Review: Qantas Airbus A380 Business Class

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Qantas’ A380s are the flagships of its fleet. You’ll find them flying regularly to Singapore, London and Los Angeles, with the four-class cabin offering ample seating choices for a wider range of passenger needs.

Although first class is definitely the preferred choice if you can afford it, business class is still a worthy second with its fully flat bed, 16-inch screen and access to an onboard lounge designed for socializing, snacking and relaxing .

Business class is located on the upper deck of the A380s.

So what is the Qantas A380 business class like? Is it still the best in the Red Roo fleet, as it was previously named Executive Traveler?

Here’s our experience on a recent trip between Sydney and Los Angeles.

Lounge

Frequent and casual travelers alike will be familiar with the Qantas Sydney International Business Lounge. It has remained practically unchanged for years.

Although a much-needed upgrade is on the way, with work scheduled to start this year, the lounge is looking increasingly unusable in the meantime, with the bathrooms and most of the seating having long past the use by date.

This wing of the lounge has long been overlooked.

The central bar area, with its long white tables, self-serve wine and barista station, remains the hero of the room and it is clear that this is where the most attention has been paid. If only others enjoyed the same.

Pastries all day and a ‘dish of the day’ from 1pm are also available in the central bar.

To their credit, the staff did their best to keep the space tidy and it was appreciated when they brought round trays of samosas and refilled glasses of sparkling wine as my visit continued.

The flight

The QF11 at LAX sees the wheels out of Sydney at 17:35, landing at 14:20 local time, which gives you a chance to enjoy the famous LA sunshine once you land.

With a flight time of nearly 14 hours, it’s fair to say you’ll get to know your seat and the extensive selection of touchscreen entertainment very well.

Every passenger enjoys direct access to the corridor.

A full three-course dinner is served one hour after the flight. This takes about 60 minutes from start to finish, after which the cabin lights dim and passengers looking to adjust to LA time can settle in for an early night.

Hot meals are available on request outside meal times, with breakfast prepared approximately two hours prior to landing. Breakfast cards offered on boarding give you the option to wake up or not.

If you want a change of scenery or perhaps want to strike up a conversation with fellow travelers, a visit to the onboard lounge is a very good option.

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Business Class on the Qantas A380 comprises 70 business suites with flat beds in a 1-2-1 layout on the upper deck. (The premium economy cabin is right behind.)

Based on the Thompson Vantage seat, the suites are similar to those adorning Qantas’ Airbus A330 and Boeing 787. Apart from a removable divider, unlike the A330, the most noticeable difference between the three is the color scheme.

Where the A330 and 787 are light and bright, the A380 embraces a moodier charcoal with silver metallic accents and dark wood veneer, which adorns the front seat back and your L-shaped storage shelf.

Qantas A380 Business Class.

It’s all very sleek and there are subtle differences between the seats.

For example, apart from the L-shaped shelf, storage in the middle seats is limited to a vertical bin by your feet (a good size for shoes) or the overhead locker, while the window seats benefit from an additional storage compartment under a fold. cap.

The storage compartment is located between the seat and the window.

Because of their upper placement, seats 11E/F and 17E/F also have a larger legroom than others, making them a smart choice if you like to stretch out (always nice in these trans-Pacific jumps 13+ hours).

Large legroom.

The 11 and 17E also have the addition of a bag compartment big enough for a wheeled handle adjacent to the footwell, though you can’t use it for take-off and landing.

A fluffy cushion, blanket and seat cover rolled up like a jam roll are offered for extra comfort, along with an amenity kit and the ever-appreciated seat massage function.

The kits contain an eye mask, toothbrush and bamboo paste, socks, earplugs and hand cream.

The internet has yet to start flying on Qantas’ A380. The good news is that it is At last on the way, with the airline starting a WiFi rollout on the A380 in 2025.

If you have some offline work to take care of, the rocking table is sturdy and comfortable, while an AC outlet and USB-A port are available to keep your devices running.

Read more: The best business class seats on the Qantas Airbus A380

meal

Menu cards detail in-flight dinner and snack options, with a breakfast sheet allowing you to customize your morning meal (or rather, an afternoon bite given your LA arrival time).

