After a most enjoyable visit to the first class lounge, it was time for the only stressful part of my travel day — trying to actually board the plane.
I had waited about 10 minutes beyond the initial boarding call in the lounge to head to the gate, though that only resulted in longer queues. As I mentioned in a previous installment, the issue with A380 boarding is that first class is on the lower deck (along with economy), while business class and premium economy are on the upper deck. That means that first class has to queue with economy, putting me in line behind about 300 people.
Departure gate
Hey there!
The other issue is that there was no first class jet bridge, which meant I had to wait in the long coach jet bridge. Of course that’s not a problem in the slightest, since I knew the upcoming 23 hours would be utmost enjoyable.
And a close up of her
Qantas Airways 9
Melbourne (MEL) – Singapore (SIN)
Tuesday, May 24
Depart: 3:30PM
Arrive: 9:20PM
Duration: 7hr50min
Aircraft: Airbus 380
Seat: 2A (First Class)
At the door, each passenger was greeted by the friendly crew, and as soon as they saw my first class boarding pass they called over another flight attendant to direct me to my seat.
Seat 2A
Before I could even settle in I was welcomed aboard by one of the flight attendants and offered a drink. I went with champagne, which was served with almonds and olives.
Pre-departure beverage
Buddy seat and entertainment system
Shortly thereafter I was offered an amenity kit and pajamas. I already had a pair of large PJs, so asked if I could get a pair of medium PJs for my dad. The flight attendant returned with an extra pair shortly, and insisted I keep both. Score, given that most airlines are very stingy about PJs and amenity kits.
Amenity kit and PJs
As boarding finished up the 15 seat first-class cabin had one empty seat, so it was once again a near full load. The captain came on the PA to advise us of our flight time of 7hr30min, and shortly thereafter we began our taxi to the runway.
Taxiing out
vMore taxiing
After a 10 minute taxi and quick acceleration, we were airborne. The A380 really seems to take off in no time, and at least feels to me like it has a shorter roll than the B747 or A340.
Airborne
After watching the SkyCam for about 10 minutes I turned on the entertainment system and decided to watch an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Flight time remaining
A few minutes later the seatbelt sign was turned off and the customer service manager greeted each first class passenger and distributed the menus. He advised me that there was a “tasting menu” on today’s flight, and highly recommended it.
Just a couple of minutes later the captain gave each first class passenger a visit at their seat to introduce himself, tell us about the flight, etc. We talked for about five minutes about the A380, and he invited me to visit the cockpit after the flight. Kudos to the captain for the greeting.
Menu
Menu
Hot towels were quickly distributed, followed by a beverage. I passed on a beverage for now in anticipation of the tasting menu. Qantas’ menus really have an outstanding selection, so while I was tempted by some of the other options, in the end decided on the tasting menu.
The menu read as follows:
Melbourne to Singapore
TASTING MENU
Our Tasting Menu features a selection of eight tasting plates highlighting the finest of Rockpool and Qantas cuisine. A selection of award-winning wines will be offered to complement each course. Your Flight Attendant is available to assist you with your selection.Tartlet of Lobster and Lemon Creme Fraiche
Maggie Beer Pheasant Farm Pate with Caramelised Onions on Sourdough
Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Parmesan and Croutons
Yamba Prawn Salad with White Beans and Serrano Ham
Snapper Poached in Coconut Milk and Garam Masala, Fine Egg Noodles and Snow Peas
Slow Roasted Cape Grim Beef Sirloin with Anchovy Butter, Baby Carrots and Potato Gratin
Salad of Baby Cos, Radicchio and Frisee with Palm Sugar Vinaigrette
Chocolate Caramel Tart with Creme Fraiche and Almond Praline
Blue, soft and hard cheese, hand selected by Will Studd, Maitre Fromager Calendar Cheese Company served with accompaniments
A selection of Cacao hand made chocolates
DINNER
Our extensive Rockpool designed menu allows you to enjoy a completely personalized dining experience. Your Flight Attendant will be pleased to assist you with selection.CANAPES
Tartlet of Lobster and Lemon Creme Fraiche
Maggie Beer Pheasant Farm Pate with Caramelised Onions on Sourdough
SALADS AND OTHER THINGS
Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Parmesan and Croutons
