Anyone ever flown to Australia with Qantas?

Question

Three of my friends want to go and have asked me what the journey's like, but I don't know as I've never been.
1) How would you rate Qantas for comfort, service etc?
2) Any tips on how to make the the long journey bearable?
3) What would you suggest they pack in the hand luggage?

Answer 1

Qantas is a good airline, Singapore is only slightly better.
Made good experiences with both of them.
Qantas is the only airline in the world which never ever had a major accident. They maintain their aircrafts very well.
Service is as good as Singapore. Do you fly Economy or Business class? Anyway, you'll get enough to eat (alright, meals could be better but which airline really has great meals unless you're not in business class?), entertainment is great (everyone has an own screen with plenty of movies, games, music to chose from).
Depends on where you fly from but I would suggest to travel all straight away without a stayover cause this costs time and money which you spend in that particular place. Take a night flight, then you can sleep most of the time and flight seems to be shorter.
Hand luggage: be sure you only carry 100ml bottles and not more than 10 of these all together in a plastic bag with a zipper. But actually you won't need that stuff in your hand luggage. Put it into your suit case and therefore some clothes for change into your hand luggage. You can't take a shower on the aircraft anyway, so why would you need that material?

Answer 2

I flew with them in 2005. I would never go with them again. comfort was minimal. Little leg room and plane was very hot. The attendants refer to the passengers as Sir and Madame all the time. Never smile. They are very stuffy and impersonal. They shouldn't have a problem with the hand luggage on a long haul trip. Just stick to the rules about no liquids, no sharp objects and weapons etc. If they have a stopover on the way, then they should pack overnight stuff in it but toiletries won't be allowed in it. The airline will give every passenger a goody bag with travel socks, eye shield, water etc. There are games to play on the inflight entertainment system and there are movies and radio. There are also tv stations. Otherwise they should take a book, puzzles or try to sleep. Food was awful when I went. Hopefully they will have a better experience than I did.

Answer 3

I know Qantas economy class has slightly more legroom than British Airways from personal experience, but I have not flown American. If you think this will be a problem, call the airline and discuss it with the reservations staff and they may be able to arrange for you to be seated in an exit row. You have to be able bodied so that there is no risk of you blocking the exit. Failing that, see what can be done at check in. If you want to make special arrangements, you will need to arrive at check in early, otherwise the choices may be limited.

Answer 4

1) Me and my boyfriend flew with Qantas when we came back from a gap year trip to Aus. They were BRILLIANT, im amazed that they have such a bad reputation with everyone. They made us very comfortable in Economy class. All the airlines now have tvs with films, games tv etc on which helps for the first couple of hours. Qantas gave us loads of food, snacks for the night with water and cashewnuts and fruit. The meals were ace, and me being a Vegetarian i got my meal first, yey! On the way back too we had a whole row to ourselves with Qantas, luck i know but it was good. Qantas were also good with us when organising our trip, we spent about one hour with one aussie qantas guy who advised us what to see whilst in Aus, such a good help!

2) Def go for the seats with extra leg room. We didnt but we really wish we had. My legs started to go numb as mine are quite long and literally had to fold them up, not good! Also a pillow helps!!! I'd say also get aisle seats because if someones sat in the aisle seat that you dont know and you need the loo then you feel awful waking them up to get out! Take an ipod or something, seriously anything that passes a bit of time! Try and sleep the whole journey! Stop-over a night, it really really helps, its def worth it, and most airlines allow you to stop-over free for up to 3 nights plus you can see some more places, go via LA or Hawaii!!!

3) Hand Luggage, erm.... books, Ipod, mints, a pen, deodrant wipes, face wipes, all the usual!

Hope this helps, im so jealous, i want to go back!!! xxx

Answer 5

I will give 9/10 , its great feeling travel with Qantas. The same standard as SQ. Last time I travel Qantas, I was served with an ice cream after my meal. hahaha...They gave me blanket though it's afternoon flight. hahaha! Even if the journey is long, there're entertainment for you. They've a small LCD screen TV like on every seats in front of you. You can watch movie, listen to songs, play games to kill your time. Passport and $ are good enough for hand luggage. Enjoy!

