Does anyone think its worth upgrading to business class on the Qantas A330-200 from HNL to SYD.

Does anyone think its worth upgrading to business class on the Qantas A330-200 from HNL to SYD. I think they are still using non-refurbished aircraft on the route so not sure if it's worth it.

If it is definitely the non-refurbished aircraft, I personally wouldn't. Last year I upgraded my flight from MNL - SYD on a non-refurbished A330. I regretted the decision and thought it was a waste of points - it was a red eye flight and the seats are horrible (obviously better than economy, but still not good) I would personally save my points and only use it to upgrade on the refurbished A330's. Enjoy your trip. 

Completely agree with maddenlionel. I loathe the Skybed, and the non-refurbished A330's especially are a complete and utter disgrace. I think you'll spend the flight regretting having wasted the points.

• Skybeds are uncomfortable seats to begin with, and Mk1 aren't even parallel flat to the ground.
• The IFE is a complete disaster, and borderline non-functional. Screen is small and extremely grainy. The on-board storage is limited, which means only a tiny amount of TV/films available to watch. Remotes in your seat are useless.
• Poor storage.
• Cabin is downtrodden, and displays visible signs of wear and tear.
• The seat control options are far more limited than Skybed Mk2, let alone new QF suites.
• I reckon you can tell the cabin crew don't like working on such old equipment, and it translates to the level of service you get.
• Toilets are old and gross; they smell.

Negative votes eh. Sorry QF fanboys, the truth hurts.

Anyone who thinks the fifteen year old, unrefurbished A330 Skybed Mk1 is an acceptable business class product in 2016 frankly needs to get their head read.

(Especially when QF charges the more than their objectively superior competitors for this "privilege".)

AusBT hivemind, feel free to vote this comment down as well ;)

I recently flew SYD - HNL and due to a last min aircraft change we had the an upgraded A330. At this stage I agree that this would be one of the only routes that exculsivly uses a non refurbished aircraft but there is always a chance.

How much do you value comfort? Any business class seat will be better than economy class, and I certainly wouldn't call them "horrible".

Personally for a flight of that length I would be putting in an upgrade request.

Considering that it is 9+ hr flights, I would say yes despite old outfit.

We were all okay with the old business class until a year or so ago.  It may not be as good as the new 330 seats but it's really not that shabby and a hundred times better than being stuck in economy, especially if it's a crowded flight. 

Agree with Serg & Windowseat. I took the flight in J a year ago. From memory it's a day flight - so you don't really need a flat bed. Nine hours in J is alot better than the same time in economy. If you're by yourself, you can also get an 'A' row seat and have direct access to the aisle as well as a window. Well worth the points. 

the flight schedules are a bit different than what they used to be. it leaves at 1:45pm and gets to sydney at 8:15pm, which means that when you land it will be around midnight in Hawaii, so you would be shattered. 

I would say at the risk of disappointment should you receive an unrefurbished aircraft, perhaps not worth the risk. Personally, I'd wait it out in Y. 

Depends on two main issues : how you value points and value comfort.

I also guess you could add in the question of whether you are travelling alone or with partner / family? After all, HNL is primarily a leisure destination, unless you're in the pineapple or macadamia nut business :-)

First, in contrast to SYD/MEL - LAX, the points upgrade fee to J is comparitively small - ergo, if you have a large cache of points, no worries. If you have a smaller accumulated points bank, you may need to think about wise expenditure.

I think that the idea of a daylight Y flight from HNL (dep 1345 arr 2015+1) if travelling with family. The real question becomes how much do you value an older style J Class seat on an originating sector (SYD) which is 9:45hrs going up and 10:30hrs coming back, especially if you are travelling on your own? Whilst it is not the newest incorporation of J Class, the older configuration is still a reasonable (just not brilliant) J Class product.

One perk of doing a one sector J trip and a return Y sector is that you'll have a good base for service comparison, rather than 'hard product'. Additionally, it would save you points.

However, if travelling alone and having the points, I would go for the 'comfort' factor - 10.5hrs is still a longhaul flight.

If you have the points and fine with using them, then yes. Sky bed 1 will significantly be better than economy 

IMO, if you're traveling with a companion, the side seats on the A330 are fine for 8-9 hours if its' during the day. I'm 185cm and it was tolerable. For me, I save points for 12+ hour flights.