Yamba Prawn Salad with White Beans and Serrano Ham
Salad of Wagyu Bresaolo with Grillen Fennel
LIGHT MEALS
Pan Fried Snapper with Lemon and Olive Oil Dressing and Steamed Vegetables
Pumpkin Gorgonzola Pizzette with Rocket Salad
Big bowl of Porcini Mushroom and Pearl Barley Soup with Gremolata
Moroccan Lamb Pot Pie with Harissa
Our signature Steak Sandwich with Tomato and Chilli Relish
MAIN COURSES
Lentil Moussaka with Red Pepper Sauce and Green Beans
Snapper Poached in Coconut Milk and Garam Masala, Fine Egg Noodles and Snow Peas
Parmesan Crumbed Chicken with Italian Style Coleslaw, Kipfler Potatoes and Aioli
Chinese Barbecue Porm Omelette with Oyster Sauce, Rice and Bok Choy
Slow Roasted Cape Grim Beef Sirloin with Anchovy Butter, Baby Carrots and Potato Gratin
SIDE SALAD
Salad of Baby Cos, Radicchio and Frisee with your choice of dressing
Aged Balsamic and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Lemon Juice and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Palm Sugar Vinaigrette
CHEESE
Blue, soft and hard cheese, hand selected by Will Studd, Maitre Fromager Calendar Cheese Company served with accompaniments
DESSERT
Chocolate Caramel Tart with Creme Fraiche and Almond Praline
Baked Treacle Pie with Roasted Apples and Clotted Cream
Whole or Sliced Seasonal Fruit
Nice Cream Chocolate Coated Raspberry Ice Cream
PETITS FOURS
A selection of Cacao hand made chocolates
Manna from Heaven Jaffa Cake
Candied Lemon Shortbread
And for those of you interested in the wine list, here it is:
WHITE WINE
Tappanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay 2008
Piccadilly Valley, South AustraliaPewsey Vale Vineyard Pinot Gris 2009
Eden Valley, South AustraliaGrossed Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Clare Valley, South AustraliaRED WINE
Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2004
McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley, South AustraliaSpring Vale Melrose Pinot Noir 2010
TasmaniaMount Mary Vineyard Quintet Cabernet 2006
Yarra Valley, VictoriaDESSERT WINE
De Bortolli Noble One Botrytis Semillon 2007
Riverina, New South Wales
Not too shabby, if you ask me!
One of the things that I love about first class as opposed to business class is that the meal service is an experience as opposed to just a decent meal. And this “tasting menu” on Qantas was quite possibly the best meal experience I’ve ever had on a plane.
The meal started off with a glass of wine (forgive me for not writing down the details) and small plate which made up the first course.
Wine tasting
Tartlet of Lobster and Lemon Creme Fraiche and Maggie Beer Pheasant Farm Pate with Caramelised Onions on Sourdough
After that the meal service got serious, with enough glassware and utensils to cater a US Airways flight (oh, wait…).
Table setup
The next course was a delicious cauliflower soup which was just the right temperature. The meal service was very, very slow, though the execution of each course was flawless. After all, part of the “experience” is not feeling rushed. And the service was also top notch throughout.
Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Parmesan and Croutons
Bread was offered with each course as well.
Bread
The next course was the prawn salad with beans and ham. Simply amazing.
Yamba Prawn Salad with White Beans and Serrano Ham
The first main course was served next, which was snapper. It was tasty and just the right size.
Snapper Poached in Coconut Milk and Garam Masala, Fine Egg Noodles and Snow Peas
As I mentioned service was on the slow side (in a good way, though), and as the first main course finished up we were about 1,200 miles into our journey. The first officer came on the PA to advise us that Ayers Rock would be visible from the right of the aircraft in just a couple of minutes.
I loved the fact that he made that announcement, and not only that, but as we passed over the rock they banked right a bit so that all passengers would have the view, even those seated over the wing. Talk about a class act and going above and beyond.
Since I was on the left side of the plane I took a peek out the window of the one empty first-class seat on the other side of the aircraft.
Suffice it to say that Ayers Rock is now on my list of places to see!
Ayers Rock
First class aisle
By the time I moved back to my seat the second main course was ready, which was a beef sirloin. Again, all I can say is “wow.”
Slow Roasted Cape Grim Beef Sirloin with Anchovy Butter, Baby Carrots and Potato Gratin
That was served with a side salad.
Salad
Wine tasting
The dessert consisted of a caramel tart, which was also rich.
