QF Business - 747 v A380

[Cool Cat Phil]

I am a 5B man. Love all that room. Got it to JNB on March 5 unless they change to an old girl, then ill be heading for 4A.

5J is equally as good!

 

[EuroFlyer]

Nabbed 14A upper deck for a trip in August from NYC to SYD on the 747, love the upper deck

I am a 5B man. Love all that room. Got it to JNB on March 5 unless they change to an old girl, then ill be heading for 4A.

 

[Reggie78]

Upper Deck all the way on the 747, it gives you the small plane ambiance without the small plane bumpiness. Flown both planes, and the seat is the same. That leaves the cabin - single aisle or double is what I say it comes down to, the rest is essentially the same.

Also, FWIW, DFW is sitting almost in the middle of the width of the Country, and only an extra hour (less maybe) than LAX. I'd pick that if I were heading further to the East coast. Did BNE-LAX-JFK late last year, and the last leg being 5 hours. I'd have preferred it to be 2-3, so we'd go via DFW next time.

 

[Reggie78]

I agree - you have to compare upstairs on the 747 with the mini J cabin on the A380.

But unfortunately for us "regular" status-less folk, we can't access this

 

[Daver6]

This isn't a criticism, just an observation on irony. Most people prefer wide body jets over narrow. Yet the UD of the 747 is just like being in a narrow body jet.

I love the UD...but also zone A is pretty special too. I'm torn.

 

[Flying mermaid]

But unfortunately for us "regular" status-less folk, we can't access this

Try T-80 - I have picked it up a few times for Master FM at that point.

 

[Guvner]

I've booked 3A, 3B, 3E and 3F for the family JNB>SYD on a refurb as these seats were recommended to me. Is it worth trying to change for upper deck?

 

[Quickstatus]

I've booked 3A, 3B, 3E and 3F for the family JNB>SYD on a refurb as these seats were recommended to me. Is it worth trying to change for upper deck?

Those seats are in the old first class cabin and are in my opinion just as good as upstairs.

 

[Guvner]

Those seats are in the old first class cabin and are in my opinion just as good as upstairs.

The seat map suggests its a refurbed 3 class or am I reading it incorrectly?

 

[Flying mermaid]

The seat map suggests its a refurbed 3 class or am I reading it incorrectly?

View attachment 41693 View attachment 41694

It is a refurb not the old first class. Old first class never had that configure as you have shown.

 

[Quickstatus]

Nope did not say old first class seats, i said old first class cabin. Ill rephrase: It is refurbished but the (refurbished) seats are located where the old first class cabin used to be. So its very quiet as far as a 747 goes. And you will be the first ones off the aircraft.

the way to tell a refurbished QF 747-400 is a refurbished one do not have seat 5A or 5K.

As above if travelling solo 5B or 5J is then obviously fantastic. No one climbing over you and you will be the absolute first off (5B). And huge storage where 5A would have been.

I reckon 3EF is the best in that ex-First cabin because it has great storage in a locker at your feet in front of you - (see trapezoidal grey box in seat map), and direct aisle access for both pax

 

[Guvner]

Nope did not say old first class seats, i said old first class cabin. Ill rephrase: It is refurbished but the (refurbished) seats are located where the old first class cabin used to be. So its very quiet as far as a 747 goes. And you will be the first ones off the aircraft.

the way to tell a refurbished QF 747-400 is a refurbished one do not have seat 5A or 5K.

As above if travelling solo 5B or 5J is then obviously fantastic. No one climbing over you and you will be the absolute first off (5B). And huge storage where 5A would have been.

I reckon 3EF is the best in that ex-First cabin because it has great storage in a locker at your feet in front of you - (see trapezoidal grey box in seat map), and direct aisle access for both pax

Ahh, right, my mistake. Thanks Quickstatus, I'll stick with what I have already booked.

 

[Flying mermaid]

That's interesting - I have never seen the refurbed J downstairs - I would have thought the seats would have been fairly close together? I have 4 flights on a refurbed 747 to/from South Africa this year and have followed the conventional wisdom of booking upstairs, but now wonder if I should experiment! What about toilets - there appear to be only toilets at the back of the whole downstairs J section, which could be a bit painful?

 

[Quickstatus]

Ahh, right, my mistake. Thanks Quickstatus, I'll stick with what I have already booked.

And if there is a sudden change to a non refurbished 747 then seats in row 3 will turn into the Original First class seats (alright some would call it old) which are fully lie flat instead of the MK1 angled business class seats you would have ended up with had you selected upstairs or elsewhere in biz.

 

[Guvner]

And if there is a sudden change to a non refurbished 747 then seats in row 3 will turn into the Original First class seats (alright some would call it old) which are fully lie flat instead of the MK1 angled business class seats you would have ended up with had you selected upstairs or elsewhere in biz.

That was my theory also when I chose them, Have you seen this happen in practice?

 

[Flying mermaid]

And if there is a sudden change to a non refurbished 747 then seats in row 3 will turn into the Original First class seats (alright some would call it old) which are fully lie flat instead of the MK1 angled business class seats you would have ended up with had you selected upstairs or elsewhere in biz.

That must be fun - given old F only had 4 seats in row 3 if all 6 are selected who gets booted?

 

[QF029]

5J is equally as good!

I asked about this in another thread but didn't get a reply. Does anyone prefer 5J to 5B? If so why? I have the choice of both later in the year.

 

[madrooster]

I asked about this in another thread but didn't get a reply. Does anyone prefer 5J to 5B? If so why? I have the choice of both later in the year.

5J over 5B, if it's a port where they use door 1L (eg. LAX) for boarding if you don't like everyone looking at you during boarding.

 

[QF029]

5J over 5B, if it's a port where they use door 1L (eg. LAX) for boarding if you don't like everyone looking at you during boarding.

I had 5B out of LAX so I know what you mean. On the flip side I guess if they use that door you're first off the aircraft. Do you know what door they use at MEL? I'm on QF96 at the end of the year.

 

[madrooster]

I had 5B out of LAX so I know what you mean. On the flip side I guess if they use that door you're first off the aircraft. Do you know what door they use at MEL? I'm on QF96 at the end of the year.

Normally 747s are boarded using door 2L if using single jetbridge ops in general. This is the case in SYD, even though SYD can do dual jetbridge ops on 747s at the A380 capable gates (8, 9, 10, 24, 57, 61).

If they do decide to do dual jetbridge ops then they will also use door 1L. Unfortunately MEL gets very few 747s now so I haven't seen what MEL does now.