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THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
Qantas' premium economy has very comfortable seats, good storage, and some of the most impressive on-demand dining options I've seen in its cabin class, though I'm not a fan of the shared power ports and lack of WiFi |
4.5
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In February 2024, I flew Qantas’ A380 premium economy class from Singapore to London, tailing off a whirlwind trip to Thailand where I flew six airlines. I’m trying to fly more premium economy products, so I was excited to try what I’ve known as one of the world’s best. QF1 is also Qantas’ flagship route, linking two major cities on opposite sides of the world (the flight operates from Sydney to Singapore to London, though I only joined for the longer latter segment).
So how was it? I found Qantas premium economy to be a very memorable product (in a good way) – the seats were thoughtfully designed, and the catering and on-demand service between meals was outstanding. However, there were a couple of tech-related letdowns for savvy travellers, including a lack of WiFi, and shared power ports between seats.
Here’s my full review of the flight, where I’ll detail the seat, amenities, catering, onboard service, and more.
Booking Qantas’ A380 Premium Economy
I was able to book a discounted cash fare in Qantas premium economy one-way from Phuket to London via Singapore, with the Phuket to Singapore leg being flown by a Jetstar Asia A320 (which I’ve reviewed here). Flying straight from Singapore to London would’ve cost about twice as much.
I paid THB 33,920 (HK$7,893/£770) for this itinerary, which consisted of the following flights:
16/02 Jetstar 538 Phuket – Singapore dep. 21:55 arr. 00:50+1 [Standard Class]
17/02 Qantas 1 Singapore – London Heathrow dep. 23:25 arr. 06:15+1 [Premium Economy]
I credited my flight to AAdvantage (where most of my Oneworld miles are), and gained 6,764 points from this flight.
Qantas Premium Economy Ground Experience At Singapore
Qantas uses Changi Airport’s Terminal 1, which is one of the airport’s less impressive terminals. Still, it’s very functional, and features a range of amenities (it’s also connected to the airport’s famous mall, The Jewel). I remember being stuck here for hours one year when a flight back to Hong Kong was delayed, and don’t actually think I’d been back to this terminal since.
Qantas has dedicated check-in desks for premium economy passengers at Singapore Changi. I was checked in (even had my Qantas premium economy boarding pass printed on Jetstar stock at Phuket Airport), though decided to double check that they indeed had my bag on record to be straight-checked to London Heathrow. This took a matter of minutes.
Qantas Check-In Area at Changi Airport
Terminal 1 feels like the Heathrow Terminal 3 of Changi Airport – it’s a base for most Oneworld airlines, and while the terminal is less architecturally impressive, there’s a wider range of impressive airport lounges. I didn’t have access to any of these on the basis of my premium economy ticket, though it was still a pleasant terminal to spend time in, with good WiFi.
Changi Airport Terminal 1
Speaking of Heathrow, my flight was one of three departing towards there in a span of 20 minutes, which was a reminder of how lucrative the Singapore-London route is – one of them was even another A380 (this is BA12, leaving 10 minutes before our flight did), and another (BA16) also originated from Sydney Airport. There was even a Singapore Airlines flight leaving from Terminal 1, which the airline occasionally uses for overflow gates due to their many late-night departures.
Changi Airport Departures Board
A large proportion of the QF1 flight consists of passengers travelling the full distance from Sydney to London. It didn’t seem like many took the opportunity to roam around Changi Airport, as there was already a huge line by gate D46 at 9:55 PM, 40 minutes after the aircraft landed in Singapore. Security is done at each individual gate at Changi Airport, so I queued to get through.
Line at Gate D46 for QF1 to London
Turns out that first class, business class and premium economy passengers can all use the priority queue. I wasn’t too fussed about that, since we’d be waiting in the gate area anyway. I did want to be first onboard so I could get cabin photos for the review, so took a seat in the gate area as soon as I could – the gate opened at 10:10 PM.
After passing security, I had a quick peek of our Qantas A380, still sporting the old Qantas livery.
Qantas A380 at Changi Airport
I found that premium economy passengers actually receive a priority seating zone within the gate area at Changi Airport. My boarding pass was checked, and I headed over to have a seat.
Qantas Priority Seating area at Changi Airport
Boarding began at 10:40 PM as scheduled, 45 minutes before departure. This began with first class, though to my surprise, business class and premium economy passengers were then boarded at the same time. This was good news to me, and also somewhat made sense, since there’d be less foot traffic in the business class cabin after boarding (premium economy is situated behind business class on the upper deck on Qantas’ A380).
