SIN-BNE 744 replaced with A330 and sadly the old sloping J so called 'skybeds'

[Mr_Orange]

Thanks for the update John... Seems I missed the "starts in DECEMBER" bit of the ya de ya de yah spiel on the refit of the A330's to replace Skybed MK I :shock:

The "new J Suite" sounds as if its a step up and that would be a smart move to compete with other carriers on the QF A330 routes, but I still think the lack of Y+ is not a smart move.

Even this genuine improvement has been mishandled. Announced months ago, not starting until December 2014 and not going to be finished until some time in 2016, so it will be blind luck whether you get a Mk 1 seat or the new 'suite'.

They should have started the refit a month after the announcement and had one flying by now so that people would have sampled it and potentially be raving about it.

Idiots, the management are just idiots!

 

[hutch]

Even this genuine improvement has been mishandled. Announced months ago, not starting until December 2014 and not going to be finished until some time in 2016, so it will be blind luck whether you get a Mk 1 seat or the new 'suite'.

They should have started the refit a month after the announcement and had one flying by now so that people would have sampled it and potentially be raving about it.

Idiots, the management are just idiots!

That's typical Qantas at the moment, over-promise and under-deliver... "we will get new planes... one day when QFi turns a profit. We will refurb the A330's... but we just won't start for 15 months. We are a hub carrier and will fly you to the global hubs of our partners... but when you fly them, don't expect to be rewarded"

As for the original OP. The retirement of (the non-refurbed) 747's is a smart decision... but one which is never well handled by QF.

 

[ts911993]

that's disappointing. I've flown the Y+ SIN-BNE three times this year because I haven't been able to get a Y+ seat to Sydney.

 

[ian_baker58]

Well,

I can honestly say that Skybed Mark I in the A330 from SIN-BNE last THU was utter CR@P, totally uncomfortable, and I didn't get any sleep! It was exactly as I remembered it in the old 747 fitout - CR@P and that's why I always flew BA J wherever possible. Sooner QF fixes the A330 J class the better, and I will NOT fly on a QF A320 until they do so!

The one positive thing I can say about that flight is that the J class cabin staff were excellent, polished and professional mature ladies - not the 17 year old lasses that seem to frequent the A380's these days (noting that I did not take up the seat issue with them - they have no control over such matters).... No disrespect meant to the young attendants, I guess they all start someplace, but the polish of the experienced ladies absolutely shone...

One other positive is that the SIN lounge makeover is a mega improvement over the previously very tired setup with reheated frozen pizza etc. �� Good selection of hot food, including cooked to order and very authentic Singaporean hawker style food.��

Sadly, since QF has abandoned 1st Class to SIN, there is no 1st lounge any more... �� The new "Singapore lounge" is ok - not teriffic - but OK and better than dealing with the masses of humanity in the terminal at SIN!

 

[mannej]

Well,

I can honestly say that Skybed Mark I in the A320 from SIN-BNE last THU was utter CR@P, totally uncomfortable, and I didn't get any sleep! It was exactly as I remembered it in the old 747 fitout - CR@P and that's why I always flew BA J wherever possible. Sooner QF fixes the A320 J class the better, and I will NOT fly on a QF A320 until they do so!

The one positive thing I can say about that flight is that the J class cabin staff were excellent, polished and professional mature ladies - not the 17 year old lasses that seem to frequent the A380's these days (noting that I did not take up the seat issue with them - they have no control over such matters).... No disrespect meant to the young attendants, I guess they all start someplace, but the polish of the experienced ladies absolutely shone...

One other positive is that the SIN lounge makeover is a mega improvement over the previously very tired setup with reheated frozen pizza etc. í*½í¸³ Good selection of hot food, including cooked to order and very authentic Singaporean hawker style food.í*½í¸ƒ

Sadly, since QF has abandoned 1st Class to SIN, there is no 1st lounge any more... í*½í¸’ The new "Singapore lounge" is ok - not teriffic - but OK and better than dealing with the masses of humanity in the terminal at SIN!

