Back in Feb, AusBT posted a story about how Qantas would be refreshing two 747s instead of retiring them. I'm scheduled to travel in the old first class section of one of them to Johannesburg in February and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if the refresh has happened yet? As much I'm looking forward to travelling in "first" the cabin is a little tired and I can't seem to get a straight answer out of Qantas when I contact them directly. Has anyone flown in these cabins recently who can comment?
It's been 18m since I flew one of those birds with the old First - still a very good product in terms of space and sleep quality - just watch those overhead lockers! They hang damn low!
I flew Santiago to Sydney on an old 747 last week and was seated in the upper deck. The business class pods were still the first generation (eg, not 100% lie flat and the TV mointers were from the stone age).
Like other's in this thread, have flown both (yes both) the old 747 to Tokyo in Sep, Oct and Nov there is nothing refreshing about them. As long as you are in the old FC it will be a comfortable flight, the seat/bed is quite comfortable. The IFE is not that flash, the planes have a nostalgic value from 20-30 years ago that has no place in the air in 2017.
I flew OEB (one of the two non-refurb 744s) to SFO in late October in Y. It had new, A380-style seat covers throughout the Y cabin at that stage. I assumed that was all that constituted the 'refresh', since the W and J cabins looked otherwise unchanged.
Completely agree. And Business on these are atrocious - angle flat with very little pitch. The entire Qantas Business product on 747 and A380 is woeful. The Skybed is uncomfortable with very little personal space. A330 Business is great.
I flew economy from SFO > SYD on 17 Aug 2016 on what was definitely not one of the refurbished planes. It was the first time I'd encountered such an old plane on that route and I was deeply unimpressed. I'm giving them one more try before I fly United on a 787.
Qantas should have got another 2 A380s and retired those 747s. Their running costs are a lot higher than an A380 and you can't underestimate the cost of annoying loyal Qantas passengers by providing substandard business class products. A little bit off topic, I have a feeling that the reason there are no published plans to refurbish business on the A380s is that Joyce is going to ditch the whole fleet when Qantas has sufficient 787s.
I really can't believe QF still fly this old aircraft. Great in their day, 20 years ago but when every other carrier offers a fantastic hard product, herringbone seating etc, on aircraft like 777, 350 or 787, how can QF justify keeping the 747 on? And charge the prices they ask!
I flew Sydney to Santiago with friends the week before Christmas. That plane had the old first class cabin - very tired looking. One of my friends flew Santiago - Sydney yesterday on the same plane. Still not refurbished.
AULeisureTravel
AULeisureTravel
Member since 27 Dec 2016
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Hi all,
markpk
markpk
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It's been 18m since I flew one of those birds with the old First - still a very good product in terms of space and sleep quality - just watch those overhead lockers! They hang damn low!
mos
mos
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Member since 18 Dec 2014
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I flew in the old first section to/from HND in September - certainly had not been refreshed then, was still looking very worn out.
David
David
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Ditto, did Sydney-Haneda and it was on a non-refreshed Boeing 747 with the older first class in the nose, but I actually quite like it!
AlexTravAddict
AlexTravAddict
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I flew Santiago to Sydney on an old 747 last week and was seated in the upper deck. The business class pods were still the first generation (eg, not 100% lie flat and the TV mointers were from the stone age).
tuzza1
tuzza1
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I flew qf64 from JNB to SYD a couple of month ago and it was a refurb 747. prev to that [appx 2 p.a.] it has been the old first for J.
Matt_01
Matt_01
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Like other's in this thread, have flown both (yes both) the old 747 to Tokyo in Sep, Oct and Nov there is nothing refreshing about them. As long as you are in the old FC it will be a comfortable flight, the seat/bed is quite comfortable. The IFE is not that flash, the planes have a nostalgic value from 20-30 years ago that has no place in the air in 2017.
feka742
feka742
Member since 24 Jun 2016
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I flew OEB (one of the two non-refurb 744s) to SFO in late October in Y. It had new, A380-style seat covers throughout the Y cabin at that stage. I assumed that was all that constituted the 'refresh', since the W and J cabins looked otherwise unchanged.
traveller99
traveller99
Member since 18 Nov 2015
Total posts 119
Completely agree. And Business on these are atrocious - angle flat with very little pitch. The entire Qantas Business product on 747 and A380 is woeful. The Skybed is uncomfortable with very little personal space. A330 Business is great.
crosscourt
crosscourt
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Was on the old 747 to Santiago in august and it was not refurbished and had the old first class.
brad2k
brad2k
Member since 11 Feb 2016
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I flew economy from SFO > SYD on 17 Aug 2016 on what was definitely not one of the refurbished planes. It was the first time I'd encountered such an old plane on that route and I was deeply unimpressed. I'm giving them one more try before I fly United on a 787.
danteg
danteg
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Member since 18 Nov 2013
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Qantas should have got another 2 A380s and retired those 747s. Their running costs are a lot higher than an A380 and you can't underestimate the cost of annoying loyal Qantas passengers by providing substandard business class products. A little bit off topic, I have a feeling that the reason there are no published plans to refurbish business on the A380s is that Joyce is going to ditch the whole fleet when Qantas has sufficient 787s.
zoomzoom
zoomzoom
Member since 21 Aug 2015
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I really can't believe QF still fly this old aircraft. Great in their day, 20 years ago but when every other carrier offers a fantastic hard product, herringbone seating etc, on aircraft like 777, 350 or 787, how can QF justify keeping the 747 on? And charge the prices they ask!
MerooStu
MerooStu
Member since 27 Nov 2012
Total posts 1
I flew Sydney to Santiago with friends the week before Christmas. That plane had the old first class cabin - very tired looking. One of my friends flew Santiago - Sydney yesterday on the same plane. Still not refurbished.
moa999
moa999
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Member since 02 Jul 2011
Total posts 834
These planes were only getting a refresh - not refurb.
Refresh meant new seat covers and not much else
They will likely be the first to go when the 789s arrive in under 12 months