There was a separate jetbridge to the upper deck at gate D46, so I followed the signage there.
Boarding Qantas’ A380
Apparently I’d taken a Qantas flight before I turned two, but I was excited to board my first Qantas flight since I learned how to talk!
Qantas Flight QF1
Saturday, February 17, 2024
Origin: Singapore (SIN) T: 1 Gate: D46 Dep: 23:25 (23:25)
Destination: London Heathrow (LHR) T: 3 Gate: 1 Arr: 06:15+1 (06:30)
Duration: 14 h 50 min (15 h 5 min)
Aircraft: Airbus A380 Reg: VH-OQI
Seat: 40K (Premium Economy Class)
Walking Past Qantas’ A380 Business Class
Once onboard, I walked past Qantas’ 70-seat business class cabin, featuring staggered seats. I wasn’t sitting here so didn’t stay too long, though did manage to catch a couple of cabin photos. The cabin looked sleek, and the bedding looked very comfortable as well.
Qantas A380 Business Class
For what it’s worth, Qantas also discounts their business class tickets out of secondary southeast Asian destinations compared to out of Singapore, once again with a leg on Jetstar Asia. I hope to try their business class one day!
Qantas’ A380 Premium Economy Cabin and Seat
Anyway, I then walked into the premium economy class cabin, located at the back of the upper deck. This aircraft featured 60 premium economy seats laid out in a 2-3-2 configuration.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Cabin
I can’t get over how sleek the cabin looks. Between the subtle wooden bulkhead finishes, the red IFE screens, and the otherwise earthy colour tones, this must be one of the most aesthetically pleasing cabins out there, especially in premium economy class.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Cabin
While I originally could only assign a middle aisle seat (as I booked fairly late), last-minute seat 40K opened up. I love sitting in the last row of premium economy, as you can keep your seat reclined throughout the flight (and most of the time recline isn’t restricted). I also prefer window seats as you can rest your head against the wall while trying to sleep.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Seats 40J and 40K
These A380s have a door on the left-hand side at the back of the premium economy cabin, though the one on the right side is plugged. This makes the premium economy cabin fairly asymmetrical, and makes for some fairly funky seat layouts. For example, row 39 only has two seats in the middle section (and none by the left window), with the “middle” seat 39E potentially be a good option if you want to lean on a wall and sleep.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Seats 39E and F
Qantas’ premium economy seats feature an adequate (but not stellar) amount of seat pitch, at 38″. I felt very comfortable in the seat and loved the amount of recline. I’ve heard complaints about legroom due to the thickness of the seat back (as seat pitch is on the conservative end as far as premium economy seats go) – an extra inch or two wouldn’t have hurt, though I don’t think my seat felt particularly tight for anyone under 6′.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Recline, Calf Rest, and Legroom
Space isn’t abundant when the person in front of you reclines (and it’s not too easy to leave the seat to go to the bathroom), though it’s not too bad – the TV screen swivels up for easier viewing.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Recline and TV screen
I’ve heard mixed reviews about the calf rest. Personally, however, I was able to get really comfortable in it – I felt like it effectively replaced a fold-up footrest, and was able to stretch my legs out pretty far under the seat in front. The calf rest was deployed using a button under the TV screen from the seat in front.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Calf Rest and Controls
As a slight tangent, row 31 doesn’t have calf rests swinging out from the seat in front, so I believe there are full ottomans that fold up. This must be one of the best arrangements you could have in premium economy class, as there are very few other products where you can literally “put your feet up” (the only other product I can think of is Japan Airlines’ A350 premium economy).
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Footrests in Row 31
Back at my seat, to my left was a shared drinks table.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Drinks Table
Meanwhile, the main tray table was bi-fold, and had wooden finishes. It was very sturdy.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Tray Table
Next to the adjustable headrest was a mood light. You could also use the reading light in the overhead panel above you – both could be controlled using the touchscreen entertainment screen.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Adjustable Headrest, Mood Light, and Controls
In terms of storage at the seat, there’s some under-armrest storage, as well as a pocket under the TV screen. I thought the pocket was so practical for phones, glasses and passports, and I loved it so much that I can’t believe I forgot to take a picture – I’ve pinched the below photo from Points Hacks. The literature pocket was also large, and I found it easy to store my laptop there.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Storage Nook (credit: Points Hacks)
There was a further water bottle holder below the armrest.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Water Bottle Holder
However, as someone seated in the window seat, the most superior form of storage was the massive side storage bins unique to the A380’s upper deck. I had one, which was big enough to fit my backpack (they won’t fit overly large backpacks, though).
