just gone for a very basic interior, in a pretty foul colour. In economy the green interior looks rather like a dentist surgery, while the "Orca red" in Business is very retro 1970s. The color chosen for the first class suites is the better choice with a creamy grey color.

Qantas A380 economy seats

However, the plane is quiet and comfortable. For a long flight the space, and lack of engine noise, really makes a difference. All seats have a TV with the latest Qantas AVOD inflight entertainment system.

In Economy the A380 economy seat has won the 2009 Australian International Design Award of the Year, with judges saying the Marc Newson-designed seat cannot be faulted. It certainly is a big step forward in terms of entertainment and connectivity, having USB and internet ports, a PC power point and the usual in-seat telephone. Qantas have however given economy a unique perk: a self service bar! Qantas A380 economy class Seat pitch is a pretty average 31 inches and the seat width is 18.1". Not anything to writehome about, but adequate. However other airlines offer up to 34".

Qantas A380 business class cabin

Economy fills the bulk of the lower deck, with seats in a 3-4-3 layout in 3 main cabins, all of which are pretty similar. Seats with a fold out TV screen in the armrest are Row 50, a bulkhead just behind the self service bar, while Row 66 is an emergency exit with acres of space. Seat 71D is unique: an isle, with no seat infront of it, giving a lot more space, and the fold out video screen. Row 79 is the place to be: an emergency exit, and just behind another self serve bar, although I've found passengers tend to hang around this area in the middle of the night. Opinions are generally negative about this Qantas A380 seat for just this reason. There is another self serve bar behind row 88.

Executive Economy Class is Qantas' Premium Economy class, and on the Airbus A380 aircraft it is better than you'd expect with just 32 seats. The seat pitch of 42 inches (4" better than on the 747) feels pretty roomy for economy, and Qantas have taken out a row of seats as well, giving it a 19" width, configured in a 2-3-2 at the rear of the upper deck on the A380. There is a 9 inch recline that could be better, but you can slump in your seat and kind of slide down giving an OK sleep on the way to LHR. Executive Economy is right at the back of the top cabin, with Row 34 being a bulkhead, while row 38 is just ahead of the self serve bar.

Qantas A380 just leaving Sydney

Business Class has no real perks over the 747, with just the usual Skybeds, however there are ahead of the field being fully flat beds. There are 72 Skybed seats on the A380, having an 80 inch seat pitch (converting to a 2 meter long bed) and a 21 inch width. These seats are located on the upper-deck in a 2-2-2 configuration. There is a 12" touch screen monitor with AVOD.

Qantas Boeing 767-300 on the stand at Sydney

There are two business class cabins. The fore cabin is much more private, but has a private lounge on one side of the stairs, and a self serve bar on the other, creating noise and through traffic. Row 11 is the bulkhead here, although you don't really need a bulkhead with such a large seat. In the cabin behind this, there is Row 16 as a bulkhead, and Row 24 an emergency exit, with just one more row of seats behind you. But in business you really don't need the extra legroom.

First Class on the Qantas Airbus A380 offers 14 individual suites. They have a 84 inch seat pitch (extending to a 2.12meter fully flat bed) and a width of 29in. Each suite has a 17 inch wide screen High Definition monitor with the usual AVOD programs. There are 14 suites, in rows 1 to 5, with 3 seats across the cabin. These seats are certainly a step up from Business, and are a definite improvement over what some airlines offer, but lack the private cabin feel of Singapore Airlines. Indeed, with the whole plane, it's such as shame that Qantas missed an oppotunity to make a real step change in comfort, as opposed to just a small incremental improvement.

Qantas 767 business class seat

Qantas Boeing 767-300 / 767-300ER

Qantas 767 ER

There are 25 767s in the Qantas fleet, seating between 204 and 224 depending on the seating configuration. They are found on domestic routes, plus international routes with less demand such as Perth to Singapore. With a twin isle at least the cabin service is quite quick, but these planes are getting on a bit now.

Qantas did plan to swap all the 767 for A330s, however it found that the A330 takes longer to refuel than the 767, and as a result it doesn't quite suit destinations where a short turnaround is needed, such as Sydney to Melbourne, and it's likely the 767s will remain on this route for a while yet, as it is one of the world's busiest air routes.

Qantas 767 business class entertainment

The 30 seat business class version has Business Class is in the nose, with 4 or 5 rows of 2-2-2 seats. These are fairly standard business class seats: they recline, but only to 45 degrees. A separate 25 seat business class version has a rare 1-2-2 Business Class seat layout in the nose, with slightly wider seats, and these seats also have a flip out video screen. This variant of the type is highly desirable if you are flying alone, and it's well worth while upgrading to these seats on longer flights, however the seats on the left, with just one window/isle seat, tend to get booked up first, and so you can find that even if you manage to upgrade all the seats are already full.

Qantas 767 economy class seats in rear cabin

Economy Class has a 2-3-2 layout, with row 23 being a bulkhead, and 34 being an emergency exit, where there is plenty of legroom, however the age of these planes is showing, as they have seats that are well worn, and the TV screen are CRT overhead monitors. Indeed, it can be quite hard to see these monitors or watch the overhead films, as they are spaced fairly irregularly up the cabin. The 767 economy class seats themselves can never be said to be up to much: there is a recline of 20 degrees, and a pitch of 31 inches, but that's about it for creature comforts. Each armrest has a socket for headphones, with 10 radio channels and one channel for the TV screens.

Qantas have axed all of their early model 767-200s, which were getting decidedly old and tired.

Qantas 767 economy class seats

Qantas Airbus A330 (A330-200 & A330-300)

Qantas A330-200

Qantas has four A330-200s and seven A330-300. The replacement for the older Boeing 767s, the A330 is a cheaper, slower two engined version of the four engined twin isle wide body A340. The A330-300s do the shorter international runs, while the A330-200s are being withdrawn for the new Jetstar international services.

Business class seats in an A330-200

Clean, tidy, comfortable, and quiet, they're a welcome break on the long haul domestic flights (a contradiction in every country other than Australia) such as Sydney to Perth. The A330s have a large 14 inch fold down LCD TV screen for both classes, but no individual seatback videos.

Economy seats are in a 2+4+2 pattern, and have a slide up headrest, with little fold out wings. Row 23 and Row 45 are emergency exit seats.

Business Class is in a 2+3+2 formation. The seats are comfy, with a nice large flat section between the

Qantas A330 at Perth, WA

seats to put drinks on, and very simple audio controls in the armrest, along with four pullout levers for seat recline and legrest. There are just four TV screens at the front of the business class cabin, so at the rear it is difficult to see the screens, where as in Row 1, the bulkhead, it looms large overhead.

Qantas 737-800 at Cairns

Qantas Boeing 737-400 & 737-800

Business class seat in a 737

The cheapest plane any airline can fly (in terms of running costs) this is Ford Fiesta of Qantas' internal routes. However, Qantas provide full sized business seats in a 2+2 format in the business cabin - which is separated by the usual curtain from (3+3 formation) cattle class. Unlike many airlines, these seats cannot be converted to economy seats by moving the armrest - which can have advantages when these planes are used as a single class version.

Qantas fly both very old 737-400 and the brand new 737-800 types. The 737-400 variant tends to be used for short hops, with only two rows in business class, and overhead CRT monitors.

Qantas 737-800 at Sydney

There are 23 of the 737-800, the newest variant, with overhead LCD monitors, and is stretched with three rows in business.

Qantas 737-400 cabin interior

This aircraft is used on the long, thin, route from Perth to Brisbane, and is also used on some routes to islands in the Pacific. It can be distinguished from the older version by seemingly outsized wingtiplets, and is by far a better choice than taking the old 737-400.

Qantaslink BAE-146

If you're not used to them, these stunning looking planes seem like a child's drawing of an airliner, and 10 are used on domestic flights to smaller airfields, such as from Canberra and Darwin.