Rookie error, QF don't fly the A320

Jokes aside, QF are putting fully lay flat beds into their A330 fleet with the first one online some time around December.

 

[ian_baker58]

Thanks for spotting the error - fixed in the post!

Heard about the refit of J on international A330 - if QF international still exists by then...!

 

[Mr_Orange]

Well,

I can honestly say that Skybed Mark I in the A330 from SIN-BNE last THU was utter CR@P, totally uncomfortable, and I didn't get any sleep! It was exactly as I remembered it in the old 747 fitout - CR@P and that's why I always flew BA J wherever possible. Sooner QF fixes the A330 J class the better, and I will NOT fly on a QF A320 until they do so!

Interesting rant. You do realise that the mark 2 skybed on the 380 and refurbed 744 is no more or less comfortable.

 

[amaroo]

Interesting rant. You do realise that the mark 2 skybed on the 380 and refurbed 744 is no more or less comfortable.

Mark 2 is a fail - Mark 1 is a disgrace....YMMV

 

[dajop]

It's really funny reading criticism of Mark I. How times have changed - I remember when Skybeds started replacing the dreamtime cradle seats around 2003 (in Sep 2003 I still flew dreamtime seats to/from LAX) - at the time they were the best thing since sliced bread! These days angled flat seats are decidedly passé - however I find that it's all in the seat position - whatever the airline when you have angled seat need to have a slight kink in it and makes a world of difference by reducing the sliding down issue.

 

[amaroo]

I've disliked them from the get-go and have flown BA or CX to avoid them. Sloping seats are not premium IMO....pity their second go has turned out to be a fail.

 

[ian_baker58]

Well at least the Mark II is (almost) flat and (almost) horizontal - and it is possible to get some sleep on these with the 'mattress' enhancement, but I would agree with most comments above - its still a 'fail' in reality as compared to other offerings.

The Mark I on the A330's is extremely tired (clunky) and even with the 'mattress' overlay is 2nd rate at best compared to say BA, SQ or EK (in particular EK on the 50 or so A380's they now have - or the SQ J class offering)

Hopefully they will get the A330's refitted before QF international vanishes and/or the airline becomes Jetstrarised completely...!

In the meantime, I won't be on a QF A330 with the old fit anytime soon.

 

[straitman]

Well at least the Mark II is (almost) flat and (almost) horizontal - and it is possible to get some sleep on these with the 'mattress' enhancement, but I would agree with most comments above - its still a 'fail' in reality as compared to other offerings.

The Mark I on the A330's is extremely tired (clunky) and even with the 'mattress' overlay is 2nd rate at best compared to say BA, SQ or EK (in particular EK on the 50 or so A380's they now have - or the SQ J class offering)

Hopefully they will get the A330's refitted before QF international vanishes and/or the airline becomes Jetstrarised completely...!

In the meantime, I won't be on a QF A330 with the old fit anytime soon.

The QF offering is better than the MH & EK B777 offerings IMHO.

 

[JohnK]

It's really funny reading criticism of Mark I.

I do not quite understand the dislike of Mark I even though I have not tried Skybed Mark II.

I have enjoyed my Skybed experiences to date on the QF 747. I think all of these have been Skybed Mark I. From memory I did have an upgrade to business on a domestic A330 flight PER-SYD and I think this was Skybed as well.

I have an upcoming business class flight SYD-HKG on QF 747 but I am not sure if this is refurbished 747 or not. And then I have a business class flight HKG-SYD on A380 so finally get to try Skybed Mark II.

 

[serfty]

I sleep quite well on both Mark I and Mark II skybeds - I guess they were designed for me.

Anyhoo, another mistake was not checking out the EK lounge at SIN - I prefer it to QF's at SIN - it feels to me as more of a First lounge than business.

 

[amaroo]

I sleep quite well on both Mark I and Mark II skybeds - I guess they were designed for me.

We're lucky that BA pushed the envelope and developed a fully flat J seat/bed way back in the 1999 - pity Qantas are still trying to work out how to do it!