Qantas is one great airline! My liking of this company began early this year when they slashed prices big time on their airfare. For a grand total of $980, my round trip ticket from San Diego to LAX with nonstop service to Sydney, it fell within my spending limits for traveling abroad.
Their customer service is above par, my flights getting to and from San Diego/LAX was changed a month before my trip, so they called me on my cell phone a few times to make sure they actually spoke to me (even after they left me two voice mails with all the details of the changes).
Checking in was seamless. They do allow you to check in two bags with a 50 lb weight limit and two carry-ons. However, if you travel anywhere in Oz, make sure you purchase the Australian Electronic Travel Authority first by visiting this website: http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/
It costs $20 Aussie dollars, but $25 or $30 if you do it at the ticket counter as you check-in. Save yourself the time and a few extra bucks by taking care of this before you travel since I heard it can take an additional 15-20 minutes of your time during check-in if you forget to do this beforehand.
Okay, getting back to the airlines itself. My 14 1/2 hour flight from LAX to Sydney was pleasant. My seat was comfy, my seat mate was cool and I slept for 8 hours of that flight. We hit a small pocket of turbulence while we were eating dinner, but that only lasted five minutes (a long five minutes for a few people on the plane who looked scared out of their minds sitting nearby).
Flying home was not as easy as I anticipated. I knew I packed too much in my larger suitcase, so was I ready to pay the fee for that ($50 Aussie bucks to be exact, dang souvenirs!). Although it was heavy, I still had to unload 4 kilos from that bag for safety reasons and transfer the random souvenirs in my carry on.
I got stuck in a middle seat even though I requested an aisle, but it wasn't so bad since I sat between two cool peeps that didn't invade my space. In addition, I learned that they assign seats days before your flight instead of the time you actually make the reservation. We rode the new Airbus A380 home, so that was a nice treat. The inside was newer compared to the 747 I was on, but everything else was just as great as the 747.
I especially loved the in-flight entertainment available on your own screen at your seat. I had movies on my iPod, but they have: a ton of new-release flicks to choose from, Oscar winning flicks from the last 20 years, international films, world news, games, audio books, music, self-help shows, etc. I only slept for an hour, so I kept myself entertained by watching at least six movies and a documentary. You really don't need to pack your own entertainment, the options were endless and very cool!
My one beef with the trip was the food. All the meals tasted okay and the free Aussie wine was fantastic, but I was starving by the time breakfast rolled around on my trip back home and they ran out of the hot food! I got stuck eating Raisin Bran (I hate raisins, bleh!), but oh well, I got from A to B and back safe, on time and didn't catch the germs of the two ankle-biters sneezing and coughing two seats in front of me, lol!
Would I travel Qantas again? Yes indeed! After spending two weeks in Sydney, I realized that this beautiful country of theirs has way much more to see and I hope to return back there in a few more years as long as they keep their airfare prices within affordable rates! Oh yeah, they also have this really cool live Sky Cam on the top of the tail, so you can watch the plane taking off, cruising and landing, I enjoyed that! If you really need to be on your laptop and on-line, the Airbus has free wifi and electrical outlets at each seat, so keep that in mind if you're looking for this cool perk! read more