Qantaslink BAE146 at Canberra, ACT

They have one massive advantage for passengers - the unique overwing formation means that every window seat you get has an unparalleled view of the ground.

Qantaslink Dash-8

Qantaslink Dash-8 "lightweight" seat

A cheap buy by Qantas, many of the Dash 8 versions Qantas fly have no air conditioning that works on the ground, so they get insufferably hot on the ground, and once it's on, cold in the air.

The 32 overwing prop planes in the fleet give a great ground view, but its very noisy, scary on touchdown (what other plane can you sit on and see the

Qantaslink Dash-8 at Sydney

wheels hit the ground?) and thanks to weight problems has a "lightweight" seat which bends as you sit down. Note that the overhead lockers on this plane are only 4 inches high, so your "carry on" case won't.

Jetstar Boeing 717

717 emergency exit

The 717 was originally developed by Mcdonald Douglas as their newest of their family of rear engined jets. When Boeing took over, it was the only one that the company continued to develop. The rear engines mean they are superbly quiet in flight, and the view from the cabin is unimpeded by jetwash. There are only two doors to the cabin, right at the front, with a strange rear 'tube' emergency exit.

Boeing 717 still in Qantas colours at Hamilton Island, Queensland

Qantas have 14 of the new versions of these, which now fly either in Jetstar, or some still in Qantas colours. They lack inflight entertainment, but are very clean. Seats are in a formation with 2 on the left, 3 on the right.

Jetstar 717 at Melbourne

Always ask for the overwing emergency exit seat on the left, seats 16A or 15A (for preference, as its slightly further away from the wing, so the view is better). Seat pitch here comes in at 40 inches, so you can really stretch out. However staff don't like seating anyone here unless the plane is full, and you get your own safety briefing, on how to open the window like exit.

Jetstar Airbus A320>

The workhorse of Jetstars domestic fleet, there are 24 of the standard Airbus A320-200. All seats are in a 3+3 layout, and jetstar manage to cram in an incredible 177 passengers in.

Jetstar A320

The seatpitch is actually an ok 30" (not great, but liveable) but to make space all the frippery at either end of the cabins has been taken out - the galley, such as it is, is open to the cabin.

Jetstar A320 seats

Decked out in jetstar's eyepopping black and orange colourscheme they are certainly memorable. There is no seatback video.

The A320s features all leather slim-line seats with what it says is a "full extra inch of width" for additional space. It is in effect just a normal, if squeeky, airline seat. Row 14 is the overwing emergency exit - if you ask to sit here, you will get 2 inches more legroom. With Jetstar, unlike Qantas, you can reserve a seat at booking, and it's well worth it to avoid the remnants of the seats that are left when you check in.

Qantas onboard inflight experience

Reviews and opinions are mixed about Qantas airlines, if only because the airline operates so many different types of routes with different classes and different styles. Long haul in business you may get a great service: in economy on the "bus-route" from Sydney to Melbourne during the day you may have a totally different opinion - and on that same route in the evening with free food & wine, you may think yet again. With Qantas, more so than on any other airline, it pays to know what you're getting. And do remember that famous Qantas inconsistency: wht you get one day, may be a different load of mileage the next.

Domestic

Newspaper recycling bin

Economy. Expect few frills. There is a drinks service before the meal, with just one run up the isle with the trolley, and thats about it. Newspapers are not brought round. However there is a bin outside each landing gate for you to recycle your paper when you land - its worth a delve in here before you take off to see if there's a decent copy someone's left behind. On long haul domestic services to & from Perth and the East Coast menus are handed out in both classes.

Business. There are fewer frills than you'd expect, although inconsistency - a common Qantas trait - comes to the fore here. Sometimes you are greeted by name, and offered drinks before takeoff, along with hot towels. Alas sometimes one or all of these frills are missing. However newspapers are brought round on a trolley just after takeoff. On 767s and A330s this service starts at the front left, so if you're sitting at the rear right, the selection will be getting pretty low.

Qantas 737 at Darwin, NT

Normal offerings include the Sydney Morning Herald, Financial Review, and Courier Mail, with occasionally the Australian, and the local paper for the origin point. For example from Darwin that would be the Northern Times.

The menu is pretty comprehensive, with the meal service one side and the drinks on the other, although the wine list doesn't indicate the drinks available on the flight. You are only greeted by name when your meal order is taken. Drinks service is slow, however proper glasses are used, and there's even Crown, in real bottles.

Qantas Cityflyer

Cityflyer Newspaper rack

For Qantas' Cityflyer services, newspapers are left on a rack by the gate for both business and economy in the early morning. They are left there for the first flight of the day, so most tend to go by about 9am, however there seems to be no control over who takes which papers from which rack - so if all have gone from your gate, you can normally scout around the airport until you find a free paper.

Auckland a Qantas 767 loads for Sydney

On the racks, the local papers (such as the Sydney Morning Herald or The Age) is left on the top rack, and The Australian is on the bottom half of the rack.

International

Economy. If you ask, you can get staff to bring you a paper from the location you have just taken off from. On the LHR to SYD route, you can even get hold of a copy of the Sydney Morning Herald, which is faxed to London, and taken onto the plane in a special cover.

The Jetstar experience

Make no mistake, Jetstar is no Qantas, although there is a confusing overlap. On the Qantas site you can book Jetstar flight, but you can't book Qantas flight on the Jetstar site. Some routes have both services. And if you are an international customer, you can book a Qantas codeshare on a Jetstar plane. Infact, this is worthwhile, becayse all Qantas codeshare passengers in economy class will be offered complimentary "feed me" pack (meals and a beverage), blanket and headset for audio and in cabin movie. If you book via Jetstar, you have to pay.

Jetstar inflight Service

And paying is what what Jetstar is all about. You can't get much for free, except, oddly, seat assignments at booking. You have to pay for food and drinks for a start. The service starts at either end of the cabin, and ends over the wing. This can sometimes take a long time, so if you plan to eat on the plane, you may want to sit at the back. You can also pay for a headset (A$3 domestic, A$5 international) although you can cheat and just take your own with a 3.5mm mini jack, blanket (A$9), and video unit (A$10 domestic, A$15 international).

There is no interlining of luggage from Jetstar to Qantas services. You have to lug it about yourself. Your boarding card colour is pretty important. If you check in early you get a Blue one, and can board early. Everyone else gets a silver one, and has to join the scrum. If you pay extra for a Jetflex ticket, you get an Orange boarding card, and can saunter onboard whenever you like, or at the head of the queue.

Qantas Inflight Entertainment - on Q

What Qantas call the Total Entertainment Inflight System is, rather in the Australian way, shortened to just Q. Whether you get a seatback TV on Qantas depends to a large extent on the type of plane you are on. There are two variants, the overhead one screen Short-Haul system, and the international Long-Haul system.

Short-Haul Qantas Inflight Entertainment

Qantas Headsets

Headsets are not provided on the planes - uniquely on Qantas they can be picked up in the bins at the departure gate. Virtually identical to BA headphones they are the headband style with twin 3.5mm mini-jacks, and produce a nice punchy sound with plenty of treble.

Short-Haul in Australian terms can mean a flight of several hours duration, and so Qantas provide short films and comedies on the overhead TVs on 737s and 767s. These are often so appallingly bad that looking out of the window or buying a beer is the only release. It showcases home grown Australian productions - and that means productions where the budgets are minimal, sets appalling, and acting straight out of kindergarden. All is not lost however - the radio channels pick up radio straight from the ground - and there's normally either triple J or ABC to listen to. On flights above 3 hours (namely flights to Perth and Darwin) a full film is shown, with a short comedy before hand.

On domestic Qantas flights operated by a 747 (just Perth to Melbourne & Sydney) there is a full seatback video, with 6 films. These should be taken above the 737s services, which just have a mainscreen film.

