Review: Qantas Airbus A330-200 business class (Tokyo Narita-Brisbane)
While Qantas' lounge may be lacking in Tokyo, the inflight service more than makes up for it from Narita to Brisbane.
By Staff Writers, July 30 2019
Route
Tokyo (Narita) - Brisbane
Aircraft Type
Airbus A330-300
Airline
Qantas
Flight
QF62
Cabin Class
Business
Seat
4A (window)
Notes
The Good
- Fully-flat beds, direct aisle access, and pyjamas
- Great service from this Brisbane-based crew
The Bad
- Outdated Qantas lounge at Narita Airport
X-Factor
- Espresso coffee is most welcome on this overnight flight
Introduction
Now with daily flights between Brisbane and Tokyo's Narita Airport, Qantas puts its best foot forward in business class, offering fully-flat beds, direct aisle access and pyjamas on its overnight Airbus A330-300 Business Suite flights, which Executive Traveller puts to the test.
Check-in
- Frequent flyer program: Qantas Frequent Flyer, Oneworld. Beyond that alliance network (a roster that includes Japan Airlines), Qantas also maintains partnerships with an array of other international frequent flyer programs too, such as Emirates Skywards.
- Checked baggage:
- 40kg: standard allowance
- 45kg: Oneworld Sapphire frequent flyers (except Qantas Gold, below)
- 52kg: Qantas Club members, Qantas Silver and Emirates Skywards Silver frequent flyers
- 56kg: Qantas Gold and Skywards Gold frequent flyers
- 60kg: Qantas Platinum, Platinum One and Chairman's Lounge members; other Oneworld Emerald cardholders; Skywards Platinum frequent flyers
- 40kg: standard allowance
- Carry-on baggage allowance: 2x7kg, 115cm bags – or, 1x115cm bag (up to 7kg) plus a garment bag measuring up to 185cm.
- Airport fast-track: Check-in is swift with no line at the business class counter, and a flash of the boarding pass provides access to the nearby "Oneworld Priority" lane at security and passport control. Priority boarding is enforced, and checked bags are priority-tagged and delivered in the first batch upon arrival in Brisbane.
Lounge
Qantas operates its own business class lounge at Narita Airport, conveniently situated next to the departure gates used by Qantas' flights to Brisbane and Melbourne.
Qantas business class lounge, Tokyo Narita Airport
The lounge itself better-resembles a Qantas domestic business class lounge of yesteryear rather than a true international business class lounge on-par with the likes of the Qantas Hong Kong Lounge, although you'll still find the expected zones for dining and relaxing, as well as a few seats geared towards pre-flight work, and before these overnight flights to Australia, shower facilities.
Qantas business class lounge, Tokyo Narita Airport
Executive Traveller review: Qantas Tokyo Narita lounge
Flight
Qantas flies daily between Tokyo and Brisbane, with QF62 departing Narita at 7:55pm each evening ahead of a 5:55am arrival into Brisbane the next morning, being the only airline offering non-stop service between Brisbane and Japan.
For those jetting to the Japanese capital, QF61 takes to Brisbane's skies at 9:35am each day, touching down in Tokyo for a late afternoon arrival at 5:55pm.
Out of Narita, Qantas also flies to Melbourne, while its Oneworld alliance partner Japan Airlines runs flights from Narita to both Sydney and Melbourne, too.
Sydneysiders, take note that Qantas' Tokyo-Sydney flights depart from Haneda Airport instead, being much closer to downtown Tokyo.
Seat
Business class aboard Qantas' Airbus A330-300s finds a staggered seating layout in a 1-2-1 configuration, with seats alternating between being closer to, and further away from, the aisle.
Qantas Airbus A330-300 seat map
Being an overnight flight where the goal was to sleep, I opted for a seat away from the aisle to minimise the impact of any foot traffic – and for a little extra privacy, too – so selected 4A, which the seat map above shows is over on the window side:
Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class seat
Best seats guide: Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class
Speaking of privacy, these away-from-aisle seats place a fixed shell between you and that aisle, which proves most useful when the seat is in bed mode.
Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class privacy wall
After take-off, you're free to settle into that bed, which stretches to approximately two metres in length (78.5 inches) and 58cm (23 inches) at its widest point.
Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class bed
On these overnight flights, pyjamas are provided too, with the 'large/extra large' size fitting most, although smaller sets are available and may be more comfortable for shorter flyers.
Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class pyjamas
Next to the seat, a fixed console space offering a flat bench, as well as an L-shaped storage nook above, which is ideal for items like amenity kits, reading material, glasses, headphones, laptops when not in use, and also your water bottle, held in place in the corner:
Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class storage
Connections for power and headphones are at easy reach, with plenty of space around these connectors to cater for larger transformers and adaptors, if needed – although the AC outlet accommodates plugs from Australia, Japan and a number of other countries without needing such an adaptor.
Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class power, headphone ports
Controls for your seat can be found nearby, and in addition to the standard 'upright' position for take-off and landing, there's a pre-reclined position you can switch to as well for a little more comfort.
This is also where you can control things like lighting, the in-seat massage feature, and a 'do not disturb' light, which advises the crew that you don't wish to be woken for breakfast, or interrupted for other service.
Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class seat controls
Beyond the storage that your side shelf provides, there's also a large literature pocket in front, as well as a coat hook embedded within the grooves above...
Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class literature pocket
... while directly in front of you, there's plenty of space to stretch forward with a fixed footrest that later forms the tail end of your fully-flat bed.
Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class footrest
As a taller traveller, I did find that in certain seating positions after placing the seat into bed mode, my knees would occasionally bump into the timber panel pictured above, although this was most noticeable only when moving from one position to another – such as going to bed or getting up – and which wasn't otherwise 'in the way' once comfortable.
Also of note, if you're sitting in the centre of the cabin, there's a privacy shield between each seat, which can't be lowered or otherwise retracted.
Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class cabin
That's fine if you're flying solo, but when travelling with a companion, it can make it hard to have a conversation without leaning forward to see each other – something that Qantas addressed on its Boeing 787 aircraft where the divider can be lowered, although the Airbus A330s retain the 'original' Business Suites, with this fixed divider.
Executive Traveller review: Qantas Boeing 787 business class
Meal
As an overnight flight clocking in at exactly nine hours from gate to gate, there's a supper service after take-off, followed by a light breakfast before landing.
Getting things started is a glass of Champagne on the ground (Duval-Leroy Brut)...
Qantas business class Champagne
... after which, the full bar opens. For a last taste of Japan, I opt for a glass of chilled Ozeki saké, which arrives with nibbles on the side:
Qantas business class saké
Supper then offers a choice between two paths: a three-course Japanese menu – seasonal starters, Dainomono for main, and wagashi for dessert – or the standard menu, which provides a bit more variety.
Opt for this regular menu and your meal begins with a sweetcorn and basil soup with sourdough croutons, or with cheese and accompaniments as a light plate before heading to bed, but for those seeking more options, pre-selecting your preferred dishes online ahead of the flight offers several more choices, too.
Having filed my pre-order, I began with an 'online-only' roast duck salad, which came with bread and more green leaves on the side.
Supper in Qantas business class
For the most part, the duck had been cooked more like chicken and so had lost some of its natural tenderness, but was still perfectly edible and went well with the chilli dressing.
Supper in Qantas business class
For the main course, four options were available, and which were the same whether ordering online or on-board – the main advantage of pre-ordering being that you won't miss out on your first preference.
- Linguine with mushroom, spinach, cherry tomato and lemon thyme oil
- Jiangxi-style prawns with udon noodles, bok choy and sesame
- Beef sukiyaki with shallots, tofu, mushroom, chrysanthemum leaves and rice
- Roasted chicken with potato purée, green beans and rosemary butter
I'd pre-selected the beef – obviously not slow-cooked at the table, as would often be the case when ordering sukiyaki in a restaurant on the ground – but which was nice and tender, and perfectly paired to a glass of 2017 Brokenwood Pinot Noir.
Supper in Qantas business class
For dessert, passengers can choose what they like from a list that includes a cheese plate, a Japanese cheesecake with lemon cream, ice cream, seasonal fruit, or chocolates.
Flying from Tokyo, I couldn't look past the Japanese cheesecake, which was light and sweet.
Dessert in Qantas business class
After supper comes bed, but if you're peckish throughout the flight, you can order fresh fruit, chocolate chip cookies and chocolate bars at any time – and presumably, any chilled courses if still available from the dinner service, such as the cheese plate.
Usually, Qantas' Airbus A330 inflight entertainment would provide more detail around the timing of the meal services, such as how long is remaining until breakfast, although on this flight, the detail hadn't been loaded in, so the screen just displayed "oops":
Qantas business class inflight meal guide
Fast-forward to breakfast, and rather than working their way through the cabin from front to back – as many airlines do – passengers were instead individually served when they awoke, allowing those sleeping to catch a little extra shut-eye.