The experience started with a glass of champagne before the flight.

The crew walked around to collect breakfast cards and take dinner orders shortly after takeoff.

Despite the very late start, there was still a full three-course meal service, with four a-piece options for starter, main and dessert, plus an aperitif to kick things off.

The input options consisted of:

• pumpkin and ginger soup with sourdough croutons
• pumpkin and ginger soup with chickpea crème fraiche
• buffalo mozzarella salad with artichokes, beans, grapefruit and almonds
• grilled tiger prawns with chickpeas, chorizo, green olives and parsley sauce

I chose the tiger prawns and chorizo ​​- a colorful and flavorful dish. The olives overpowered the sauce a bit, so it was hard to get a sense of the parsley, but still nice.

Tiger prawns with ciabatta bread and Neil Perry’s green leaf salad.

The hearty network included:

• angel hair pasta with broccoli, garlic, pine nuts and chilli
• herb crusted mushrooms with snow peas, slow roasted cherry tomatoes and corn mash
• Korean Chicken Jjimdak with Asparagus, Carrots, Sesame and Steamed Rice
• Barrington Hinterland beef tenderloin with roasted squash, peas and wasabi butter

Chicken Jjimdak was a standout dish – a bold dish with a wonderful kick of chilli. Although it provided a nice element of token green, the asparagus didn’t marry with the rest of the dish.

This chili was a warning as well as a garnish.

And to finish, a dessert selection:

• cheeses: a Tarwin Blue aged cheddar, Woombye Ash Brie and Pyengana
• Valrhona chocolate cream with yogurt ganache, toasted almonds and raspberries
• Pat and Stick Ice Cream Sandwich
• seasonal fruits

Valrhona chocolate cream – studded with berries – finished the meal on a high note.

The mousse was rich and delicious.

Tapas of serrano ham with potato tortillas, manchego cheese, pickled radishes and olives, and a roasted rigatoni with eggplant and zucchini salad were available for those sensational times outside of meals, along with fruit, cookies, potatoes fry and mix.

Roasted plant-based rigatoni.

Add to this the list of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks – including champagne (Duval-Leroy Brut or Jacquart Brut Mosaique), spirits, cocktails and a selection of Australian wines and international beer – and most travelers will find something to enjoy.

A Victorian pinot noir with dinner.

Breakfast was served two hours before landing. I chose pancakes with caramelized apples, walnuts and a spiced nutmeg yogurt.

End the flight with pancakes, fruit and yogurt.

However, while the pancakes themselves were fluffy and delicious, the nutmeg yogurt was underwhelming and not very nice.

Entertainment and service

Business Class passengers can benefit from a 16-inch entertainment screen loaded with a variety of recent and classic movies and television, plus music, audiobooks and a selection of games.

The Qantas Paramount+ partnership also offers some premium content.

The display was fast and responsive, either controlled via the touchscreen or the armrest-mounted remote control.

The remote control panel also features a convenient mirror.

Throughout the flight the staff are friendly and chatty, although after the lights dimmed, sightings became less frequent and you had to use the call button or go out to find them.

Relax

Pajamas are provided for business class passengers. The material is quite thin and leaves little to the imagination, but thanks to the extra blanket you are unlikely to feel cold.

Qantas branded PJs.

A unique feature of the Qantas fleet is the A380 lounge at the front of the business class cabin.

While it’s not on par with Emirates’ elegant lounges and horseshoe bar, it’s still a comfortable mid-flight hangout.

Passengers can relax at one of the desk areas.

Alternatively, there is a regular seating area without a table across the street.

Self-serve snacks and soft drinks are available in a refrigerator along with the lounges.

A variety of lounge food.

verdict

On reflection, the Qantas A380 business class experience was a pleasant one – the flat bed was comfortable, the entertainment options varied and plentiful, and the lounge provided a great place to stretch my legs during the flight continued.

The darker color scheme of the A380 business class is my favorite of the fleet, evoking the experience with a more elegant and refined feel, versus the A330s or 787s.

The writer traveled as a guest of Qantas.