747 at seat video controller

Qantas AVOD On demand video

Great fun can be had from the Qantas monthly documentary on their latest innovations. It's so funny you'll be glued to your seat - and not intentionally - but sometimes has "fleetingly" interesting fleet or loyalty card news.

Note that Qantaslink slights operated by Impulse have no inflight entertainment.

Long-Haul Qantas Inflight Entertainment

Qantas are replacing their inflight entertainment system with an AVOD Video on Demand system. It is present on all A380s and some A330s, however as yet not all planes have this. However, all planes do have a seatback entertainment system.

The older long-haul 747s have a 12 channel video system which you can select at your seat. The films are on a 2 and a half hour cycle. Move up then down a channel to see the timing. Each channel has two soundtracks, with the English version on A and the other language on B.

Business 747 flip out video screen

On some international flights Channel 9 News is also shown just after takeoff.

Films shown long-haul to the UK and other international locations can be right mixture, almost dreamed up on the spur of the moment. Normally theres only one film which is doing the rounds of the cinemas at the moment. The listing of what you are likely to get is shown right at the back of the inflight magazine, in the Movie Marathon section.

Qantas The Australian Way

There's just a page of text showing from and to locations, and the names of the films. You have to marry them up to the films reviewed in the preceding pages.

Qantas Inflight Magazine - The Australian Way

Sydney produced The Australian Way is an average to classy monthly inflight magazine with an arty streak. It has one article on somewhere to visit on the Qantas network, which normally looks at the bars and nightlife rather than the culture of a location.

There is a long motoring section, and the HipZone - another section on the places to party like a wild thing when you finally get there. Leading the magazine is the Arts section, with pages of short films, galleries, and festivals. While a top quality magazine, you can't help feeling that its produced by a one man band that wants to look at pretty pictures and party, hard. Fine, if you're part of the beautiful crowd.

Qantas Longhaul amenity kit

Qantas are pretty generous when it comes to their handouts for longhaul.

Economy

Qantas economy longhaul Amenity bag

The economy kitbag has a clip together toothbrush, with nondescript industrial toothpaste in a minute tube at the bottom, an eyeshade, and socks. It all comes in a wonderful pouch with a hang around your kneck clip. The bag itself must have cost far more than what's inside it, and it's worth keeping.

Qantas Business Class amenity kit (over 12 hours)

Qantas business longhaul kitbag

The business kitbag has a toothbrush, and a moderately sized tube of colgate toothpaste, and a schick razor. There is a tube of Caire Moisturiser, cleanser (with a packet of cotton wool) and a tube of hydration gel. The Caire Facial Mist is great - hold six inches away from your face for a quick wakeup call. There are also some decent socks, earplugs and an eyeshade. It comes in a pretty good logoed washbag, with Qantas labels on the zip, and an instruction manual.

Business (less than 12 hours)

Qantas business longhaul kitbag

The business kitbag has a toothbrush, and colgate toothpaste, a razor and shaving cream, mouthwash, and lip moisturiser, plus earplugs and eyeshade. All in a nice kitbag, with a zip with little Qantas labels.

Qantas First Class amenity kit

The First amenity bag has few extras. There's a toothbrush, and Colgate toothpaste, a razor and shaving cream, mouthwash, and lip moisturiser, plus earplugs and eyeshade. However there is a Natio moisturiser and a Naito "face moist" face spray. Which all proves that naming things is not an Australian strong point.

Qantas First Amenity bag

It comes in a slightly bigger kitbag, with a fiddly Velcro strap at the front.

Qantas Routes

News: Qantas are planning to increase services to London from 21 to 27 per week with three new Perth-Singapore-London flights and three new Sydney-Hong Kong-London services.

Qantas have an intense service to the UK, as you'd expect from an airline based in an old colony.

Qantas 767 at Sydney

From Sydney there's a daily 747-400 service to London leaving at 1815 via Bangkok. There's a daily flight to Singapore at 2215, which goes on to London on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. These complement the 2 a day from British Airways, at 16:20 and 17:00 which also carry Qantas codeshare designations.

LA gets a flight daily at 1235 and 1550, Tokyo daily at 22:15 (and another at weekends at 10:55), Frankfurt daily at 17:00, New York on Wed, Fri, Sun at 12:35, Johannesburg every day except Wednesday and Friday at 12:35.

Melbourne to London daily at 1710 via Singapore, Tokyo at 10:25 (weekends at 0835), LA daily at 12:25.

Perth to Singapore daily at 0745 and 1650.

Adelaide to Singapore on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday at 1225.

Singapore a Qantas 767 for Perth lines up behind a 747 for London

Darwin to Singapore on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday at 1550.

Airline schedules change regularly.

This information is intended as a guide, but for up to the minute timetables, please consult Qantas.

Qantas is about to restart flights from Sydney to Mumbai (Bombay) in India, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, using an elderly two-class Boeing 747-300. Qantas axed this route a couple of years back, when it was flown five days a week with Boeing 767 aircraft, which were transfered to domestic operations.

Qantas have also axed all services to Rome. All services to Paris have also been cut, and have been replaced with an AirFrance codeshare to Singapore.

Qantas frequent flyer scheme - Frequentflyer

News: Qantas now gives frequent flyers a 5000 point bonus at 450 status credits, upgrade credits no longer exist.

Qantas' manual for the Frequentflyer scheme

There is the Qantas Frequent Flyer scheme, where you earn points for each mile you fly, and the Qantas Club, which you pay to join, which gives access to the business lounges. It is part of the OneWorld Alliance.

The Qantas loyalty scheme is more complicated than that at many other any airlines. There are separated earned points (which earn miles to spend) and status credits (which earn tier levels). Four tier levels, buying points for one off perks, lifetime membership, the added complication of the Qantas Club and the wacky fact that you can add some, but not all, Star Alliance airlines and Skyteam miles to Qantas Oneworld points, which mean that a trip to the airport is spent thumbing through the hefty 85 page Qantas manual to see what you can claim on which scheme.

There is no expiry date on your Qantas Frequent Flyer points - provided you earn or redeem points from your account at least once every three years.

Thankfully, Qantas have avoided the policy of giving the scheme a daft name, and its just called the Qantas Frequentflyer scheme. The scheme, unlike most airlines, is very reliably managed, and you can usually trust points to be credited on time. 3,660,000 people are members of the scheme.

Qantas "Mumbo-Jumbo" 747 at Sydney

Qantas now refer all new British resident customers, wishing to join it’s frequent flyer program, to the BA Executive Club, however if you hassle Qantas's UK office in Hammersmith (by phone) they will gurdgingly let you join.

Zone miles disc/econ biz first 1 0-600 10/20 40 60 2 601-1200 15/30 60 90 3 1201-2400 20/40 80 120 4 2401-3600 25/50 100 150 5 3601-4800 30/60 120 180 6 4801-5800 35/70 140 210 7 5801-7000 40/80 160 240 8 7001-8400 45/90 180 270 9 8401-9600 50/100 200 300 109601-15000 60/120 240 360

Qantas points / credits earned. The new 10 zone earning table

A magazine is Emailed every month or two to all members, including those in the UK. It contains a lot of special offers, for flights and hotels that are half price that month to Qantas members.

Earning Qantas points

One Point is earned per mile on Qantas flights, plus all Oneworld airlines. 1.25 points are earned in Business Class (but not on flights upgraded to business class). A point is also earned on SAS, US Airways, Swiss, and Alitalia flights. A minimum of 1000 points is credited, even if the flight is only a few miles, except for BA flights, where BA rules apply. For example, you only earn 125 miles for a short, UK domestic flight.