I awoke after other passengers were already being served, and didn't need to press my call bell: the crew noticed this on their next pass of the aisle, and immediately offered some breakfast, verbally sharing that the choices were from muesli, a fruit salad, a pastry, or a bacon and egg brioche roll.
Largely still full from dinner, I was content with a simple pastry and a cup of strong coffee, but had I done my 'usual' and gone straight to sleep after take-off (skipping dinner), I'd have appreciated the heartier option of a bacon and egg roll: but being around 4:30am local time in Brisbane, wouldn't have wanted a larger breakfast in any case.
Breakfast in Qantas business class
Remembering that Qantas' Airbus A330s have espresso machines on board, I followed that by a latte, which was acceptable by airplane coffee standards and tasted best after stirring.
Espresso coffee in Qantas business class
Entertainment & Service
Fixed in front of each business class passenger is a 16-inch touchscreen HDTV...
Inflight entertainment in Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class
... serving up a variety of movies, TV shows and music, including 'box sets', being entire seasons of TV shows. The screen can also be angled upward or downward, to provide a better viewing angle when reclining or for taller travellers.
Inflight entertainment in Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class
When there's work to do, I like having the 'moving map' open in the background to keep tabs on the journey, but being an overnight journey, this leg was fortunately better-suited to sleeping.
Aircraft journey map in Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class
As above, the system can be controlled by touch, but there's a remote control tucked away to your side, if you run into any trouble.
Inflight entertainment remote control in Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class
Service-wise, cabin crew made good use of the aircraft's soft, dimmed lighting, which made for a peaceful transition into and out of rest, and were proactive in providing assistance: such as by offering to hang my outfit in the closet after changing into pyjamas.
Mood lighting in Qantas Airbus A330-300 business class
The flight's Customer Service Manager Matt was also particularly knowledgeable in wine and saké, and easily engaged in conversation throughout the flight, without being too 'familiar'.
Overall, a comfortable and enjoyable journey – and speaking as a Brisbane resident, this non-stop flight from Tokyo is most definitely preferable to transiting via Sydney, as was necessary until just a few short years ago.
Chris Chamberlin travelled to Tokyo at his own expense using frequent flyer points.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
12 Nov 2017
Total posts 20
I have to say that I have not seen such unappetizing looking meals in business class for a long time. It is a pity a bit more care is not spent on the plating. I have to say that VA food outshines this by a country mile.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 May 2015
Total posts 54
They may look unappetizing however it's the taste that's more important.
04 May 2015
Total posts 261
So VA has better food on its flights from Tokyo?
05 Aug 2019
Total posts 1
Couldn't agree more about the plating. Food in Business on QF always looks terrible. Presentation is very important.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jan 2017
Total posts 51
i had a QF127 flight to Hong Kong not too long ago, the food was inedible, I wonder what makes it 4 starts when flying to Tokyo.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Jan 2014
Total posts 1
Nice report Chris , sounds like you had a great crew which makes a difference
23 Aug 2019
Total posts 3
excellent review Chris, I have travelled Japan - Sydney many times business class with Q and agree the location for departure Haneda is great BUT its always on the robust but old 747, which isnt nearly as comfortable as the A330!
03 Sep 2019
Total posts 1
The flight is great and I usually fly from Brisbane. I flew with Qantas from Sydney to Haneda, and the plane was old without direct aisle access if you have a window seat. I flew back from Narita to Brisbane. The flight was comfortable, however, the food was an absolute disaster. Three out of the 4 mains were not available. In the end, I had cold sushi rolls which you don't expect in a business class. I am flying again in a month and hopefully have a better experience. Unfortunately, only Qantas offer a direct flight from Brisbane to Narita.
16 Sep 2019
Total posts 2
You should be able to access Emirates Lounge at Narita instead of the dated QF Business Lounge. Emirates Lounge is far superior and it is opened around the time QF62 departs. However you need to make allowance as the Lounge is the main building while QF62 normally departs from satellite building gates 82/84. Another option is to use JAL Sakura Lounge, however there is restricted access now due to renovation taking place currently until fall.
14 Aug 2019
Total posts 1
Travelled on Qantas Tokyo Brisbane flight last week business class. Never again! Confirmed seat changed with no notice, excuse changed in Sydney not our problem. The service was just economy standard, took over an hour after take off to be offered a drink. Would have preferred to eat at the lounge but selection very poor, took 2 hours + to get served a meal that was not very good then with no offer of an accompanying drink or wine. This meant reduced time to sleep. No small size PJs. The staff appeared to be working hard so my guess is under staffed. Flew Qatar a few months earlier, no comparison.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Qantas Airbus A330-200 business class (Tokyo Narita-Brisbane)