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Our member pythonisman was on a mission to earn Qantas Gold status on a trip to Japan and Cambodia. Within Asia, business class flights on oneworld airlines Malaysia Airlines and Japan Airlines brought the member not just to their destinations, but also closer to their status credit goal.
But first our member had to get to Asia, and they certainly managed to do so in style. As luck would have it, the trip began with a flight to Singapore in Qantas’ all new A330 business suite!
I thought I’d write my first trip report as I was lucky enough to travel on one of Qantas’ refurbished international A333s. This trip will take me on a bit of a Oneworld Status run (crediting to Qantas Frequent Flyer), flying with three airlines in the alliance – QF, MH and JL, all in J/Business; taking advantage of some of MH’s incredibly competitive J tickets. This trip will take me on a (hopefully) epic ski trip in Japan; both Hokkaido (Niseko) and Honshu (Hakuba)
First impressions were certainly positive as the passengers settled in for the flight from Sydney to Singapore.
First experiences were great, and everyone in the cabin was commenting on how great the new layout was. The crew were proudly introducing the new business suites and their features. I settled in, asked for a champagne and checked out all the nooks and crannies in the seat.
After a few delays on the ground the flight was underway. Although there is a lot to like about Qantas’ newest business class product, it seems there is a flaw or two in the design…
The QF J suite’s different to any of the other J classes I’ve experienced. First impressions are huge privacy, feels quite spacious, lots of workable space around the seat. I’ve read some others reporting that the footwell of the QF suite means if you’re tall or have big feet (I’m about 5’11”; but big feet), so I was a bit worried about foot space. That wasn’t an issue for me. What I found frustrating was that the height of the footwell area felt like it was lower around the knee than it was at the feet.
Did pythonisman still love the new business suite after 8 hours of flying in it?
The flight to Singapore was just the beginning of a trip around Asia, specifically to Japan and Cambodia. After arriving late into Singapore, it’s a very early start the next morning for a flight to Kuala Lumpur, followed by another flight to Tokyo.
It was the middle of the ski season in Japan and some time was spent skiing in Niseko and Hakuba. There are some pretty amazing photos of the Japanese snow and ski fields to be seen.
After Japan our member takes four Malaysia Airlines flights in twenty-four hours to get to Phnom Penh, leaving them understandably tired. This is followed by almost a week in Sihanoukville, Cambodia of all places!
How does business class on Qantas, Malaysia Airlines and Japan Airlines compare? Will there be a business suite awaiting for the return flight to Sydney? Find out, plus discover what else is in store on this Asian adventure HERE.