Status Credits are earned on all flights including extreme cut price (Y class) economy fares, and even on very short hops of just a few miles. Status Credits are also earned for BA flights, and other Oneworld flights. You earn 10 Status Credits for flights up to 600 miles in economy, 15 to 1200 miles, 20 for longer Oz domestics, etc. They reset to zero on the anniversary of your joining. So even if you have 340 points and are going to fly the next day - tough. See box above for status credits earned.

LHR>SIN 6757 SIN>SYD 3908 LHR>SYD 10586 SIN>MEL 3749 SYD>BNE 468 SYD>ADL 1000 SYD>PTH 2041 ADL>PTH 1318

Qantas points earned.

Status credits (known until last year as Tier Credits, until too many people started crying over them) determine your membership Tier. You rise from bronze to silver to gold etc, the more flights you take in your membership year, and you drop down again if you haven't taken enough flights to maintain that level in the year. Initially you start at Bronze level.

Qantas now gives frequent flyers a 5000 point bonus at 450 status credits, in a replacement for the old upgrade credit system which no longer exist.

Beware of the wacky Qantas rule, that if you stick with a flight code, even on a codeshare, you only earn one status credit level point addition. This means its worthwhile adding an extra hour to Singapore stopovers or booking under BA codes, so you seem to take two flights, even if its on the same aircraft.

If you fly a lot in discount economy on BA, it can be well worth while putting your miles on a Qantas card. You will not earn any status by flying on BA with these tickets, but your can (slowly) earn status with Qantas.

Spending Qantas miles

Zone 1 8000 16000 Zone 2 12000 24000 Zone 3 18000 36000 Zone 4 25000 50000 Zone 5 30000 60000 Zone 6 36000 72000 Zone 7 42000 84000 Zone 8 48000 96000 Zone 9 56000 112000 Zone 10 64000 128000

Spending Qantas miles. Second figure is for business

Qantas organise the world into zones with internal flights in zone 1, onto a sliding scale of 2 from Perth to Sydney, Singapore or Sydney is zone 3, up to zone 10 for a flight from LHR to SYD. All award bookings are for return flights - you can't book a single jouney.

The chart on the right indicates the redemption levels.

Frequentflyer Bronze

Qantas' Bronze level card for the Frequentflyer scheme

Anyone can join Qantas' Frequent Flyer scheme online.

As soon as you take your first flight on the scheme after joining you are sent a proper plastic card and (the vital!) manual.

Even if you are in the UK this is reliably sent to you only a few days after your first flight - so long as you hassle Qantas to let you join the scheme from the UK.

Frequentflyer Silver

Qantas' Silver level card for the Frequentflyer scheme

Qantas Frequentflyer Silver level is equivalent to Oneworld Ruby Level. It can be achieved at 350 Status Credits in any year to the aniversary of you joining. To renew it you need just 300 points.

There's check in at the Business check in desk and priority on the waitlist. You can take an extra 10kg of luggage onto Qantas International flights. You can also earn a 25% point bonus (or 10% on BA World Traveller Plus).

Theres a hefty pack which accompanies Silver level. It contains another manual with all the extra benefits, various sales flyers, two luggage tags (with very poor plastic ties - I prefer the string ones bmi hand out) and a letter with a detatchable pop-out card at the bottom which gives you one visit to the Qantas Club.

Silver Level welcome pack

This level is equivalent to 3 economy (120x3=360) return flights from LHR to SYD in one year.

Frequentflyer Gold

Qantas Frequent Flyer Gold level is equivalent to Oneworld Sapphire Level. It can be achieved at 700 Status Credits in any year to the aniversary of you joining. To renew it you need just 600 points.

You can get into the business lounge, even if you are on economy. There is also a 50% point bonus.

After 1400 Status Credits you get Platinum (called Emerald under the OneWorld Alliance) which brings the First Class lounges even if you are travelling economy. There is also a 100% point bonus.

If you earn 7000 Status Credits in a lifetime you get lifetime Silver level. 14000 earns lifetime Gold level.

Upgrading using miles

You can use your miles to upgrade your class of travel, so long as you are not travelling in discount economy in N, O or Q class.

This can be a good deal, however beware that to upgrade a cheap flight of only 600 miles can use 8000 miles if you buy a discount economy ticket - it is by far from a bargain.

Qantas 737 at Cairns

If you use points on a discount economy ticket(In classes L, M, R, S, V), for a flight to 600 miles it takes with 8,000 miles for a zone 1 upgrade, and 12,000 for zone 2, 16,000 for zone 3 (which includes the Perth flight - quite good value) and 96,000 for zone 10. Note that if you are on a two-sector flight, you have to pay to upgrade each sector individually - there is no way to avoid this, and fudge a two-sector upgrade with the points just from the origin to the destination alas.

It's cheaper if you upgrade a Fully Flexible (classes Y, B, H) and Flexi Saver (class K and W) ticket - for a flight to 600 miles it takes with 5,000 miles for a zone 1 upgrade, and 7,500 for zone 2, and 60,000 for zone 10.

Individual, Bronze Frequentflyer In Oz, taxed 685 partner 385 Out Oz/no tax 625 partner 350 Individual, Silver Frequentflyer In Oz, taxed 614 partner 346 Out Oz/no tax 587 partner 332 Joining Fee In Oz, taxed 297 partner 154 Out Oz/no tax 270 partner 140

Cost of 1 years' QantasClub. Prices in Australian Dollars

You can now upgrade online. Just make a booking, go back to the welcome screen, select "your bookings" from the drop-down menu, and then click on the link by your booking to upgrade.

Upgrade Credits no longer exist - they were previously used with 1 Upgrade Credit for internal flights (zone 1), with a sliding scale of 2 from Perth to Sydney (zone 2), up to 5 for a flight from LHR to SYD (zone 5).

Buying QantasClub Membership

Of course, if flying enough miles isn't for you - there is a quicker way. Buying membership of the Qantas Club, which is a different, but connected, part of the Qantas Frequent Flyer scheme.

If you get up to Gold on the Frequent Flyer scheme then you get membership of the Qantas Club for free: otherwise it'll get you into the lounges even on an economy ticket, both domestically and internationally. On an international flight you also get admission to the British Airways Terraces lounges, and American Airlines lounges on an economy ticket.

Qantas Business Class Lounges - The QantasClub

News: All domestic Qantas Clubs will now start serving alcohol at 2pm, as opposed to the previous midday opening time, except in the new Business sections where a Noon start remains. The change comes as Qantas tries to save money in any way possible, even just from having the bar open slightly less. It is also seen as an attempt to drive customers to buy business tickets.
Qantas have a large network of lounges, at both international and domestic airports.

Domestically, the lounge system has recently changed, so that now there are two types of lounges. There are the normal Domestic Qantas Club lounges for which you need to pay for membership of the QantasClub, or a Gold Qantas Frequent Flyer membership card. There are also the new Domestic Business Class Lounges, which you can access on a Business Class ticket, or with a Platinum Frequent Flier member card (or oneWorld Emerald). Previously there was no access with any Business Class ticket: a strange oversight, and this is is a very welcome change, which will align the domestic Business access policy with international Business where customers are able to access the Business Lounge. However customers in Business Class will not be able to invite a guest into the Qantas Club with them. Qantas Club members can.

Change is afoot in the domestic Qantas Clubs. As a result of the change of adding a business class section, all Qantas Clubs will now start serving alcohol at 2pm, as opposed to the previous Noon opening time. This in turn is a change from the 1pm bar start in 2005, when business class passengers were finally admitted to the lounges.

Qantas 717 at Hobart

International lounges are similarly split between Business Class and First Class, and you can either get in with membership of the QantasClub, a Saphire oneWorld Frequent Flyer card, Emerald oneWorld (for the First lounges), or if you are flying business or First class.