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Side Storage Bins
Remember how I mentioned that rows 38 and 39 had a plugged door on the right hand side window? Well, there’s one significant downside of the right window seats in those rows – there aren’t any side storage bins. The fuselage opens back up for a single side storage bin to be placed by seat 40K, though (I knew that there weren’t side storage bins in rows 38 and 39, but was unaware that I would have one). Still, there’s more storage than in a good number of competing premium economy seats, given how well-designed the seats are.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Lack of Side Storage Bins in Row 39
There were air nozzles above each seat as well.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Air Nozzles
Now here’s a gripe that I have with this product – while each seat has its own USB port, there’s only one 110V port to be shared between two seats. I believe Qantas’ new “Project Sunrise” premium economy seats won’t even have 110V power ports, although they will have fast-charge USB and USB-C ports.
I’m personally a MacBook user and would have no issue with USB-C ports, though I still can’t help but feel like this is a terrible idea, given how many people would otherwise travel on business with Qantas. All of the work laptops I’ve had use normal 110V chargers (without a USB-C option), and I can’t imagine how frustrated business travellers in particular would be to see the absence of one on their brand new A350 flight.
Anyway, in this case I was glad to have a friendly seatmate that was willing to let me “hog” the 110V power port for my laptop throughout the flight. Still, a surprising defect in an otherwise very ergonomic and passenger-friendly premium economy seat.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Shared 110V Power Plug
Despite the single shared 110V power port, I still really enjoyed the design and comfort that the seat afforded. Space felt sufficient, but not ample, with seat pitch in line with industry standards. I was particularly impressed by the amount of in-seat storage as well as the design of the calf rest.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Amenities
Waiting at my seat was a pillow and blanket. The pillow itself was plush, and it could even be “mounted” onto the headrest, as pictured below.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Class Pillow
Meanwhile the blanket was soft and substantial, and I really liked it as well.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Class Blanket
Qantas uses the same headphones in premium economy as they do in business class, and they’re pretty good.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Class Headphones
I’d say the weak point in the list of amenities is the amenity kit – the items are basic, and the pouch itself felt lower quality. The amenity kit featured a toothbrush, eyeshades, socks, earplugs, and lip balm from Napoleon.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Class Amenity Kit
Overall, though, I found the amenities provided in Qantas premium economy to be very substantial, and on par with what I’d expect from a “good” premium economy class product.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Pre-Departure Service
Around 5 minutes after boarding started, the crew came round with glasses of sparkling wine and water. I chose sparkling wine, and asked if I could have some water on the side, to which the friendly flight attendants obliged.
The sparkling wine was The Lane Lois NV Sparkling Blanc de Blancs, a sparkling wine from Australia. It tasted alright.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Class Pre-Departure Beverage
We were also given a menu, which had a cover that showcased beautiful Australia. This was of Binalong Bay, Tasmania. I’ll show the contents of the menu later in the post when I review the meal service.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Class Menu
Taking Off from Changi Airport
At 11:10 PM, the cabin crew came onto the PA to announce that they were waiting on one final passenger. That final passenger showed up, and the door was soon closed.
Captain John came onto the PA and welcomed us all onboard, informing us of a staggering 4 captains and a first officer onboard. He mentioned that we’d be underway soon, and also gave us our flight time of 14h 7m. He let us know that London weather wasn’t particularly great (10°C with showers), and also said “please help create a safe environment by respecting each other and our crew”.
To our right was a Scoot 787, which I’ve flown before.
Scoot 787 at Changi Airport
At this point Qantas’ 2024 safety video played, showcasing parts of the airline’s beautiful country.
Qantas A380 Safety Video
We began our taxi to runway 2C, pushing back at 11:25 PM sharp.
Taxiing at Changi Airport
We did have to taxi through the entire length of Changi, meaning that it was 11:50 PM by the time we were wheels-up.
Taking off from Changi Airport
Singapore would’ve been on the left and fairly far away, so we just had views of rural Malaysia – it wasn’t much to see in the dark. It was hard to get photos out of the A380 windows, and while I normally get super excited about tail cameras, there wasn’t much to see out of this one.
