I thought I would share our recent experience with you all,
Last year I managed to book 4 x Business Class Classic Rewards on these routes across Dec 22 - Jan 23.
with a handful of cash tickets to connect us to our reward destintations.
I am a lowly Bronze, husband only hit Silver long after tickets were booked - so status meant this was a dream run for us, although we did book almost as soon as the tickets were available.
Sydney to Vancouver.
QF Flight was absolutely seamless. Dreamliner plane, the crew were so happy and engaging, they clearly loved their jobs and working with each other. The flight was an actual experience and the service was phenomenal. Meals and drinks were excellent and the Cabin Manager came up to chat with us regularly and complimented us on our kids manners / behaviour which was lovely as there were some loud (nasty) comments during boarding when other passengers saw our kids sitting there.
Lie flat bed was one of the pod style ones, I am 6' and husband is 6'2 so we absolutely made the most of it.
Flight was on time leaving and arriving. Airport experience was great. Lounge was fine - very quiet, minimal food options available but it was an evening flight.
Toronto to London
We were over an hour late leaving Toronto and this seemed to impact on the staff poorly. They were cranky, short tempered, didn't gel as a team and generally seemed flustered and under the pump. Food was very average, bed was the least comfortable of the 3 airlines but offered the most privacy with the sliding door option. I ordered a child meal (dinner) for my son that never made it aboard, so he just went to sleep hungry. I asked for his breakfast in the morning when I noticed everyone else in the cabin had been served - I was told it was too late as they were already starting to clean up. Cash price for this ticket when i booked was $8k per person - I would have been really upset if I had actually paid this. Airport experience was great. BA Lounge was fine - nothing exciting, mostly finger food options and 2 stew style dishes.
Rome to Singapore via Dubai
Lounge in Rome was excellent. Service was top notch, staff approached to let me know that they had a kids menu and continued to come back and check in with the kids to see if there was anything more child-friendly they would like instead of the adult options. Boarded the plane direct from the lounge which was a lovely experience too.
Emirates was our favourite carrier. Service was AMAZING, seats were super comfortable and meal options were beautfiful. We enjoyed the bar and all the available snacks etc. Least amount of privacy but this was because we had middle seats with seats closest to the aisle (middle console area). We had the smaller Business class section so it still felt very exclusive and private.
Lounge in Dubai was enormous, overlfowing with food and drinks even though it was almost empty. We had a great meal, cold drinks and kids had ice cream from the ice cream van. Also boarded via the lounge but the lounge was so big it might as well have been it's own terminal!
Singapore lounge was interesting... food options were great, lots to choose from and very friendly service to start with. We had a lovely shower and something to eat but were asked to move out of the eating area as we were just sitting at the table chatting and not eating... we were asked to move to the lounge area quite rudely if we "weren't there to eat".
Moved to the lounge area and there were whole families dressed in pajamas, and Oodies, and other families absolutely destroying sections of the lounge with food and drink ground into the carpet etc...
Singapore to Sydney
We paid cash for our flight home from Singapore - this was another Qantas flight but on the A380 from LHR. The Business section was massive and we were right down the end which meant we were served last (and could only choose from what was left...). Staff were happy and seemed to be having fun but service was really slow and staggered. It was the old school version of pulling trays out of carts and delivering half meals e.g. I was given a tray with a side salad and a breadroll, and then about 15-20 mins later, my main course arrived. Meals seemed to take a seriously long time to start being served, and then to actually get fed.
Breakfast was the same. There was only a continental option (croissant and granola) or bacon and egg roll, so seemed simple enough but it was more of being given half a try of food and then waiting for them to make the rolls 3-4 at a time and run them down the aisles... it seemed very inefficient. Arrival in Sydney was late by over an hour, and immigration was diabolical. The worst of all airports we visited. Baggage also took forever and we almost missed our connecting flight but for some reason they took pity on us and let us on.
All in all though - an absolutely brilliant experience all round, for what we were able to achieve and for the cost. I am well aware of just how lucky we were to get 4 x business class tickets on the flights we wanted and couldn't have done it without a lot of advice from this group - so thank you!