Becoming a member of the QantasClub is a complicated business - you can join either as an individual, as a partner of someone who is a member, or as a corporate member (if your company pays), all at different prices. The price you then pay is also dependent on whether you live in Australia, and if you then pay income tax down under. Special discounts also apply for silver Frequentflyer members. Membership lasts a year (or two or four years if you buy a long sequence of them), and renewing membership then qualifies for another discount. As the table on the right shows, a dedicated quote may be required.

QantasClub the wine selection in Sydney

If you are a Sliver Frequentflyer member, you get one invite to the lounges for free with your welcome pack. Gold Frequentflyer members get free membership for a year.

QantasClub Melbourne Domestic

Getting a guest into the lounge used to involve complicated Guest Membership passes, of which a changing number were allocated according to your membership level. Now however there is a limit of one guest per member per visit in international QantasClub lounges, joint Qantas/British Airways, and partner airline lounges. If you are a Platinum Frequentflyer member you can bring in two guests into domestic lounges, even if they are not travelling.

Jetstar flights are a weird one. If you are on a Qantas codeshare you always get in if you would have got in on a normal Qantas flight. If you are on a pure Jetstar booking, you can also get access to the lounges if you are a member of the QantasClub, or Gold or Silver with Qantas Frequent Flyer. Gold with British Airways also lets you in, and is an unadvertised benefit, but this, and other frequent flyer tiers, can give a lot of problems getting access. The rules aren't published on any website, but it is on the clue-cards that the lounge staff have at reception.

QantasClub Sydney T3, central area

Being a member of the QantasClub is also a great way to get into the British Airways lounges (Terraces and Executive Club lounges), American Airlines (Admirals Club) lounges and US Airways (Club) lounges. You will automatically get in even if you are travelling economy. As BA do not sell access, this is the only way of getting in by paying up front. You can not, however, get into the Oneworld lounges on other Oneworld partner flights unless the flight is a Qantas codeshare (for Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia and LanChile).

QantasClub Melbourne Domestic

Outside of Australia, Qantas mainly use partner lounges. In London its the British Airways Terraces lounge (Terminal 3), Frankfurt has the Delta Airlines Crown Room Club (by gate D8) and in Paris its the American Airlines Admirals Club (near gate 37).

There is a dedicated QantasClub lounge in Bangkok (Terminal 2, near Gates 51 - 56, open 1300 to 2400), a shared Qantas and British Airways lounge in Singapore (Terminal 1), and a brand new Qantas Club at Hong Kong (Level 7) while Tokyo uses the Japan Airlines Sakura Lounge (by gate 61).

QantasClub Sydney T3 Domestic, the quiet area

Honolulu amazingly has its own dedicated QantasClub (Airside, EWA Concourse, above Gate 26 open 2100 to 0130) as does Nadi (Tabua Lounge), while in Los Angeles it uses the shared Qantas/British Airways lounge (Tom Bradley International, 5th Floor). In New York there is the very good British Airways Terraces lounge (above Departures).

In Australia there are dedicated International QantasClub lounges at Adelaide (Departures Level, near Gate 2), Brisbane (Level 4), Cairns (Level 1, right of Security), Melbourne (Level 1), Perth (Gate 2), and Sydney (Pier B).

Sydney International First Class lounge

Pier B, Level 4. Open 0525-0030

Sydney International First Class lounge

The Sydney International First Class lounge is absolutely superb: it's up with some of the top lounges of the world. It's right on the top floor of the airport, and occupies a new space that juts out over the apron, giving fantastic views. You enter past one flunky, and then turn a corner in what seems like a waiting lobby, before going up escalators to the main reception desk, to have your boarding pass checked. You can get in on the rare domestic flights that leave from the international terminal, if you are a oneWorld Emerald.

Sydney International First Class lounge

The lounge itself is divided up by wooden partitions, so it doesn't seem as big as it is. It's a classy place, full of white marble and rather uncomfortable designer chairs (leather lounge chairs, recliners, and sofas are by Italy's Poltrona Frau. This is not a recomendation). As you come in the dining area is on your left, and the library (and mobile free zone) is on the right. Huge American oak sculptures that separate the lounge space into defined areas

The bar is absolutely top notch. with a fine selection of pretty much every spirit you'd like, and with decent champers. It's open from the first flights.

Food is equally good. There is no self-serve snackbar: instead there are menus (menus by Neil Perry), and you have to ask the staff for what you'd like (there is a chair-side waiter service throughout the lounge). You can sit at the bar, and they will cook the food infront of you, or you can sit in the main dining area. A firm favourite in the mornings is eggs benedit with salmon.

Sydney International First Class lounge

There is a dedicated entertainment zone with banks of plasma screens showing local and international news, sport and weather, and Sony Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable entertainment systems offering a pretty good selection of games. There are state-of-the-art business facilities with 11 Computers, complimentary wifi internet access, data points throughout the lounge and two private work suites with conference facilities and plasma display screens.

Sydney International First Class lounge

Around the back there are luxurious individual marble-lined shower suites with individual stereo volume and lighting controls, radiant heating to reduce condensation on the mirrors, and luggage racks. As if that wasn't enough, the First Lounge is located on level four of the Sydney International Terminal and was designed to comply with both Flying Star Feng Shui and classic Feng Shui elements.

You can get access to this lounge if you are in First (international) of course, but you can also get into the lounge if you fly on a cheap domestic ticket, but with a oneworld Emerald card. You can connect to Melbourne from Terminal 1 on QF 74 and QF 136. Other domestically oprated international flights are QF 81 to Adelaide (this is the last scheduled flight that works, giving you longest at the bar), QF 175 to Brisbane, QF 167 to Cairns and QF 123 to Darwin.

Singapore Qantas Club / British Airways Lounges

Terminal 1, left after Immigration, up the escalator. Open 0525-0030

Singapore Qantas First lounge

Qantas maintain both a First and a Business Class lounges at Sinagapore. These are joint lounges with British Airways, and on the business side Qantas branding dominates, while on the First side there is little branding as the lounge is so old and tired.

Singapore Qantas Club lounge

Singapore Qantas First lounge

The Qantas First lounge at Singapore is woeful. It is straight out of the 70s, with little attention to detail, or even style. There isn't much food (but there is hot pizza), and the bar is almost the same as the Qantas club. There are five computers behind a wooden screen.

The lounge is shared with BA, and further details are in the British Airways page.

Singapore Qantas Club (Business Class)

The Qantas Club that BA uses in Singapore got a revamp in 2004, and is now on a par any Qantas lounges in the world (if only the same could be said for the First section). It cost £4m, and was revamped by the Australian-based architectural and interior design firm, Woods Bagot.

Singapore Qantas Club lounge

This is SO much better than the first side. It looks like a normal Qantas Club, and it shows: you could be in Oz. It's vast, overlooking the main pleb checkin / landside area. It has what is described as a fresh, new, innovative design, featuring contemporary and stylish furniture and fittings, and has a seating capacity for 400. It's vast, overlooking the main checkin and landside area.

Singapore Qantas Club lounge bar

There are two long bars. The one on the left is the funkiest, with bar managers who will make up cocktails for you. On the right its self serve only.

Food is the usual Qantas mix of salads and sandwiches, plus a hot soup. There is free Wifi, and plenty of computers, with a long rack of them on the right on a long shelf, or near the bar, in cubby holes (which have their own printers).

Singapore Qantas Club lounge food

There are new bathrooms facilities, with 20 private shower suites and a paging system to let you know when they are available.

There are good business facilities, which includes 6 private workstations (on the left hand side of the lounge) and 18 high speed internet PCs, oddly placed on the benches overlooking the window to the right. Here there are also printing, photocopying, and fax facilities. There is free wifi (talk to reception for settings), and data ports are located throughout the lounge at the other seats. At the back of the lounge is what is called the Entertainment zones, featuring large television screens. There is a very good selection of magazines and newspapers, both from the UK and Australia.