Chocolate Caramel Tart with Creme Fraiche and Almond Praline
The last course was a cheese plate, which I just nibbled at.
Cheese plate
To finish off the meal I ordered a coffee and White Russian, which were served with a praline.
Coffee
Before anyone calls me names, let me say in my defense that this was literally the biggest meal I’ve ever had. Ever. And probably the best…
Once the meal was finished I was offered a bottle of water, which was placed on my fold out tray.
Bottled water
At this point, I lowered the curtains and turned on SkyCam again to see the beautiful sunset.
Sunset
I figured I needed to get a bit of movement, so I headed to the upper deck lounge. One of the other first-class passengers went up there as well, and we both sat down on the couch in our PJs. It was kind of funny, because at least a couple of business class passengers walked through the curtain, only to immediately turn around in pure horror when they saw us sitting there in our PJs. 😉
I started talking with the other first-class passenger, and had one of those embarrassing moments. You know when you’re on a plane and you sit next to one of those “know it all” types that tells you all about a field that you obviously know much more about, but you’re too modest to admit it? For example, I’ve been on a countless number of United flights where clueless seatmates tell me about how upgrades on United work, the benefits of their status, etc.
Yeah, well this might have been exactly this situation, in reverse. He was Australian and we started talking about our favorite cities, where we were heading, etc. Eventually we got to talking about our favorite cities, and I mentioned Queenstown, New Zealand. I talked about how exciting the approach into the airport was, among other things.
Then we started talking about the career of a pilot. I started telling him that I used to want to be a pilot and had always wanted to work for Cathay Pacific. I told him a bit about their hiring practices, requirements, the fact that they only have widebodies, etc.
After talking to him for about 30 minutes, he finally talks about what he does. He’s in charge of the 737 fleet (which they happen to fly to Queenstown!) for Qantas and worked for Cathay Pacific for 10 years. FML.
So while I think everything I said was factually correct, I was so embarrassed to have been telling him my perspective on the two things he’s probably most knowledgeable about. Once I figured out what he did, we talked for another 90 minutes or so about his job, which was fascinating to hear about.
And I’m sure the question will come up — yes, he was on an ID90 ticket flying on a standby basis, and managed to get first-class, though I assume it takes a certain rank/level of seniority to get first-class on Qantas. He was awesome to talk to, though. He was continuing on to London, though unfortunately, I didn’t see him in the first-class cabin on the next flight, which went out full.
The upper deck has a nice self-serve area set up with drinks and snacks, including nuts, fruit, truffles, etc.
Self serve area
Snacks
I walked through the massive business class cabin. Fortunately, the cabin was dark, or I would have felt a bit conscience in my PJs.
Business class cabin
I then decided to take the rear spiral staircase down to the lower deck.
Rear straircase
Rear staircase
I was surprised to find the rear galley totally empty. I figured it would be crowded given how many coach seats there are and figured people would want to stretch their legs, though I was the only one there. They have a nice self-serve drink and snack area there, with some really, really tasty cookies.
Coach self serve area
Coach snacks
The coach cabin was huge, though seats appeared to be fairly comfortable with some of the biggest personal TVs I’ve seen in coach.
Coach
I then decided to get a bit of work done so worked on my laptop for an hour or so.
About 60 minutes before landing the flight attendants came around to see if anyone wanted anything. I wasn’t hungry, though couldn’t help but put at least a bit more of a dent in the menu, given how much I had yet to try.
I decided on the “pizzette,” which it took the crew about 10 minutes to prepare. It was basically a tasty mini-pizza.
Pumpkin Gorgonzola Pizzette with Rocket Salad
At that point, we began our gradual descent into Singapore, and I took the opportunity to freshen up (brush my teeth, etc.). By the time I brushed my teeth I didn’t realize we were literally just a few minutes out of Singapore, so I returned to my seat, still in my PJs.
Approaching Singapore
During the final descent I convinced myself it would be a good idea to just stay in my PJs, given that I had another 13 hours of flying ahead of me.
We touched down in Singapore and had a quick taxi to the gate, where the seatbelt sign was immediately turned off.
Short final
Taxiing to gate
Once at the gate I retrieved my bags, still in my PJs. As we waited for the door to open, the flight attendant said to me “you know, you can still change out of those if you want.” Clearly exhaustion, jetlag, and international travel does crazy things to you, since I should have probably taken that as a hint…
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