Review: Qantas Domestic Business Class (Part 1)

Qantas have an excellent domestic Business Class product for flights within Australia. This is the first part of a two sector trip from Sydney to Cairns via Brisbane. The flights were on different aircraft and I was able to experience both Boeing 737 configurations on this trip. Let’s dive straight in to the review which features the more modern version of the product.

QF504 – Sydney to Brisbane (SYD-BNE)
19 April 2016
Boeing 737-838 VH-VZO “Bendigo”
Seat: Business Class 2A
Departure: 07:05 Arrival: 08:35

Qantas have self-service bag drop at the major domestic gateways. A feature of this is the electronic baggage tags which are unique to Qantas. These use radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology and are marketed as Q Bag Tags. As long as you are travelling through an airport with the technology, paper bag tags are no longer required. I received my set as a Qantas Frequent Flyer many years ago. Once the bag was tagged it was off through security and into the Qantas Business lounge for a snack before flight. Soon enough it was time for boarding.

We were first on board and I was pleased to see that we were on an aircraft featuring seat back inflight entertainment. The Boeing 737 features 12 Business Class seats in three rows of four. The seats are a deep wine colour and look quite attractive.

Leg room was completely fine in row 2 with plenty of space between my knees and the seat in front. The entertainment screen was quite a decent size and also was not too far away so it could be easily seen. Between the seats is a drinks console which would take two drinks quite easily. A pre-departure drink was offered and accepted gladly. Once the flight had boarded the safety video was played. This video is new and I hadn’t seen it before. It really showcases Australia very well and also has a good dash of Australian humour in the choice of settings. This one is the A380 version but it is almost identical for the 737.

 
After a long taxi to the third runway we took off without delay into a pristine blue autumn sky.

I am not a fan of breakfast which is obvious to anyone who read my Top 5 Airline Breakfasts post here on Travel Update. This was a breakfast flight and happily it made the list in my previous post.

Qantas Breakfast

Breakfast today comprised of a fruit salad to start. The hot dish featured poached eggs, spinach, bacon, mushrooms and tomato. Bread was offered from a basket and I chose the small muffin.

Poached eggs should be the only eggs offered on board an aircraft as each time I have had them they have been perfect. Spinach is also great to have at breakfast and you don’t see it too often on board. All of the rest was pretty standard airline breakfast fare and it tasted quite good. I also quite liked the simple plates and mugs.

The sparkling wine on this sector was Redbank from Victoria. Australian sparkling wine is generally quite tasty and this was no exception.

Once the breakfast service was complete, the trays were retrieved and I took the opportunity to visit the facilities.

I found everything to be clean and tidy which is what I would expect on any airline. There is nothing worse than an on board lavatory that is in poor condition.

We soon descended and landed in Brisbane and from there I proceeded to the lounge to wait for my next flight.

Overall Thoughts

Qantas offer a relaxed on board service with very amiable cabin crew who get the job done without any drama. The crews are friendly and are happy to meet any request as well as proactively offering seconds of drinks. The inflight entertainment system contained a good selection of movies and television programmes but as the flight was quite short I chose not to watch anything. The food on board is world class and the seats are spacious and comfortable.

Flying Business Class on Qantas is not cheap so I am pleased that the service on board matches the price point they charge. I hope you have enjoyed this review and be sure to check out part two. If you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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