View from Qantas A380 Tail Camera (or Lack Thereof)
The seatbelt sign was turned off a very quick four minutes after takeoff.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Entertainment and (no) WiFi
Qantas’ A380 premium economy entertainment system is easy to use, the touchscreen is responsive, and there’s a huge variety of entertainment.
Qantas A380 Entertainment System
The moving map function was also easy to use, and I particularly enjoyed the A380 tail camera (only during taxiing however, as it was dark otherwise).
Qantas A380 Tail Camera
There even was a seat tour video, in case I wanted to reacquaint with my seat at any point.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Seat Tour
While the inflight entertainment is very competitive, unfortunately there isn’t any WiFi. Qantas is rolling out WiFi on their international fleet, and have big promises that the WiFi will be “significantly better than most inflight networks in the sky”. Best of all, they’re also planning on offering this fast new WiFi for free. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case on my flight just yet, as the A380s will only get WiFi as of 2025.
Not having WiFi on a Sydney to London flight is a bit of a dealbreaker, though was slightly less annoying on this nighttime flight, where I’d pre-loaded work and tried to get some sleep.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Meal Service
Around 10 minutes after takeoff, the crew came round with a bottle of water, signalling the start of the meal service.
The menu read as follows:
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Menu
The drinks menu read as follows:
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Drinks Menu
I found the meal options to be comprehensive, and enjoyed that there was a high-effort vegan version. The drinks were particularly impressive to me, and I really appreciated the hand-picked Australian wines (which varied from flight to flight).
My meal tray was served 1h 10m after takeoff. The crewmember took my order, then introduced the wines on offer. They were offering a choice between champagne and flaxseed loaf; I didn’t want bread, though weirdly I was never offered it. This came with an appetiser, main course, dessert, as well as some Australian goodies (is the cheddar cheese quintessentially Australian, or…?)
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Meal Service
The appetiser was grilled vegetables with pesto and pine nuts. While there wasn’t a choice, this was very tasty.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Appetiser
I opted for the plant-based dining version, which I was curious to try out. This was a braised tofu and eggplant with three-cup sauce, which was absolutely delicious – both the textures and flavours were great. This is by far the best vegan/vegetarian dish I’ve ever had on a plane.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Main Course – Plant Based Dining
The chocolate ganache cake with raspberry didn’t disappoint either.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Meal Service Dessert
For drinks, I opted for the Qantas Sky Spritz, which they were offering on this flight. This was a carbonated berry flavoured cocktail (poured out from a can but served in a glass), which was very refreshing. I’d recommend trying it if it’s available on your flight.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Sky Spritz
The crew came around during the meal service to offer wine top ups.
My tray was taken shortly after I finished, at 1:20 AM Singapore time, 1h 30m after takeoff. That’s a pretty efficient meal service on this nighttime flight. I was asked whether I wanted anything else to drink – I asked for the dessert wine, and the crewmember replied “I’m not sure what it is, but I’ll bring you some”. He returned with a bottle of De Bortoli Noble One dessert wine, which he presented to me as one would do at a restaurant. I really enjoyed it.
I kind of didn’t want to sleep just yet, so I ordered a coffee. I was also excited about this – Qantas offers French press coffee, which is so much better than the instant coffee offered on many routes.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Drinks
I enjoyed writing the introduction of this very trip report (I know it’s been a while – sorry!) with a cup of French press coffee onboard my Qantas premium economy flight, despite not having any WiFi!
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Office in the Sky
This was such a great meal service, in my opinion. All three courses were delicious and well thought-out, and the meal service was executed in a very efficient way.
I thought that the drinks selection provided lots of pizzazz and local Australian flair. There was even cafetière coffee and hot chocolate. However, I will say that you’re likely to come out with a different impression if alcohol and caffeine aren’t your thing (or you avoid both while flying for jetlag reasons) – there’s a lack of mocktails or juices, which would further enhance the already-excellent drinks selection.
Exploring the Qantas A380 Upper Deck
After the meal service was wrapped up, the crew dimmed the lights on the upper deck (first turning on some mood lighting, then making it completely dark).
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Cabin
While using the lavatory, I also used the time to look around the back of the upper deck a little bit. There were stairs leading to the lower deck, though I didn’t head down, since the stairs were “closed off” by a gate.
Qantas A380 Stairs
I did see some previous-generation economy seats serving as crew rests, located right behind the premium economy cabin. There’s a separate crew bunk below deck, so these presumably are for taxi, takeoff and landing.
