Qantas A380 First Class Review

First Class is the best product Qantas has to offer – as both the name and the price suggest.

The airline will soon introduce a new First Class product on its Airbus A350-1000, which it will use for its “Project Sunrise” flights on ultra long-haul routes like Sydney-London. But for now, the Airbus A380 is the only aircraft in Qantas’ fleet with a First Class cabin.

I recently flew from Sydney to Johannesburg on QF63 – a route that Qantas upgraded to an Airbus A380 service in 2024. At the time I booked, it just so happened that the only Classic Reward availability for the date I needed to fly was in First Class. I’d never flown First Class on Qantas before, but I’d always wanted to try it. I just had enough Qantas Points, and QF63 happens to be one of my favourite flights. So, redeeming my points for that seat seemed like a no-brainer!

The previous times I’d flown on QF63, Qantas was using Boeing 747s on this route. I have great memories of those flights – both in Economy and Business Class – especially one occasion when we enjoyed incredible views of the Antarctic icebergs for several hours mid-flight.

Alas, I didn’t spot any icebergs this time as the view was blocked by a thick cloud layer. But as you’ll read in this Qantas A380 First Class review, I still had a great flight.

Flight Details

Flight number	QF63
Origin	Sydney (SYD)
Destination	Johannesburg (JNB)
Aircraft type	Airbus A380
Class of travel	First
Seat number	1A
On-time performance	We arrived half an hour late
Star rating

The route

The map below shows the “great circle” route from Sydney to Johannesburg, which is the shortest route by distance. In reality, we flew further south than this due to the prevailing jet stream which made a more southerly routing faster.

Flights in the other direction (from Johannesburg to Sydney) usually travel further north to take advantage of tailwinds. Those tailwinds are significant, as the flight time from Johannesburg to Sydney is almost three hours shorter!

Flight Cost

As I’d booked before the Qantas Frequent Flyer devaluation in August 2025, I paid 142,300 Qantas Points and $272 in taxes & carrier charges for a one-way Classic Flight Reward ticket in First from Sydney to Johannesburg.

If you booked this today as a Classic Reward, it would cost 170,800 Qantas Points. Qantas also increased the First Class carrier charge on this route by $160 in the latest round of program changes.

Qantas normally sells First Class tickets on the Sydney-Johannesburg route starting from $7,487 one-way or $11,504 return. While this certainly isn’t cheap, per-se, it is one of the cheaper full-priced Qantas First Class airfares out there.

Airport Experience

The Qantas First Class experience starts from the moment you arrive at the airport!

The day before my flight, I received an email from the “Sydney Qantas First Host Team”. In addition to some general information about checking in for my flight to Johannesburg, this email included:

• A phone number to call to get porter assistance when arriving at the airport
• An offer to make an appointment for a spa treatment in the Qantas First Lounge before my flight (which I gladly accepted)

I was travelling light and didn’t really need the porter assistance, so I just walked over to the Qantas First check-in suite when I arrived at Sydney Airport. There was no queue, and the friendly Qantas staff member efficiently checked me in with a smile.

When departing from Sydney Airport on an international flight, Business and First Class passengers automatically get access to the express lane for immigration and security. This proved to be a big time-saver as I was departing during the morning rush.

The Qantas First Lounge

In my opinion, the Qantas First Lounge in Sydney is the best lounge in the Qantas network. In addition to the excellent a la carte dining and drinks available, the service is typically top-notch. The amenities and sweeping views over Sydney Airport and the city – as well as an abundance of natural light- seal the deal.

Normally, if I get into the Qantas First Lounge, it’s due to my Oneworld Emerald status. But as I was flying in First Class on this occasion, the First Host escorted me on arrival to a roped-off dining area towards the far end of the lounge, which is reserved for First and Platinum One flyers.

I’ve previously written extensively about the food on the Qantas Sydney First Lounge lunch & dinner menu. Since I was visiting in the morning this time, I was able to choose from the equally extensive breakfast menu. (I didn’t notice any extra breakfast dishes available for First Class passengers, but I believe there are some extra premium options during lunch and dinner.)

