Qantas Airways

We were a group of 5 that flew with QF 151 MEL-AKL on December 19. It was a pleasant flight overall experience was satisfying.

Great flight from Sydney to Christchurch. Service excellent from a very professional crew. Great choice of movies. Exit row seat comfortable. Will look at future travel with Qantas.

Flew BNE to MEL in December and back again. I realise Qantas is struggling against fierce competition. But it is keeping up. The aircraft's are now a bit old and really should be replaced. The food on both flights was acceptable although nothing to write home about. The IFE is still out of the 70s with monitors hanging from the bulkhead every few seats. The shows on a 2-hour flight are 2nd rate. Cabin staff on both flights was helpful and friendly. Seating on the 767s was adequate for a short-haul flight. Despite the shortfalls I still (at this stage) prefer to fly Qantas on domestic flights. International flights not so sure.

JNB-SYD in Business Class in 747 400. The flight was overbooked and my wife and I were unable to be seated together despite having had confirmed our seats upstairs twice in advance. The crew did not see it as their role to assist we were told by the cabin crew member in our section that we were "lucky to be on board as they had sent people home". No special meal for me was loaded for which the initial response was "were you always in this class?". Was served lettuce and melon slices and the vegetarian meal which I ate some of but left most of it alone. It did taste good however. Wine was pretty good service was generally poor and dismissive other than by the Inflight Service Director who was very professional and apologetic. Had an omelette for breakfast which was cold and was told that if I wanted to be sure to get a warm one to get up earlier as the oven doors get opened and closed a lot and so it was heard to keep food hot. In all it was as if the crew didn't want us on board. It was a very disappointing flight.

HKG-SYD on an A380. Departure delayed due to an ill passenger having to be off loaded but the cockpit crew kept everyone informed of the situation. Seats are not the newest design but the airline supplies a duvet too fit over the cushions as well as pyjamas which really aid sleeping. The crew were very friendly and efficient making the trip all the more enjoyable. For example they got some balsamic vinegar for me as I could not use the dressing provided. My main gripe is about the food. The salad is just a few leaves and the main course I had amounted to a fancy Panini sandwich. Nice as it was it did not fit the business class image. Nor did breakfast which was a choice of either fruit one cinnamon cake or a spinach/cheese tart. Rather poor given you often get more in economy class on some routes. Baggage delivery at Sydney was quick which was good. All in all not bad for a first experience of Qantas but I think they really need to look at improving the food offerings on long haul judging by this flight.

Qantas 737-800 from SYD to ADL on 26th December 2013. Managed to snare the exit row aisle seat as being 6 ft 6 the economy seats are a bit of a squeeze for us men with a fuller figure! Walked into SYD airport and it was like a ghost town. I originally had an exit window but it's useless to me as I have to stoop down to see out of the thing anyway. A lady took my seat at the gate for which she was very grateful. This was my first time having a gluten free meal and it will be the last time on any flight 3 bits of boiled chicken and some chick peas and some soggy lettuce it was only eclipsed by the fact the rest of the people who eat normal food were eating something easily worse. .I did request a cup of tea and it did come promptly so that was pleasing. Landing in Adelaide nice view of the city coming in terrible landing.

Melbourne-Hong Kong-Melbourne QF29 23/12/2013 and QF30 27/12/2013 Business class. Check-in MEL: Staff great. No problems at all. Had checked in online so that made it even easier. Business Class Lounge MEL: Staff not so perfect. No energy. Did not seem to be a happy bunch. No cups at tea/coffee station tables not cleaned whole place messy. Some customers doing the work of staff to help other customers out. Flight MEL-HKG: Flight attendants were excellent. Could not ask for better service. Food not the best. Too cold. Check-in HKG: Same as for MEL. Great service. Business Class Lounge HKG: Cleaner and tidier than MEL but staff just the same. Cleaned up those tables around the food/drink counters but not keen to go to the people sitting further away. Flight HKG-MEL: Flight attendants excellent yet again. Service top quality. Food much better. Uniforms. Not sure what to say. Very dark. Did not go with the happy pleasant outlook put forward by those wearing them. Business Class Cabin. Seats are dark and dull. Cabin needs some color/cheering up. Overall: Staff at check-in and on flights were fantastic. Business Class lounges and cabin/seats are average. Food could be better.

QF926 Cairns to Sydney. As usual the flight was good plenty of room clean tidy cabin and fairly well on time however the food on internal flights this year has been rubbish.

Cairns - Darwin. Christmas night flight to Darwin on Boeing 717. Last flight out of a Cairns at 8.40pm Qantas Club empty after we arrived a bit after 6pm. Nice food in club nice wine and pleasant staff. Flight left early only 50 people on board. Nice dinner served - chicken pasta bake complimentary wine. Flight crew were very nice and flight arrived early into Darwin. No entertainment on these planes but everyone has I-Pads don't they.

Darwin-Cairns. QantasLink to Cairns on dinner flight on Boeing 717. These planes are quite comfortable with more legroom than 737-800's. While service was good it was also a bit slack in parts. Plane was full (125 pax) dinner was served but no drink service. Dinner would have been nice if not overcooked. Dried pasta and limp bok choy with chicken. We were told drinks would be served after dinner after we buzzed flight attendants asking for a wine. That is fine though a bit annoying but the flight crew took their time in serving as they fussed over some baby. Overall flight fine but it would be good if Qantas could maintain an equal standard on all it's domestic flights. If it has the flying kangaroo on it's tail then I expect the same service anywhere in Australia.