Airline review: Qantas, Airbus A330-300, business class, Sydney to Bangkok

DURATION

8 hours, 50 minutes. Take-off is delayed for over an hour but we catch up and land only 30 minutes behind schedule.

CARBON EMISSIONS

2.3 tonnes. If concerned about flygskam (Swedish for "flight shame") you may offset emissions through Qantas's Fly Carbon Neutral Program, which supports environmental programs by matching passenger contributions dollar-for-dollar.

FREQUENCY

Qantas flies from Sydney to Bangkok on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

HEALTH

The airline no longer requires passengers to wear face masks. On this earlier flight, obligatory masks were worn by all cabin crew but by seemingly less than half the passengers.

CHECKING IN

Due to airport staffing shortages at the time, Qantas advised arrival at the airport four hours before take-off. As it turned out, there was no delay at check-in or security. While vaccination documents are no longer mandatory for passengers departing Australia it remains wise, depending on your overseas destinations, to still carry them.

THE SEAT

Business class has 28 suites in a 1-2-1 layout, giving each passenger direct aisle access. The Vantage XL seat reclines to a full-flat bed that can be fitted on request with a mattress. The seat width is a comfortable 23 inches (58.4cm) with a pitch of 73 inches (185.4cm) allowing plenty of leg room. Seat features include AC power, USB port, good noise-cancelling headphones and three-point sash seatbelt. There is generous overhead luggage stowage and ample room around the seat for personal belongings. A broad fold-out table accommodates working and dining paraphernalia.

BAGGAGE

The checked luggage allowance in business class is for two pieces weighing up to 40kg total, plus 14kg for hand carry. According to their membership tier Qantas Frequent Flyers from Silver to Platinum can enjoy higher allowances up to a 60kg maximum on checked bags.

ENTERTAINMENT

On-screen there's a satisfactory, if not particularly adventurous cache of movies, box sets, comedies and documentaries. Films range from 27 current releases to art house and Hollywood blockbusters. But do we really need forklift advertisements before each showing? Audiobook options cover fiction, biography and kids' entertainment, but curiously there are no music offerings. The quality Qantas in-flight magazine is an alternative.

SERVICE

Attentive and cheerful yet unobtrusive. Meals are served hot and trays cleared promptly. Water, soft drinks, tea, coffee and alcohol are served on request throughout the flight, along with light snacks. No duty-free sales. Consistently clean bathrooms.

FOOD

The cocktail trolley rolls out as soon as practicable after take-off. A good G’n’T precedes the Qantas Sommelier lunch selection of Australian, New Zealand and French wines. My main course of Humpty Doo barramundi with greens is near-perfect in both portion and taste, and is followed by a Maggie Beer chocolate ice-cream chaser. Ninety minutes before landing a tasty spinach and fetta quiche snack arrives.

ONE MORE THING

Cabin crew and ground staff at every point from check-in through to touchdown worked very diligently, as though to distance themselves from the company's image issues.

VERDICT

The flight is comfortable and uncomplicated; in short, a pleasure.

OUR RATING OUT OF FIVE

★★★★½

The writer travelled courtesy of Four Seasons Bangkok Hotel at Chao Phraya and received an upgrade from Qantas.

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See also: Airline review: Qantas' new route on a 50-seater turboprop