I was feeling a bit peckish, so I ordered two plates from the breakfast menu. These dishes – combined with the excellent coffee – wouldn’t feel out of place at a trendy Australian brunch café.

There’s also an extensive drinks menu, which includes some great wine and cocktail options. As it was 7am and I had a long First Class flight ahead, I skipped the alcohol in the lounge.

I had booked a massage for a time slot just before boarding, which was very relaxing. The perfect way to start a long-haul flight! (Apologies for the slightly blurry photo of the spa treatment room.)

Boarding

When I got to the gate, boarding for Group 1 had just started, so I didn’t have to wait at all.

Once in the airbridge, there was something special about being able to turn left into the dedicated airbridge for First Class, situated at the front of the A380’s lower deck.

The Hard Product

Other than a minor refresh, Qantas hasn’t really updated its Airbus A380 First Class hard product since it first introduced it in 2008. It doesn’t really need to.

Sure, on the Airbus A380, the Qantas First Class suite isn’t quite as “flash” as what you’d find on airlines like Emirates, Etihad or Singapore Airlines. There’s no sliding door, nor a minibar or separate bed beside your seat, and the seat is starting to show a little bit of wear and tear. Nonetheless, I think Qantas’ First Class suite is still very much fit for purpose. I’m personally a fan.

The Qantas A380 has quite a large First Class cabin, with 14 seats in a 1-1-1 layout. I selected seat 1A, which has a good amount of privacy as there’s no seat across the aisle from it. (Choosing a seat on the “A” side also gives you slightly more privacy, as the passengers in the middle seats access the aisle on the other side.)

Some frequent flyers don’t like this seat as it’s right behind a storage cupboard that the cabin crew regularly need to access. I personally didn’t find that a big problem.

There are various small storage spaces around the seat, as well as a USB charging outlet and universal power socket.

This is essentially a semi-private suite. Uniquely, the seat swivels around to face the TV screen when you recline it. It’s also designed so that, if you’re travelling with someone, they can sit across from you (on the footrest) to dine.

Overall, I found the suite very spacious and comfortable. It’s great for sitting, eating and working. But it’s especially excellent for sleeping. The bed is long, and the high-quality bedding adds an even greater level of comfort. I enjoyed a restful nap during the middle of the flight.

There’s a control panel beside the seat where you can control the seat’s recline, open or close the electronic window shades and access the light switches. There’s also a massage function, which basically just makes the seat vibrate a bit.

I did notice a small bug with the control panel, which is admittedly very, very niche – if you switch the language to German, the massage settings are all in Spanish for some reason!

In-flight entertainment and (no) Wi-Fi

There’s a remote beside the seat that you can use to control the in-flight entertainment system. Qantas’ IFE offers a decent selection of content to watch and listen to, including movies, TV shows, and music.

On the A380, you can typically also view the plane’s exterior via the “Skycam”, but that was malfunctioning on this particular flight.

One thing that’s still noticeably missing from most of Qantas’ long-haul flights is Wi-Fi! Many international airlines now offer this on board, and Qantas does have it on its domestic and short-haul international flights. Qantas is also now rolling out Wi-Fi onto long-haul Airbus A330 flights. But it’s still not available on the A380. I guess some people might appreciate the forced “digital detox”.

The A380 on-board lounge

There are two toilets at the front of the First Class cabin, so I never had to wait. Next to the toilets, you’ll find the grand Airbus A380 staircase that leads to the upper deck.

At the top of the staircase is a lounge area that’s available to First and Business Class passengers.

To be honest, the lounge seems to be a somewhat dark and under-utilised space. I didn’t see many passengers actually using this during the flight. That said, I can see why some people might value having a place to meet with their travelling companions for a chat, or even just to have somewhere else to go if they want to leave their seat for a while!

Airlines can’t really put seats in this windowless space at the front of the A380’s upper deck anyway, so most airlines have struggled to find a useful purpose for it. Emirates and Etihad are perhaps two exceptions, as Emirates has put showers here and Etihad has made it part of its ultra-luxurious “Residence” suite.