London LHR International British Airways lounge / Qantas Club

Terminal 4, gate 10. Open 0500-2230

QantasClub London Heathrow

News: Qantas will soon be moving to Terminal 3 at London Heathrow, and opening a new lounge there.

The London Heathrow QantasClub is actually British Airways' normal lounges in Terminal 4. Food has recently been improved, and there is now a hot selection from the kitchen. The bar is great, although there are no Australian beers. The wine bar is particularly remarkable. There are all the Australian newspapers, although they may be several days old.

Further details are in the British Airways page.

Hong Kong Qantas Club

HongKong Qantas Club

Airside, Level 7, turn right directly after Immigration. Open 0700-last departure
The Hong Kong Qantas Club is sparklingly brand new. It opened in December 2009. It is up high - on the top level of the airport - and has a balcony overlooking the rest of the terminal. Food is pretty good with a decent selection of wraps, sandwiches, rolls, cheese, and nuts. The bar isn't brilliant, with spritis, Heiniken, Fosters, Guinness and Singa, two reds and two white. There are 8 computers, and all the Australian and UK newspapers. There are showers.

The HongKong QantasClub is actually run by British Airways. Further details are in the British Airways page.

Bangkok International Qantas Club

Airside, Departures level 3, Concourse G near Gates 1-5. Open 1300-0030(biz) 1300-1800(First)

Bangkok Qantas Club lounge

There are both First and a Business Class lounges at the new Bangkok airport. These are joint lounges with British Airways, and BA branding dominates. The First and Terraces lounges are totally separate, and there is no direct contact between them. The bar is good, there is a decent selection of food, there are showers, and several new computers.

Further details are in the British Airways page.

Auckland Qantas Club

Auckland International Qantas Club

Airside, turn right after duty free shop Departures, level 2. Open 0430-1900 Sat & Sun to 1830
There is a full Qantas Club in Auckland International. To get to the area of the airport that has the lounges, after security go past the duty free shops, then up the escalator, right at the sign for VIP Lounges, right up the small rather dowdy corridor, up another escalator and double back on yourself. The lounge opens early to allow for the almost overnight departure of the LAN Chile flight, which is technically the first Qantas flight of the day, since it operates as a code share. At these times the lounge is quite empty, but at other times it's rammed to the gills, particularly before the early evening flights to the East coast of Australia leave to cross the Tasman.

Auckland Qantas Club bar

The main part of the business section of the Auckland lounge takes the form of a large L. As you walk in, right at the counter, you can curve left, and there is a long magazine rack with plenty of seats on your left and a large TV. Then you are in the main part of the lounge, which is basically one big rectangular (or Oblong, as the Kiwi on the desk calls it) room. Half way along is the food and drink bar. There are a variety of seating which varies from hard cafe style chairs (they look trendy, like half saucers) to some pretty comfortable squashy armchairs at the far end of the room. The one thing there isn't, is a view of the runway, or infact a view of anything much.

Auckland Qantas Club

Food is pretty much standard Qantas fare, with muffins of toast in the morning, along with fruit and yoghurt. By lunchtime it turns into a salad with ham and cheese. In the evenings sometimes there are hot meat pies. It seems odd that the food in this lounge is so ordinary, as this is the lounge that featured in a TV Commercial in the mid noughties, listing the virtues of the Qantas Club food!

The Bar is very comprehensive, and compared to the domestic lounges it has a vast improvement: it is open all day! There are some Kiwi and Aussie beers, like Crown, in the fridge, which also has three types of white and a Kiwi Sparkler. On the worktop are two redm, and the spirit selection with Bacardi, Campari, Regal, Cougar and Bombay Saphire gin.

Auckland Qantas Club

Back by the desk there is the Qantas Business Centre, which really isn't up to much: it only has three computer (all with printers), and it can sometimes be hard to work in here, and parents like to leave their children to play on the PCs. There is also a photocopier and a fax here. Wifi is free in the lounge (User: qantas, PW: qantasaklnz).

There is one other joy you can have in the Auckland lounge - the joy of turning left. If you are at the top teir of Qantas's Frequent Flyer scheme, or a oneWorld Emerald, there is access to the First Class sections. It is behind the frosted glass sliding door to your left as you approach the counter on entry. The perks aren't a lot, but there is a slightly better food service, marginally better spirits, and 3 computers.

QantasClub Sydney T3, overlooking windows

Sydney T3 Domestic QantasClub

Terminal 3, opposite gate 4, top floor Open 0500-2300

QantasClub Sydney T3

This is a huge lounge occupying most of the top floor of Terminal 3 in Sydney. It needs to be big - because it gets a vast amount of traffic, most of which is on the shuttles up to Brisbane, or down to Melbourne. The lounge has however been made smaller, with a quarter of it being partitioned off for the enhanced Business Class section. As a result, to get to the lounge you have to pass the first set of escalators on the councourse, then go up the second set, turn right and go through sliding glass doors. From here you are in the middle of the lounge, with racks of seats occupying the view over the hangars. While you are here you can admire the strange artworks over the ticket desks.

As you walk right there is a food bar, a newspaper rack. There are some magazines dotted around, but newspapers are harder to come by: a stack of Australians is normally in the central part of the lounge. If you are on a cityflyer service, you can get a newspaper at the gate, and there is also a good newsagents in the lounge itself, with a good book selection.

QantasClub Sydney T3, quiet area

At the far end on the extreem right is a much quieter area, that few people seem to visit. Here there are also 4 more computers, hidden behind a white partition. Separating this area from the main lounge is a half wall with a TV: Channel 9 on this gives the air traffic control information.

Further around to the right is a small corridor with the bathroom and shower suites (which are pretty classy).

In the main area of the lounge there are more computers: 16 in total. If you print it goes to the separate photocopier

QantasClub Sydney T3, central area

Back in front of the main entrance if you go left there is the main bar (opens at 2pm). Wine is in the trough, whereas you have to ask for beer or spirits. Further along is the new extension with a polished wood floor at far left - this is often deserted, and has a great view of the runway. Finally as you curve around to the left, there is a secondary bar (opens 4pm) at far left, and long bench tables infront of another TV, which is normally on Sky News.

QantasClub Sydney T3, secondary bar

Food is on the two marble benches at either end of the main room, and is very good, with a better selection that at most QantasClubs. There are normally two types of soups, hot rolls, several platters of ham and cheese, biscuits, and four tubs of green salad, greek salad, potato salad and rice.

Melbourne Domestic QantasClub

First floor after security Open 0515-2330
This lounge is one of Qantas' biggest, and is calm and relaxing. You enter up a long escalator, and turn left at the desk past the two people checking membership. Then there are two long rooms with plenty of seats overlooking the runway. On you left is the bar. If you go halfway up there is the food section, and then left of there there is a business centre.

QantasClub Melbourne Domestic

The food hall has long dining room style tables, which seem a bit studenty but in reality are fine, with a TV normally playing channel 7 screwed to the wall. Breakfast offerings are poor, with just mellon or waffles and jam. By mid morning there is a good salad bar with lots of cheese, dips, slices of ham, pepper and hot rolls. There is also a soup, of a type which changes every day.

QantasClub Melbourne Domestic bar

To the left of the food hall are the tea and coffee making facilities, and beyond this a small shop. Behind the shop is a business centre which has four very fast Internet computers. Competition to get on these machines is fierce, and the netnanny is equally difficult, banning many important sites - including some content of this one.

Back in the main lounge there is long bar on the left. When it is open it features Qantas' favourite wines of the month, with 2 reds, 2 whites, and a sparkling in the trough down the middle of the bar.

Newspapers are liberally dotted around the lounge on the central magazine pods, with plenty of copies of The Age, and some Australians, although finding a copy of the Sydney Morning Herald can be harder work.

