View media item 19740With my time in Australia coming to an end, it was time for me to head to my next stop on this trip, Auckland New Zealand. For that I choose to fly with Qantas and booked their business class on the 787 using Avios on the British Airways website. Most of their flights across the Tasman are operated by their 737 800 fleet but QF3 is operated by their 787 9 as it continues onto New York JFK from Auckland.
After checking in and dropping my luggage off I headed through security and then through passport control into Sydney Airport International terminal. While walking through the airport it reminded me a bit like Heathrow where there was lots of high-end brand shops. I eventually made my way to the lounge by gate 26 which is a temporary lounge as their business class lounge is being revamped but it was a decent enough space with a good choice of hot and cold food and some good avgeek views. When I arrived it was quiet but soon filled with other passengers and became quite busy.
View media item 19747
View media item 19748
View media item 19749
After an hour in the lounge I headed to my gate, gate 59 which was a good 20 minutes walk away. When I got there the aircraft wasn’t on stand, but it did eventually get pulled on stand by a tug but this did mean we got a late departure. Boarding commenced and I got to do something I rarely do, turn left on a plane. My seat for this journey was 7K a fully lie flat business class seat based on the Thompson Vantage XL in a 1-2-1 layout.
I was welcomed by the crew and offered a welcome drink. Although it was morning I choose the champagne, it’s not often I fly a wide body business class product so I might as well celebrate. We eventually pushed back and then made our way to runway 34R and departed Australia. We flew over the city for a bit and then banked right and got a good look at the airport in the distance as we started our journey across the Tasman Sea.
View media item 19741
View media item 19742The flight time was 2 hours 40 minutes. There was 1 food service which was a lunch service rather than breakfast despite it being in the morning. I went for the chicken salad option which came with a salmon starter, bread of your choice from a basket and water. I also choose to have a local beer and later desert was a salted caramel ice cream. The food was really good and after that I napped and enjoyed the luxury of a lie flat bed on such a short flight and watched some TV for a while as well. The IFE system was responsive and could be controlled by the touch screen or a remote control.
View media item 19743
View media item 19744Sadly, though my time was limited in enjoying reclining the seat as we started to approach New Zealand so had to put the seat back into landing position. We landed on runway 23L and taxied to the terminal. All passengers had to leave the aircraft including the JFK bound passenger, they made their way to international transit while I made my way to passport control and biosecurity and entered New Zealand.
View media item 19745
View media item 19746Is Qantas 787 the best way to cross the Tasman Sea though? Having a lie flat long haul business class product surely must be one of the best ways to do it. The other option I only know that operates a widebody on trans-Tasman routes is Air New Zealand and their business class seat does come in for a lot of criticism. Overall, the flight was a really good experience, good crew and good food and I’m glad I extended my stay in Sydney to take this flight. Hopefully in the future I’ll get to compare them to Air New Zealand and in the future fly Qantas again.
After checking in and dropping my luggage off I headed through security and then through passport control into Sydney Airport International terminal. While walking through the airport it reminded me a bit like Heathrow where there was lots of high-end brand shops. I eventually made my way to the lounge by gate 26 which is a temporary lounge as their business class lounge is being revamped but it was a decent enough space with a good choice of hot and cold food and some good avgeek views. When I arrived it was quiet but soon filled with other passengers and became quite busy.
View media item 19747
View media item 19748
View media item 19749
After an hour in the lounge I headed to my gate, gate 59 which was a good 20 minutes walk away. When I got there the aircraft wasn’t on stand, but it did eventually get pulled on stand by a tug but this did mean we got a late departure. Boarding commenced and I got to do something I rarely do, turn left on a plane. My seat for this journey was 7K a fully lie flat business class seat based on the Thompson Vantage XL in a 1-2-1 layout.
I was welcomed by the crew and offered a welcome drink. Although it was morning I choose the champagne, it’s not often I fly a wide body business class product so I might as well celebrate. We eventually pushed back and then made our way to runway 34R and departed Australia. We flew over the city for a bit and then banked right and got a good look at the airport in the distance as we started our journey across the Tasman Sea.
View media item 19741
View media item 19742The flight time was 2 hours 40 minutes. There was 1 food service which was a lunch service rather than breakfast despite it being in the morning. I went for the chicken salad option which came with a salmon starter, bread of your choice from a basket and water. I also choose to have a local beer and later desert was a salted caramel ice cream. The food was really good and after that I napped and enjoyed the luxury of a lie flat bed on such a short flight and watched some TV for a while as well. The IFE system was responsive and could be controlled by the touch screen or a remote control.
View media item 19743
View media item 19744Sadly, though my time was limited in enjoying reclining the seat as we started to approach New Zealand so had to put the seat back into landing position. We landed on runway 23L and taxied to the terminal. All passengers had to leave the aircraft including the JFK bound passenger, they made their way to international transit while I made my way to passport control and biosecurity and entered New Zealand.
View media item 19745
View media item 19746Is Qantas 787 the best way to cross the Tasman Sea though? Having a lie flat long haul business class product surely must be one of the best ways to do it. The other option I only know that operates a widebody on trans-Tasman routes is Air New Zealand and their business class seat does come in for a lot of criticism. Overall, the flight was a really good experience, good crew and good food and I’m glad I extended my stay in Sydney to take this flight. Hopefully in the future I’ll get to compare them to Air New Zealand and in the future fly Qantas again.