Last year I managed to book 4 x Business Class Classic Rewards on these routes across Dec 22 - Jan 23.
- Sydney to Vancouver (QF)
- Toronto to London Heathrow (BA)
- Rome to Singapore via Dubai (Emirates)
with a handful of cash tickets to connect us to our reward destintations.
I am a lowly Bronze, husband only hit Silver long after tickets were booked - so status meant this was a dream run for us, although we did book almost as soon as the tickets were available.
Sydney to Vancouver.
QF Flight was absolutely seamless. Dreamliner plane, the crew were so happy and engaging, they clearly loved their jobs and working with each other. The flight was an actual experience and the service was phenomenal. Meals and drinks were excellent and the Cabin Manager came up to chat with us regularly and complimented us on our kids manners / behaviour which was lovely as there were some loud (nasty) comments during boarding when other passengers saw our kids sitting there.
Lie flat bed was one of the pod style ones, I am 6' and husband is 6'2 so we absolutely made the most of it.
Flight was on time leaving and arriving. Airport experience was great. Lounge was fine - very quiet, minimal food options available but it was an evening flight.
Toronto to London
We were over an hour late leaving Toronto and this seemed to impact on the staff poorly. They were cranky, short tempered, didn't gel as a team and generally seemed flustered and under the pump. Food was very average, bed was the least comfortable of the 3 airlines but offered the most privacy with the sliding door option. I ordered a child meal (dinner) for my son that never made it aboard, so he just went to sleep hungry. I asked for his breakfast in the morning when I noticed everyone else in the cabin had been served - I was told it was too late as they were already starting to clean up. Cash price for this ticket when i booked was $8k per person - I would have been really upset if I had actually paid this. Airport experience was great. BA Lounge was fine - nothing exciting, mostly finger food options and 2 stew style dishes.
Rome to Singapore via Dubai
Lounge in Rome was excellent. Service was top notch, staff approached to let me know that they had a kids menu and continued to come back and check in with the kids to see if there was anything more child-friendly they would like instead of the adult options. Boarded the plane direct from the lounge which was a lovely experience too.
Emirates was our favourite carrier. Service was AMAZING, seats were super comfortable and meal options were beautfiful. We enjoyed the bar and all the available snacks etc. Least amount of privacy but this was because we had middle seats with seats closest to the aisle (middle console area). We had the smaller Business class section so it still felt very exclusive and private.
Lounge in Dubai was enormous, overlfowing with food and drinks even though it was almost empty. We had a great meal, cold drinks and kids had ice cream from the ice cream van. Also boarded via the lounge but the lounge was so big it might as well have been it's own terminal!
Singapore lounge was interesting... food options were great, lots to choose from and very friendly service to start with. We had a lovely shower and something to eat but were asked to move out of the eating area as we were just sitting at the table chatting and not eating... we were asked to move to the lounge area quite rudely if we "weren't there to eat".
Moved to the lounge area and there were whole families dressed in pajamas, and Oodies, and other families absolutely destroying sections of the lounge with food and drink ground into the carpet etc...
Singapore to Sydney
We paid cash for our flight home from Singapore - this was another Qantas flight but on the A380 from LHR. The Business section was massive and we were right down the end which meant we were served last (and could only choose from what was left...). Staff were happy and seemed to be having fun but service was really slow and staggered. It was the old school version of pulling trays out of carts and delivering half meals e.g. I was given a tray with a side salad and a breadroll, and then about 15-20 mins later, my main course arrived. Meals seemed to take a seriously long time to start being served, and then to actually get fed.
Breakfast was the same. There was only a continental option (croissant and granola) or bacon and egg roll, so seemed simple enough but it was more of being given half a try of food and then waiting for them to make the rolls 3-4 at a time and run them down the aisles... it seemed very inefficient. Arrival in Sydney was late by over an hour, and immigration was diabolical. The worst of all airports we visited. Baggage also took forever and we almost missed our connecting flight but for some reason they took pity on us and let us on.
All in all though - an absolutely brilliant experience all round, for what we were able to achieve and for the cost. I am well aware of just how lucky we were to get 4 x business class tickets on the flights we wanted and couldn't have done it without a lot of advice from this group - so thank you!