Qantas A380 Crew Rest
I went back to my seat and slept soundly for a few hours, finding myself above Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Qantas A380 over Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Qantas A380 Premium Economy On-Demand Dining
This is the part I was personally most impressed by in Qantas premium economy. While most airlines provide substantial snacks in premium economy on longhaul flights, Qantas provides small portions of hot meals on-demand between meal services.
The on-demand menu onboard our flight was as follows:
- Prawn pad Thai with vermicelli noodles and fried shallots
- Plant based dining – rice with corn, capsicum, olives and falafel
I asked a crewmember whether they were doing the prawn pad thai, and he said “I wouldn’t really call it pad thai”. Well, pad thai it wasn’t really, but it was delicious – very flavourful noodles with perfectly cooked prawns. Bravo.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Mid-Flight Dining – Prawn Pad Thai
There was also a small selection of cookies, apples, Tim Tams and Toblerone available in the galley.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Galley Snacks
What a treat to have a small a-la-carte selection in a premium economy product. Qantas leads the industry in this way, and I’d be really keen to know if any other airlines have similar offerings.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Pre-Arrival Meal Service
The pre-arrival meal service was served at 4:05 AM London time, 12h 40m after departure (and approximately 2h before landing).
I could choose between a Western omelette breakfast and a fruit plate. I was still feeling stuffed from how much I’d eaten throughout the past few days, so simply ordered the fruit plate. This came with muesli and a muffin. Everything tasted fresh, and I appreciated how there was dragonfruit and honeydew melon as well – I also couldn’t pass up on another cup of French press coffee.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Meal Service
While this meal service (including the omelet) was less impressive than both the first meal service and the a-la-carte dining in between, it was still well executed. My tray table was cleared less than 20 minutes after it was served as well.
Qantas A380 Premium Economy Service
The cabin crew serving premium economy were efficient, friendly, and polished. There’s always a rather assembly line-esque service flow in premium economy, though I’d say this felt the least so out of many of the airlines I’d flown.
For example, in both meal services my tray table was cleared within 20 minutes of food being served. Even when the trolley was full when clearing trays, a cabin crew member came to take my tray directly off the tray table. Drinks were always topped up, and when my seatmate didn’t get his first meal choice during the first meal service, so the cabin crew came to check in order to make sure that he had his preferred meal during the pre-arrival meal service. I really can’t fault the crew serving this flight.
From the choice of pre-departure beverages (including sparkling wine and champagne), to French press coffee, to on-demand dining between meal services, there’s clearly a very premium service culture on Qantas, especially for premium economy class.
Landing into London Heathrow Airport
30 minutes before we were slated to land, the captain came onto the PA to announce our imminent landing into Heathrow Airport. The cabin was prepared 25 minutes before landing.
Captain John then came back onto the PA to explain that due to heavily regulated air traffic control at Heathrow Airport during the morning rush, we were to enter a holding pattern for 10 minutes, delaying our arrival slightly.
We did eventually begin our final descent, heading over the city.
Landing into Heathrow Airport
We touched down onto runway 27R at 6:20 AM, before making our 10-minute taxi to Terminal 3, where we parked at gate 1.
Landing into Heathrow Airport
I bid farewell to our crew and deplaned through the upper deck, catching a glimpse of our A380 on the way to immigration.
Qantas A380 at Heathrow Airport
Immigration was surprisingly quick, with the biggest line holdup at this time of morning being for families with young children. Given that I’d just been at Changi Airport’s beautiful Jewel, I was quite amused to see the difference between that and what was awaiting at Heathrow…
Stark difference from Changi Airport
Conclusion: Qantas A380 Premium Economy
Qantas’ A380 premium economy was mostly an absolute delight to fly, with comfortable and very thoughtfully designed seats with good storage, good amenities, and spectacular food and drinks for its cabin class. It’s rare for longhaul premium economy products to have mid-flight dining of Qantas’ calibre, and the Australian wines and French press coffee are a great addition to the product (though the soft drinks, mocktails and juices selection wasn’t as impressive). The crew on this flight were great as well, and very polished – it’s clear that they took pride in the product.
When Qantas introduces WiFi in the coming years, they will be a force to be reckoned with on Europe-Asia and Europe-Australia flights. The main frustration I imagine having will be with the carrier’s hesitation to install individual 110V power ports, where I think they’re thinking too far ahead for their own good – I was frustrated with the current shared power ports between seats, and reckon even more travellers would face frustrations when the airline stops installing 110V power ports altogether on their upcoming A350s (in favour of USB-C ports, which not all laptops have).
