Qantas

THE best airline I have flown with by far! This was my first international flight on my lonesome and I’ve heard nothing but great things about Qantas. Lots of great things happened on my flight. I was flying from LAX. I got a whole row to myself, the food selection was exquisite, the entertainment was plentiful, and we were provided with blankets and pillows. The combination of all the things I mentioned made those 15 hours fly by like that! It was like magic. Can’t wait to fly with them on my flight back home! :)

Awful awful awful costumer service! I booked flights from Sydney to Cairnes and a different flight from Auckland to Sydney, as my boyfriend and I are planning an Australian and New Zealand vacation. I understand that hold times can vary depending on time of day and call volume, but no matter what time of day you call you are guaranteed to wait on hold for a minimum of 30 minutes. If you are lucky enough to get to an actual real person, your chances of being hung up are VERY HIGH. I called and disconnected 4 different times, all four times never got a call back and had to call again and start the process all over again. I was calling to find out about a refund for a flight that Qantas took upon themselves to cancel without notifying me! We wanted to get an extra ticket as my boyfriend is 6’6″ (2 meters) tall, this way we both can have a little more leg room. We first called to confirm the proper way to go about purchasing an extra ticket, they tell us to go online and purchase it with 2 different transactions, so we figured easy enough. Luckily my boyfriend called to confirm, because they cancelled the extra ticket! Without any contact, no emails no phone calls nothing. Their system apparently automatically cancels any tickets with the same name, (very weird if you ask me). Then when we finally got through with them, Qantas informed us we would have to purschase another ticket and then they would issue us a refund… that was over 2 months ago. Still waiting! Have been trying to speak with them for over 5 hours now, over 4 hung ups have occurred from their end. If there weren’t cancellation fees, I would be cancelling these flights. Hopefully the actual flight goes smoother then their customer service. Purchaser beware!

I flew on Qantas on four different airplanes on four flights, international and domestic and all on Economy class. Here are the planes:
Boeing 747 — LAX (Los Angeles) to SYD (Sydney Kingsford Smith), a really big plane.
Airbus A330 — SYD to MEL (Melbourne Tullamarine), a fairly medium-​sized plane.
Boeing 737 — MEL to SYD, a not so small plane, but not a big plane.
Airbus A380 — SYD to LAX, probably the biggest plane I flew on in my life.
LAX to SYD — This was probably one of the most arduous out of the four flights. I left Los Angeles around midnight, and arrived in Sydney in the morning one day later. It was a very full flight and sitting in a middle seat in the middle section was not fun. Legroom was extremely minimal, but I tried to sleep as much as I can. Food on this flight was fairly adequate, not the types of food I would eat every day, but definitely tasted better than the food I have eaten on airlines based in the US. It was a delayed flight by about 30 minutes because of a «luggage problem» but I didn’t pay much attention to the time. Using my stopwatch, the flight was barely 14 hours long.
SYD to MEL — The flight was a very comfortable even though it was 2 hours. I left Sydney in the morning and arrived in Melbourne in the early «arvo». The plane was about 40% full so I had plenty of space on an aisle seat. Really liked the biscuits they provided, and were my favourite part of the flight.
MEL to SYD — This flight was a little boring because there were no individual TVs on the seats, but it was somewhat comfortable, even though it was a full flight. Legroom was very mediocre. I left Melbourne in the early «arvo» and arrived in Sydney late in the «arvo». I don’t remember this flight very well because I slept during the entire flight.
SYD to LAX — I left Sydney in the middle of the «arvo» and would arrive in Los Angeles on the same day but in the morning. It was probably one of the most comfortable international flights I had, since I had a window seat. It was also a full flight, and since the plane had two decks, I was on the lower deck, I liked that the flight attendants always provided pitchers of water. Food was almost exactly the same as the flight from LAX to SYD. If I had to choose between the Boeing 747 or the Airbus A380 if I want to fly from LAX to SYD, I would choose the Airbus A380 unless they made the Boeing 747 much more comfortable. The flight was about 13 hours.
What I really like about this airline is that it offers a lot of great things that other airlines from the States do not offer. For both international AND domestic, you can check in one piece of baggage for free. They have plenty of options on the in-​flight entertainment system for every passenger with a lot of film selections and TV shows. It was also nice that they had a lot of video travel guides of the major world cities with some gorgeous TV presenters as well as a map showing where you are and how many hours remaining until your arrival.
Flight attendants and stewards were pretty good and had some of that great Australian hospitality, the men were courteous, professional and helpful, while the ladies were charming, nice, and some were even cute.
Overall, I would highly recommend Qantas if you want to go to Australia and I think it is one of my favourite airlines. I found the service definitely better than a lot of airlines I flew domestically in the States, and I believe a lot of airlines from the States can learn from this great airline by offering the same great amenities already included in the airfare.

Excellent experience; flew from Kingsford Smith International to CNS and back; that was one of my first rides on Airbus. Their plane looked brand new; the terminal also looked brand new; once we got to CNS all of that changed. LOL you had to walk down a movable staircase just like in the movies; I have never walked on the tarmac before and it was kind of cool. You could walk around the aircraft and see all those doors opened and people loading and unloading stuff; hop across the huge hose used to fuel the plane and a think cable plugged into the body right underneath the cockpit which I can only figure was there to charge the batteries. All of this mind you happens around a real airliner; not a GA four seater Cessna.
My only surprise was that there was no Wi Fi on the plane; this was a 4 hour flight and Wi Fi would have been nice; Other than that Quantas is good!
Being in the biz I must take a notice of the excellent flight crew! Visual approach to CNS with two tall mountains each about five thousand yards on both sides with the glide slope smack in the middle; very smooth touch down and perfect throttle over-​the-​fence. I didn’t have a way to see it but I am sure they dropped right on the numbers or may be few yards upwind.

