Qantas operate the Airbus 330 on some domestic routes within Australia and these feature seats in Business Class that are referred to by the airline as the Business Suite. These aircraft are primarily deployed on transcontinental services between the east coast capitals and Perth, flights to Asia and Hawaii and certain services from Sydney to Melbourne and Brisbane. Let’s have a look at these on a short flight between Brisbane and Sydney.
QF549 – Brisbane to Sydney (BNE-SYD)
21 April 2016
Airbus 330-200 VH-EBJ “Margaret River”
Seat: Business Class 2A
Departure: 18:25 Arrival: 20:00
The seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration and feature a console to one side of you. Row 2 and Row 4 are the seats to choose when travelling solo as you sit by the window and the console is on the aisle side. Rows 1, 3, 5 and 7 have the console by the window which makes you more exposed to aisle traffic. The configuration is shown correctly on the Qantas seat map. Once I boarded, I immediately explored my Business Suite.
The seats also feature a massage function which I did not use on the flight as I did not realise what that particular button was for. As Qantas have a massage function in their Skybed, it is great to see this continued. A pre-departure juice was offered and I chose a lemon juice as I quite like it and hear it is good for you!
Once the demonstration finished we took off into the night and headed for Sydney. One of the features of the business suite is that you can have the seat in a semi-reclined position during take off which means you can comfortably relax or nap as soon as you’re on board. I tried the seat briefly in flat bed mode and found it to be fine.
The IFE is brand new on this aircraft and I especially liked the layout and detail of the moving map. It was well presented and professional as opposed to more childish and old fashioned versions I have seen from other airlines. You will see along the top other options – you can make a playlist, see what you last watched and so on. Very nice!
Cabin service commenced swiftly and there were two choices for dinner on this flight. My choice was the cutlet with beans which came with a passionfruit tart for dessert. The cabin crew offered bread from the basket and there was a Lindt chocolate to finish with. I chose my usual drink and had Champagne. I quite like Yarra Burn Champagne and have great memories of sampling a few bottles with my friend Tanya in Melbourne one time over a very long lunch!
The Business Class cabin on the A330 is split into two sections. There is the forward section and a small mini-cabin aft of doors 2. I wanted to get some more pictures so I asked the crew if there was anyone seated in the mini-cabin. To my delight I was told no-one was seated “in the Versace lounge”. The crew member elaborated that this was his nickname for the mini-cabin and I’ve always thought of it as such since. I went on a photo spree to give you a good idea of what the cabin looks like. After this I visited the toilet and got that too!
My tray was cleared away and I asked for another bottle of Champagne. I was refused in the nicest way by the crew saying I still had some in one of the bottles. Clearly my habit of anticipating things in good time did not mesh with the Australian Responsible Service of Alcohol training! My seat was also annoying me at this stage as it had an electrical problem meaning the foot well lights and other lights would not stay off. Any movement by me turned them all back on again which was irritating. No problem on a short flight, but probably a big deal if I had been on an international overnight flight. Soon we descended into Sydney and landed uneventfully.
Overall Thoughts
The Qantas Business Suite is a world class product in every way. A lot of thought has been applied to the design to align it to the needs of today’s demanding business traveller. It is a big step up from the standard domestic business class which I reviewed here. Apart from the lack of a massage function it has everything one could want from an aircraft seat. The sense of space coupled with the generous and varied storage areas, device charging points, IFE screen and the rest make for a very pleasurable flight.
The onboard service from the Qantas crew is always professional and has been honed to perfection. This coupled with the exceptional meal service makes Qantas the first choice for flights in Australia. Thanks for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Uh, the seat DOES have a massage function. See that button second from right on the bottom row in your photo of the seat control panel? That’s the massage button.
Wow, I actually can’t believe I missed that! I’ll amend the post accordingly. Good grief! Thanks for taking the time to point that out, I really appreciate it!
No worries. Hope you get a chance to fly QF’s A330 in business again
I imagine I will make a point of it! Thanks again!