Recent QF9 and QF2 Experience

Had a recent work trip to the UK and Ireland and flew Qantas out of Sydney in J to LHR and connected to Dublin on BA. On the outbound leg I purposely chose QF9 to experience the Perth London nonstop. Had a 737 to Perth and a 3 hour plus transit. Did like the transit lounge and got in when immigration finally opened 2 hours before the flight. Had seat 3A and the flight was packed. Service was good and overall a very good experience on the Dreamliner. As many have said previously, the number of toilets is an issue. The transit in Perth was too long given immigration only opens 2 hours before the flight.

My return out of Dublin was originally booked on a QF ticket with EK metal via Dubai. With changes to travel plans I had to extend my stay and QF had a return special in First Class on the A380 via LHR which was significantly cheaper than changing to business no matter which route I saw on offer. Flew QF 2 in seat 1K and the flight was outstanding. Great service, fantastic wines and food and very comfortable ofcourse. The London lounge with the gin bar and a separate wine list for First Class passengers was fantastic. The salt and pepper squid was on offer and the lounge service was very good. With the 380s due for refurbishment, I would say my preference on any future trip on that route would be to do the 380 flight especially given living in Sydney. Interesting to hear the cabin crew saying that they much preferred working on the 380 rather than the 787 as they had more room.

This was a double SC ticket and very much worth it. Currently Platinum, and with my anniversary starting 1 Nov this trip has already got me retaining Platinum for the year staring 1 Nov 2019. Double SCs makes a huge difference.

I recently did the QF9/10 after years of doing QF1, chose purely for the better business seat and the interest in trying the new route. I got a later flight out of Sydney so only had a 1 hour transit, which in Perth was easy. There was literally no one else transiting through from domestic to international, it took all of 5 minutes through security and passport control.

I for one prefer the long haul routes, found I got much better sleep without being interrupted, but yes the toilets, and lack of an area to get out of the seat for a bit were negatives.

Definitely flying QF9 over QF 1 for the better business class but once a380 is refurbished, I might switch back to the a380 because of its quiter ride. Not really feeling the increased moisture/refreshment gimmicks on the 787.

While they are long, I like the longer non stop flights, as they avoid additional security checks at transit airports.

Probably worth stating that you are of course comparing the A380 F product & experience (eg lounge) to the B787 J product & experience.

The [current] A380 J product is a completely different comparis