The doors to the bathrooms slam shut on their Airbus planes and the flushing very loud so you won’t get any sleep if you are anywhere near the bathrooms — even several rows up. On a 14 hour flight — it is unbearable!

A great airline. I mainly travel domestically, and despite the frequent back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne, and for when I now occasionally travel to the south side — the service is always great. If I choose to move to an earlier or later flight — no problem. Flight cancelled — no stress. Just ring them up and you’re on a new flight immediately. Whether you fly business or economy, the seats are so comfortable. I missed one of my domestic flights in the past, and I was on standby for only two minutes before I was placed on a new flight. The service in business class is excellent. Fresh dishes and as much wine as you want with a hot towel and lounge access. Wider seats and footrests with a back recline and push back — can’t complain.
It is great that you can watch TV or choose your own songs on some boeing 737 services, and on all domestic A380 services. It is great to be fed in the sky. Travelling makes you hungry. I don’t think I will fly with them internationally — I had a disappointing experience on an overseas trip with this airline a couple of years ago.
Domestically — they’re a gem. They’re only slightly dearer than Virgin Australia. As a silver frequent flyer (I have been silver for seven years now) I just swipe my card at the booth, and I receive an SMS to verify that I have checked in. I can then take my luggage to an electronic luggage bay, and my electronic luggage tag knows where I am travelling to. No more white sticky luggage tags. My frequent flyer card is now my boarding pass too. Too easy.

the service and food were pretty standard
SUPERB landing skills… it was one of the smoothest i’ve ever had~
my only concern was their EXTREMELY OLD flight attendants…
they looked older than my parents!
it felt terrible to have them serve me… it was like being a spoiled bratty person to have someone that old attend to you! =X
~*~
:bonus: they pass out super comfy pajamas for you to take home~^^

14 hours to fly to Sydney from San Francisco and 14 hours back, non-​stop. How did I do it without flipping out? The Hahns flowed pretty freely on the flight! Love you Quantas! They also had a ridiculously great selection of in flight entertainment to watch.

‘The Spirit of Australia’…or so they say. I am inclined to agree actually — there is something about the beloved Qantas that makes it quintessentially Australian. Despite recent happenings Qantas in my mind has always been that airline you can rely on, on the ground and in the air. Sure you pay a bit extra for the flight (it is no Jetstar or Virgin) but you do get a certain quality that I’ve never experienced on another airline. People say Singapore Airlines is great — I say Qantas is even better. I’ve flown with Qantas multiple times and each time I’m nothing less than impressed. The trip from SYD-​LAX is the best I think on the A380 — even in economy they’ve got it so right with everything from the Mango Weis Bars to the Cadbury hot chocolate they serve to put to you to sleep.
I remember being stuck in Japan at Narita airport (flying JAL), desperate to get home. I had been at the airport for over 24hours dealing with unhelpful JAL staff. Suddenly I overheard Qantas hosties chatting as they made their way to a Qantas flight and I was totally overcome. I wished so badly at that point I was going with them, not only because of their familiar accent but knowing that a Qantas flight is just that much better than any other. I vowed then and there to always pay the bit extra it costs to fly on Qantas. Not only is the service unparalleled, there really is something about getting on a plane in a foreign country and hearing the Aussie accenting, knowing that you’re home.

Why oh why did you have to give a bad experience when I was in reviewing mode? Damn Qantas… as much as I want to say you’re the best, I’m not feeling flying kangaroo love. I took a flight from Sydney to Manilla which had a stop over in Brisbane… Firstly — you didn’t tell me we were going to Brisbane, I was under the impression this was a direct flight — according to my itinerary… Secondly when I got on the plane there was someone sitting in my seat… I explained the situation to the airhostess and she was very frazzled and didn’t quite seem to be able to cope with the boarding process… it turned out the woman in my seat had been separated from her husband and wanted to swap — no problem… but the staff made the show process quite unenjoyable… instead of putting me in her seat, they placed me next to a row of three 17 year old boys who were annoying (not Qantas’s fault) but had moved me from sitting next to an old lady (Qantas’s fault). The staff were rude and it was quite disappointing. Flight from Brisbane to Manilla was better except for one thing that I need to tell Qantas — just because I’m vegetarian doesn’t mean that I like bad food! Why do all the non vegeterians get chocolate and yummy desert and I get a stale wholewheat bread roll which is hard as a rock. I eat dairy — you know that — so why did I not get cheese and crackers like everyone else? Instead I got a poor tasting lentil rice, stale role, lettuce and a plastic wrapped muffin, that looked so unappetizing, that the stranger next to me couldn’t stop laughing as she saw me looking strangely at this pseudo food. Just because I don’t want to eat animals doesn’t mean I don’t have taste buds. C’mon Qantas — pull up your game. You can’t cry fowl about budget cuts and then announce in your Qantas magazine how you’re investing in new infrastructure… Dissapointed :(