Do you think that Qantas will change/update the aircraft that they use for QF3/4 to Honolulu.

Do you think that Qantas will change/update the aircraft that they use for QF3/4 to Honolulu. Booked to travel in business from Gold Coast-Sydney-Honolulu. And then Economy from Honolulu-Sydney-Brisbane. What services should I expect on this aircraft? I will be travelling in November.

Unfortunately Qantas fly the aweful Boeing 767-300ER on this route.  In business they have 1-2-2 configuration.  The seat has around a 50 inch pitch and iis about 19.5 inches wide. These are not the most comfortable seats.  The audio visual on a loop, not on demand from an in seat unit.  The seats recline only, and are not the skybeds. Economy has a 2-3-2 configuration with 31 inch pitch and 17.5 inch seat width.  There is no personal entertainment, unless there is an Ipad for each customer aboard.  They normally show 3 movies inflight.  

We flew on this service in economy for a family holiday last month and I have to say it was the worst Qantas flight I have ever taken.

If you are travelling in business you may get some "service" but in economy there is nothing more than the basic meals etc. The aircraft is the same as you get on syd - mel flight but you are forced to endure it for 10 hours !

The ONLY good thing about this trip was that we got spend a couple of hours in the Sydney first lounge before getting on the plane.

I would recommend trying  Hawaiian. Everyone we have spoken to raved about the quality of the service and you get decent IFE.

I have heard anecdotally that this flight is treated as a 'points dump' for QF - they can put any POS aircraft on the route and QFFs will still fly it to burn points with JASAs etc. 

So do you think that I should use my points and upgrade to business class on the return? Or alternatively is there any other route I could do? Such as Korean airlines or Japan Air? Would the added connection time be worth it?

There is no plans to change the aircraft to an A330 variant on this route.

Next time try Hawaiian - nonstop full-featured A330 from Brisbane. Much better than "paying for the same real estate twice". 

HA are also going to be flying the 767-300ER on the HNL-BNE-HNL route. However they have just upgauged the AKL flight to an A330 ahead of it's launch.

We had our QF rep in the other day and Honolulu was a major topic of conversation.  QF are aware of the bad wrap they are receiving, however due to aircraft shortages they don't have any plans in the next year to change the aircraft type.  What I don't understand is why would they put an A330 on a East Coast to Perth route and a clapped out old B763 on the SYD-HNL route that is apparently making plenty of money.  Do they make more money on an East Coast - Perth flight than SYD-HNL?

This explains why Qantas are going down the drain. They know they have a problem but they are unwilling or unable to fix it. They then wonder why people say they have had enough and move to other carriers.

I am so dismayed by the continuing decline in the quality of the Qantas flight and service offerings that i am thinking of moving to Virgin.

Aircraft shortage is not an excuse. They can find (lease/buy/transfer) the right aircraft if they really wanted to. However what they'd really like people to do is fly Jetstar. 

The Qantas 767 product is truly awful, as mentioned be driley28. You mentioned Korean Air, if you dont mind the stupid thought of going in the complete wrong direction before returning to BNE, then your fine. Korean Air have a good product and even though you may end up being 12 hours later than the QF flight, the IFE is generally good. But no, honestly it is rather stupid (no offence or anything) to stop over in Seoul or Tokyo to go to Australia, Perhaps Air New Zealand is an option?

I last did this sector in 1990 coming back from Canada on an Elementary School Cultural Exchange and let me tell you this.Back then compared to the opposition Hawaiian with their DC8/Tristar and Continental AND United with their DC10 and 747's The IFE was better on the Australian Carrier.Fast Forward to 2012 and It's a disgrace I would rather If I had to go to Hawaii again fly on Hawaiian and get the Velocity Points and on the way home get the well timed connection to Brisbane to be back in Adelaide at a sensible hour the following day on a Fresh PLANE.The other option if you don't mind overnighting in Auckland is Air New Zealand who are pretty good if you DONT mind doing the Trans Tasman sector on an A320.