The Soft Product

There were two aspects of the Qantas First Class soft product that stood out to me as being excellent.

One, which I’ve already mentioned, was the First Class bedding. The mattress topper is really soft and comfortable for sleeping on, and the pillows and blanket are substantial.

The second highlight was the cabin crew. Kerrie was the main flight attendant looking after me on this flight, and she immediately and warmly greeted me by name before I’d even sat down. The service only got better from there.

When Qantas gets it right, they really get it right – and that was the case with the First Class service on this flight. Kerrie was friendly and casual, while somehow also managing to be professional and attentive. She seemed to understand what each passenger wanted, and tailored her service accordingly. Consistently throughout the flight, she addressed every passenger by name. I guess this kind of service could be best described as “good old-fashioned Aussie hospitality”.

Qantas First Class amenities

Qantas provides comfortable slippers and pyjamas in First Class. The cabin crew also handed out amenity kits before take-off, along with the menu and wine list.

While the amenity kit itself is nice, I wasn’t quite as impressed with the contents which were basically just the standard things you’d expect in any Business Class amenity kit.

The headphones provided seemed identical to those given out in Business Class. They work, but they aren’t noise-cancelling and my own Bose headphones did a much better job.

One thing that was noticeably missing from the service was hot towels.

The menu

This was the First Class menu on QF63:

This was the drinks list:

And below is the First Class wine list for this flight. The champagne served was Piper Heidsieck Rare Millesime 2013, which was a lovely drop. All other wines were Australian.

Meals & drinks

Before take-off, Kerrie offered some nuts and olives along with the obligatory pre-departure glass of champagne. Our departure was slightly delayed while we waited for some connecting passengers, and the cabin crew proactively offered drink refills while we were still on the ground.

I was offered a drink shortly after take-off, and decided to try Qantas’ Signature First Cocktail by Maybe Sammy. This was a delightful jasmine Negroni, which came with two lovely bite-sized canapés.

This was followed by a long and enjoyable lunch service. For the starter, I chose the crab tortellini which was absolutely delicious. I paired this with a pleasant glass of Shaw + Smith sauvignon blanc.

For the main course, I was having trouble deciding between the Asian-style chicken and the Glacier 51 toothfish – so asked if I could try both. There were enough extra meals loaded that this wasn’t a problem, and Kerrie was happy to oblige.

While the chicken was tasty, the Glacier 51 toothfish was a real highlight.

I rounded out lunch with cake served in a glass, along with some fortified wine.

After waking from a mid-flight nap, I ordered a flat white which was remarkably well-done for something prepared at altitude.

For dinner towards the end of the flight, I opted for the quail starter:

For the main course, I couldn’t overlook the toothfish, which this time was prepared a bit differently:

A tart slice and a pot of tea rounded out another delicious meal.

Overall impressions: Qantas First Class catering

Overall, I enjoyed the food on this flight. Most of it was restaurant quality, and I certainly didn’t go hungry.

That said, I don’t think it was quite up to the same standard as you would expect in First Class on other top-tier international airlines. For example, while Emirates offers unlimited caviar in First Class (and Qatar Airways even offers it in Business Class on some routes), the caviar on Qantas First was limited to two small canapés.

And while the Piper Heidsieck champagne was lovely (until it ran out mid-flight), I didn’t find the rest of the wine list majorly impressive for First Class. I enjoyed the wines that I tried, but they were mainly wines that retail for around $30 per bottle.

In addition to the lunch service after take-off and the dinner service later in the flight, Qantas does offer mid-flight snacks in First Class. But the option to dine on demand would be a welcome addition, especially on a flight like Sydney-Johannesburg where you change 8-9 time zones.

I do very much realise how first-world these “problems” are! Please don’t get me wrong – they’re not really problems at all, and I enjoyed this flight a lot. It was a great treat and a privilege to fly First Class and enjoy some great food in the sky. But as this is a review of a product that Qantas charges many thousands of dollars for, I do think it’s worth comparing Qantas First Class critically and honestly with other airlines.