Answer 6

many times.

i have always had good experiences with qantas personally. the long journey will be difficult so drink LOADS OF WATER as it will help with jetlag and all the other problems that you get like thickening of the blood and swollen legs. move around as much as possible during the flight and choose the jetlag options for the meals as they contain less fat and salt.

take moisturiser and apply regularly to face and hands to stop them drying out. wear comfortable loose clothing and take a warm fleece or something. layers are best as it gets both very hot and very cold on these flights and if the flight is full there may not be extra blankets available.

take an ipod or a couple of good books, it gets really boring. they will show films on the flight but after 3 films you may want a change of activity! i take snacks such as nuts and fruit.

set your watch to the destination you are heading for and do your best to try start adjusting. i try not to sleep when the watch tells me its daytime in australia although i'm so tired, and i try to sleep if it is etc, as it really helps. this is easier to do if the flight isn't very full.

but the best advice is drink water water water. i suffer from jet lag on this flight and the only time i hardly suffered was when i was flying with a kidney infection and drank gallons and gallons of water on the flight! you can get a flight pillow that you blow up which may help to support your head for when you do sleep.

a stopover is the best, but not always possible. i assume you're not having one.

Answer 7

yes we flew with Qantas in July 2005 and found them to be excellent. I did not rate the BA side on return but Qantas was super from start of journey to finish.
We flew from healthrow, London to Sydney via Bangkok at 10pm at night (sunday) arriving 6amish (tues) Sydney time.
The economy seats were comfortable and bright. Air cabin crew pleasant and helpful. Always someone around even when most passengers asleep. Plenty of water and drinks throughout the flight and a snack bag containing fruit, cereal bar, crisps and yoghurt.
After about an hour into our flight we were given a cooked meal and then a hot drink or alcohol. Then later cold drinks. Then people settled for sleep or you could play with the seatback tv's. I enjoyed this.
I walked around the cabin about every hour to keep mobile and help prevent risk of DVT (Thrombosis)
We were given some sleeping goggles and some toothpaste which was great as it really refreshed the journey. In my hand luggage I carried some wet wipoes and some lip cream as flying is very drying. Also took a journal to write in about my holiday and some magazines. Drink plenty of water and juices to keep hydrated and cut down on caffeine and alcohol.
It was my first long haul flight but i really enjoyed it. It did not seem too long. The flight to bangkok went quickly and was about 12 hours. Then we were in transit in Bangkok for about 2 hours before flying a further 9 hours to sydney...and that soon passed to.
We were given a nice tropical breakfast around 5ish and we landed about 6amish.
Flying into Sydney and seeing the sunrise over the Opera house was magic!!!

And yes they did serve icecream...magnams!
Have a fabulous trip...we did and plan to move there all being well!

Answer 8

In "Cattle class" (economy) there's not much difference in comfort levels. I'd rate the service on Singapore Airlines higher.

Keep your hand luggage to the bare minimum. The less you have, the less hassles you have with security, and the less you annoy other passengers with getting in & out of your seat.

Speaking of seats- try to get an aisle seat. The window view gets dull after 30 minutes, and being on the aisle lets you visit the toilet facilities easily (no climbing over other passengers).

If you CAN sleep, do so. I have trouble with the Economy seats, and always seem to wind up next to a newborn baby, crying and fussing all through the flight.

The benefit of a stopover is- you get to shower and sleep in a REAL bed for a few hours. If you are travelling to Sydney, from continental USA, I suggest Hawaii. Travelling from Europe, I suggest Bangkok OR Singapore. (And if you are foolish enough to try smuggling drugs, Bangkok & Singapore have the death penalty)

Answer 9

Qantas is one of the worst airlines in the world. They pretend otherwise. I have flown them often because there was no choice. On only one flight did they give superior service and then they handed out questionnaires to say how good they were.

Fly with someone else - almost anyone else.

Answer 10

I haven't flown Qantas in over 11 years - there are more cheaper airlines out there (sorry to say, for an Australian airline)

Buy yourself a portable DVD player - they are down to $100 now - keeps you entertained watching what movies YOU want to watch.... We use them all the time flying. Even keep my 20 month entertained.

Take as little as poss on your hand luggage - and remember no nail scissors or anything sharp - they will take it off you.
Also deodorant cans - make sure you HAVE the top on, otherwise they will throw that out too. (it's happened to me)