QantasClub Brisbane Domestic the bar & dining area

Brisbane Domestic QantasClub

Departure Level 1, near Gate 22. Open 0515-last departure
The Brisbane Domestic QantasClub is another vast lounge with six or seven separate areas, and yet despite it's size this QantasClub can get a bit hectic at times, with hundreds of people milling around, on the phone, or returning to the bar for yet another top up.

QantasClub Brisbane Domestic the rear room

The entrance is on the main concourse, at it's lefthand (Eastern) end, before the L shaped corner for the pier. At the desk where membership is checked, QantasClub is to the left, and Business is to the right. Past this point there is a desk where you check in or ammend your booking. Then there is a vast room with comfy rooms, however since the Business Section was built there is no longer a good view of the apron.

The bar is on the left - unlike Melbourne, the wine is kept right by the bar, where the barstaff can keep an eye on it. It features Qantas' favourite wines of the month, with 2 reds, 2 whites, and a sparkling wine. The barstaff are however really helpful and will mix your preference of cocktails. Ahead of it is a long low dining table, with a magazine rack on the left of it. The magazines are in plastic covers, so you can't swipe them. Beyond this point are two rooms with TVs in both - one of which has Foxtel.

QantasClub Brisbane Domestic

QantasClub Brisbane Domestic food bar

The food counter is beside the bar. When the lounge is busy, often a queue forms. There is a soup (which varies every day) and the usual bowls of salad, cheese and ham.

As you carry on round, the seats at the far end are often much quieter, with a great view of the carpark. Not many people venture this far round. Completing the circle is the Business Centre which has 8 computers, most of which are quite fast and have a flat screen, but a very bad Cyberpatrol which blocks many innocent sites. Annoyingly, music often plays in this area.

Adelaide Domestic QantasClub

After security by gate 21 Open 0500-2330
The Adelaide QantasClub is a vast improvement on what went before. It's just been rebuilt, and as such is a vast haven of peace and quiet. It is also used by Malaysian Airlines for its international services, with two unusual gates in the middle of the terminal being changed to international use by means of large swinging glass doors.

QantasClub Adelaide

QantasClub Adelaide

It is arranged in a great big circle. As you walk in you pass the large business centre, with dozens of computers - all of which have a separate printer attached. Further around on the right is the foodbar. It has the usual soup (one variant a day) plus salad, ham, and cheese. In the mornings there is a good breakfast spread.

The bar is on the left side of the circle, and has free access to wine (red, white, and sparkling). There is plenty of beer - but you have to ask for it, and the same for the spirits.

The bathrooms are very stylish, behind the multicoloured screens. There are great showers.

Perth Domestic QantasClub

QantasClub Perth Domestic

After Security, up escalator in circle centre Open 0430-2100
This lounge is right in at the top of the Qantas terminal in Perth, and as such has great views of the aircraft - and is just a very short walk down to your plane. Built around a large curve, alas the lounge isn't really as big as it needs to be - when the daytime 747s to the East Coast leave this place gets packed.

QantasClub Perth Domestic

On the right is the food counter. There is a very good selection particularly late in the evenings - with the shot redeye flights to the Sydney, many passengers like to eat in here before boarding to get as much sleep as possible. The salad and cold meat seleciton is particularly good.

The bar is all the way round on the left. It opens at 1pm, and has the standard Qantas selection. Before the bar is the business section, with just six computers. There are often long queues to access one. Infront of this is a table with a number of magazines, and a good selection of newspapers from most states.

Coolengatta Gold Coast QantasClub

QantasClub Coolengatta Gold Coast

After Security, by gate 1 Open 0515-2100
This is quite a small lounge - but then, there are only two true Qantas flights a day now to the Gold Coast, so there isn't as much traffic as there was. There are many more Jetstar flights, which are rammed with older-schoolies.

Accordingly the bar here can be quite popular. It is - as usual - not open in the morning, but is very comprehensive, with a full selection of beer, and some decent sparklers. Condiments for cocktails are on the right of the served bar. Opposite the bar is a good range of seats where you can look over the runway, and admire the nosewheel of your plane (the lounge being on ground level).

QantasClub Coolengatta

Food is equally as good as any Qantas lounge elsewhere, with a good salad selection. The breakfasts are quite remarkable for their qantity. Newspapers are on the rack at the far end of the bar, however the selection is noticably poor - few business class passengers come this way.

That is probably why the business centre is poor, with just two computers, on the left behind the glass screen as you go in. There is a printer and a fax. The high number of clubbers that come this way does however mean that there are two comprehensive shower suites, for those who come straight from the club to the airport.

Townsville QantasClub

QantasClub Townsville

Ground floor, left after security Open 0500 to last departure
The small QantasClub in Townsville is tiny - and you may not get to see it anywhere. The staff on the front desk have their own interpretation of oneWorld rules, and with a Silver BA card for example, you may have to persuade the dragon to let you in. It may help to carry oneWorld rules with you.

QantasClub Townsville

Inside the lounge, there is an OK view of the planes: indeed, the nosewheel of the bird that will carry you aloft is often parked at the window. Overlooking the window there are seven high tables, and the usual armchairs rammed into the pokey lounge.

Food is the usual Qantas mix of salads and soup, but with a tropical twist: the salads are very good, and the fruit salad some of the best on the network. The bar is pretty good, although of course it only opens at 2pm. There is the usual Crown in the fridge, and there is normally a decent Aussie sparkling wine.

Cairns Domestic QantasClub

QantasClub Townsville food bar

Next to Gate 16 0445 to last departure

QantasClub Cairns

In the far North of Queensland it's comforting to know there is a decent QantasClub, and there sure is. The lounge is a bit better decorated than most, and with a bit more space. It has very good air conditioning. You get to it just off the main (oddly circular) main par of the terminal.

Food is pretty good: breakfasts in particular are quite spreading, for the early morning flights down south. It gets a bit poorer later in the day. The bar opens in the afternoon. There are only three internet computers, and it can be a bit of a hassle getting hold of one, but thankfully the dragons are pretty good at monitoring kids who just use them to play games.

Hobart Domestic QantasClub

To the right of Check In Open 0520-2030
This lounge is a before security, so its a great place to hang out with Tassie friends before the last flight. Quite big for a small airport, it is often deserted, which is a shame, as it's one of Qantas' best.

QantasClub Hobart

There is a small desk on the left, which gives a very detailed check to see if you should be let in. Then there is a loungy bit on the right, with a TV (domestic Tassie channels only) high bar tables at the bar end, and on the left the food and bar section.

QantasClub Hobart

There is a full comprensive food selection. It is really just salad - but what a salad! There is cheese, ham, dips, potato, peppers, even a wonderful mushroom thing which comes highly recomended. There are nuts, rolls, cheesy twiglets things... more than enough food before the one hour hop to Melbourne.

The fridge has a serve yourself bar (no service in the morning) and is stuffed with everything from local Tasmanian beer (Cascade & Boags) to two whites, two red - and a great champagne.

Broome QantasClub, Kimberley Lounge

After security, by garden, up wooden stairs Open 0900-2030

QantasClub Broome

This is a delightfully small and cute Qantasclub in the exceptionally remote tropical tourist resort that is Broome. But then with only a couple of flights a day to Perth, and one a week to Sydney & Melbourne, it rarely

QantasClub Broome

gets full. Perhaps this is just as well, as there are just 14 seats. Hard, wickerwork ones, with a wickerwork sofa and tables to complement the set. From the windows there is a great view of the aircraft stands, and indeed, there used to be a good balcony too, however as this overlooked the active runway, this has now been closed.

There is a bar, in the small fridge under the worktop, however this is not restocked in the day - once the day's booze is gone, it's gone. The allocation is just four bottles of red & white wine, four cans of VB, and four cans of Emu bitter.

Food is restricted to just biscuits, slices of fruit cake, and Timtams in the fridge.

QantasClub Broome

There are no newspapers in the lounge, but there are a few magazines in plastic cases. There is one computer, and one workstation desk, on the left. To use the internet you have to buy access from the shop underneath the lounge. It is quite expensive, and amazingly slow.

Qantas Hints & Tips

Reviews and opinions differ so much when it comes to Qantas: some people love 'em, and others moan constantly. As always so with any airline, but particularly when it comes to one that is so inconsistent, know what to expect, and then expect the unexpected.

There is no way to ever bend the rules. Qantas staff stick to their manual, and won't go the extra mile. For example if you are on a cheap ticket and you want to change your flight times - tough. You can't.

Qantas have a nasty habit of resheduling some of their flights without warning. If you book a domestic flight

Qantas Link Dash-8 at Canberra, ACT

some time in advance, make sure you check the booking online a week or so before you fly. Sometimes flights have been known to be rescheduled to take off an hour before their published time, and you will not receive any warning of this until you turn up at the airport to see your plane takeoff without you.

At some of the smaller more rural airports, Qantas staff get very fussy if you take photos of the planes. Just do it anyway; its not illegal.

Qantas tickets

Qantas have changed their fare strategy several times, and for internal flights now offer 4 different economy fare types, and one business class fare. Name changes are not allowed on any ticket type.

QantasLink 717 at Mackay

The two discount economy rates (which earn only 10 status credits per flight, or 20 on long internal flights) are:
Red E-Deals (N,O,Q) are only available on the internet. Prior to the day of departure, its possible to change the flight destination/time/day by paying A$27.50 (plus the extra cost of the ticket), but no changes are allowed on the day of departure, and the ticket is forefit if you cancel.
Super-savers (M,L,V) are the same, but on the day before departure you can cancel and the ticket value can be used towards payment for a new booking anywhere on the Qantas network within 12 months, for a fee of A$27.50.

Qantas 737 at Canberra, ACT

The two full economy rates (earning 20 status credits - or 40 on long flights over 1000 miles) are:
Flexi-savers (K) are the same as super savers, but offer free changes, but you can't cancel on the day of departure.
Fully Flexible (Y, B, H) is where you can cancel even just before the flight and get a full refund. These are the same conditions for business class.
Business does what it says on the tin. However you do not get access to the lounge when flying on a purely domestic itinery - only if you include the domestic flights in as part of an international itinery. Occasionally business class fares at a weekend are half the price of business class in the week - for example Sydney to Melbourne business comes in at A$295 when there is little traffic.

Qantas "Mumbo-Jumbo" 737 at Cairns, Queensland

There are additional ticket classes. In First Z is a First Award, F is full fare. In Business A is discount Business, and U is an Award while J is Full fare. In Economy D is discount Economy, X is an Award, Y is Full fare (B & H are discount Y, but with very few conditions). K is more discounted with some conditions, while M, L, S, V & O are usually heavily discounted. Q is an earlybird and discounted airfare.

Booking domestic flights from abroad

If you try and book Australian domestic flights from the UK, you can't do so via the UK website. If you book via phone direct with Qantas, Qantas will charge vastly more than if you go direct to the Australian version of the Qantas website. However fares are priced here in Australian Dollars, so will need to have up to date

Qantas A330 at Perth, WA

currency information (the BBC is a good place to start) and you will need to be confident in calculating the exchange rate yourself. If you do this, you will need to give a credit card number, and will be given an Eticket via Email. The savings can be considerable.

Special Fares

A continual promo in London is Australia return for £799, plus 8 internal flights over the course of a year. Designed for backpackers on Working Holiday Visas, its still a bargain and goes quickly. The best time to apply is October.

There is another promo in London, with Australia return for £699, plus 3 internal flights. This can also work out better than booking flights yourself, but there are a lot of restrictions. It appears in May each year.

Free A$20 per domestic flight

Qantas are now deliberately under catering flights between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Adelaide by 5%. If you want to take a gamble, you can ask to sit in the last few rows. Normally the meals will run out just before you (the last 2 rows in a 737, the last 4 in a 767).

You will first be offered a free drink. Then you will be offered free cheese and biscuit. Finally, if you keep on refusing, you will be offered an A$20 voucher.

Bargain fares at short notice

Qantas sometimes reduce the cost of Flexi-savers and Fully Flexible fares at midnight (Oz time) two weeks before the day of the flight. If you really need to book this class of ticket, it can pay to wait to 2pm (UK time) 13 days before the day you want to fly.

If it looks as if a flight will still be very empty, Qantas will reduce the cost of Red E-deal tickets one week before the day of the flight. If you book an E-ticket over the internet the fares can be incredibly low, such as Sydney to Perth for A$150, although this is rare.

Business class for an economy fare

On some routes (notably Melbourne to Alice) Qantas use two-class 737s, even though it is a one-class service. On this occasion the front seats are given to economy passengers - so you can end up in a business class seat, even though you've only paid a cheap fare! Priority is given to passengers who are Silver or Gold Frequent Flyer members, however other passengers who ask to be as near the front as possible can also benefit.

Operational Upgrades

One of the common questions is "How do I get an upgrade on Qantas to Business or First class?". Alas, getting upgraded to business class on Qantas really isn't that easy. The airline has the Western, rather than American, model for upgrades longhaul. Which is to say you'll only get an upgrade if your paid for class is full, and then upgrades are processed accordingly to a pecking order of elite frequent flyer status. You are very unlikely to ever get an upgrade unless you are at least an Emerald oneWorld member. Qantas are also notable for the rarity at which they upgrade passengers: they would rather offload them than move them up a cabin: however, it does occasionally happen.

To start with, make sure you are a frequent flyer, and you do fly frequently: after all, if Qantas are going to upgrade anyone, they will upgrade those passengers who fly with them pretty regularly, and hence will enjoy the upgrade enough to put more business Qantas's way. Then if the flight is full in economy, and someone needs to be moved up, the check in staff will first look at Platinum Qantas Frequent Flyer members, and then Gold level, and then at other Oneworld members at the equivalent levels (Emerald, and then Saphire, but rarely if ever Ruby). Another thing that Qantas look at is how much you paid for your ticket: it's much more likely to happen with a full fare ticket (although occasionally you can get lucky with a discounted economy ticket). On Qantas the airline has heard - probably hundreds of times a day - requests for an upgrade: the general consensus seems to be that if you ask for an upgrade, you're less likely to get it, although opinions differ on an upgrade strategy for Qantas.

As always, my advice on dressing properly in the pages on how to get an upgrade applies.

Qantas website

Qantas' website is pretty efficient and allows online bookings and loyalty card level checking. It always seems to be available, but lacks inflight entertainment or fleet news. To book internal flights you need to log on to the Australian version, and pay Australian dollars. See the hints and tips section on defeating the website to get cheaper fares.

Qantas BAE146 at Melbourne

There are two serious bugs in the website. If you select a domestic journey that involves a change of plane, and then click on one of the sectors to see the aircraft type, the website will always shows the duration of that sector as the total journey time between your beginning and end point.

The second bug is apparent if you go back to "seach again" when making a booking. The out and return dates reset to todays date each time you do so. This is very annoying, although you can get around it by using your browsers "back" button.

There is also a much more minor bug - when making an award booking, if you click on "next day" to see if there are any flights the next day, you are taken back to the beginning of the search, and all the information you entered is lost.

UK Version: www.qantas.co.uk
Oz Version: www.qantas.com.au

Frequent Flyer earning tables

Qantasclub locations

Fleet: www.qantas.com.au/info/flying/inTheAir
Seatmaps: 747 767 737 A330-200

Note that all reviews and opinions on Qantas (QF) food, service, seats, planes, upgrades, lounges, the Qantas Club, and the Frequent Flyer scheme is soley at my judgement. No legal liability is accepted if you take my advice.