Review: Qantas A380 premium economy from Sydney to Singapore (QF1)

This is our review of premium economy on Qantas on a flight from Sydney to London, via Singapore.

In this review I’ll be concentrating on the Sydney to Singapore sector with additional details from my subsequent flight from Singapore to London. In the next few days I’ll also be reviewing both of Qantas’ lounges at Singapore Changi Airport, including the stunning First Class lounge there.

This route gets the prestigious ‘QF1′ flight number and is one of Qantas’ premier routes, operated by the iconic double-deck A380. The flight time from Sydney to Singapore is around eight hours with the Singapore to London sector taking 14 hours.

Qantas premium economy check in and ground experience

My journey started at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney’s main international airport (they are currently building another airport, the Western Sydney International Airport, which will open next year.)

Sydney Kingsford Smith is remarkably central and you can even see the Sydney skyline from the terminal. It can be as little as 20 minutes by Uber/taxi from Sydney’s central business district, making it very convenient.

The Singapore/London services operate from Terminal 1, the international terminal at Sydney. It’s not a particularly big terminal, at least based on what I saw, which means you won’t have to walk too far from curb to gate.

You’ll quickly spot the Qantas check-in and bag drop zone which is in the middle of the terminal. At some airports (including Singapore) Qantas offers a dedicated premium check in desk, but this doesn’t seem to be the case in Sydney. Passengers are invited to use the self-check kiosks and then head to a self-bag drop.

If you have status, you can of course use the dedicated business class or first class check-in wing but this is small in comparison to BA’s First Wing at Heathrow Terminal 5.

Once I had my boarding pass I headed through security. The non-priority queue was actually shorter, so I joined that!

Premium economy tickets do not come with lounge access, as is standard, so you’ll either need to have status with a oneworld airline or use an independent lounge in the terminal. I am oneworld Emerald so I popped into the iconic Qantas First Class lounge which I reviewed here.

Premium economy on Qantas’ A380s

All of Qantas’ A380s have been refurbished over the past five years or so, which means they all come with brand new interiors.

Part of the refurbishment program involved switching around some of the cabins. Premium Economy is now at the rear of the upper deck, behind the massive business class cabins.

I always prefer the upper deck as it is so high and very quiet. Window seats come with huge additional side storage bins which act as side tables – particularly useful in premium economy, where you don’t get much at-seat storage.

There are sixty premium economy seats in a comfortable 2-3-2 configuration:

Each seat is 20.5″ wide with a pitch (leg room) of 38″, which is industry standard. It comes with a pretty good 9″ recline that – crucially – only partly reclines into the person behind as the seat pan also slides forward. It means you can recline the full way without inconveniencing the row behind you too much.

The headrests are adjustable, and you’ll find a personal ambient light mounted into the seat structure itself:

All seats come with bifold tray tables stowed in the armrest rather than flipping down from the seat in front, which I thought was an interesting choice.

The table is relatively sturdy and features a wood grain veneer:

The 13″ TV screens flip out of the armrest in the first row (row 31) but are headrest-mounted in all other rows:

Although the bulkhead rows come with more legroom, in some ways they are at a disadvantage because they come with substantially less storage.

One example is the small storage compartment under the inflight entertainment screen which is ideal for putting a phone, water bottle or glasses:

Seats also come with a fold down footrest. Even the bulkhead row comes with footrests, although it took me about half the flight to realise! They make the journey a lot more comfortable, particularly when sleeping. This black fabric covered box pops up to a ninety degree angle:

Each seat comes with USB-A charging as well as a universal mains socket shared between two.

Waiting at my seat was a blanket, a pillow, a pair of headphones and the menu for the flight.

Notably missing was an amenity kit, despite the eight-hour flight time.

In-keeping with business class, the menu featured a beautiful photo of the Australian countryside – in this case Binalong Bay. It’s wonderfully colourful and adds a bit of interest:

The headphones were the same as in business class – I’m not sure they’re noise cancelling.

The content catalogue was the same as on my outbound flight, with 123 films available including plenty of recent releases such as Wicked and A Complete Unknown. You can find out what is available in advance via the Qantas app, which is helpful.

I continued watching The White Lotus, one of many boxsets available under a partnership with HBO and Paramount+. Unlike some airlines, Qantas appears to pay for HD content which makes a huge difference – it wasn’t pixelated at all.

Annoyingly, as with the majority of Qantas’ international aircraft, the A380 does not have wifi installed. It’s not clear when (if ever) it will be retrofitted.

Qantas premium economy food and service

Service on board started with a pre-departure drink of Australian sparkling wine or water. I went for the bubbles:

This was followed after take-off with a second drinks service accompanied by a bag of nuts. I went for the ‘Qantas Spritz’ – described as ‘Four Pillars Gin with fresh lemon and violet’.

Rather than simply serve a cheaper sparkling wine than business class (although that was available) I liked that Qantas also offered something different in premium economy.

Unlike on my business class flight from London, reviewed here, service was very quick and the drinks service was quickly followed by the meal service. This was a single tray service with a choice of three main courses, something you rarely get in premium economy:

• Vegetable biryani with fried onion and cashews
• Chicken with sesame oyster sauce, stir fried noodles and choy sum
• Slow braised lamb with white wine, polenta, green beans and peas

It was served with a Greek salad starter, cheese and crackers, a dark chocolate and sour cherry fondant cake and a Lindt chocolate.

I went for the slow braised lamb:

This was tasty, as was the Greek salad and fondant cake. The entire service was with real glassware, crockery and cutlery which sets it apart from many airlines which tend to offer a hybrid service with some drinks in plastic and others in glass.

Tea and coffee was offered afterwards although I politely declined, wanting to get some sleep.

Still hungry mid-flight? You could help yourself to snacks such as Tim Tams, crisps and fruit in the self-service station at the back of the cabin. Drinks were also available.

After the meal service I slept for a good few hours before waking and continuing to watch more TV.

About two hours before landing a second meal service was offered. This was a two-course service with a choice of two mains:

• Gruyère and mushroom quiche with roasted balsamic tomatoes
• Pork and kimchee dumplings

It was accompanied by a Ricotta cheesecake with pineapple compote.

I went for the dumplings, which looked a bit lonely on the large charger plate moored in the middle of an empty full-size tray! The entire plate for the sachet of soy sauce made me laugh:

Conclusion

On a flight as long as London to Australia (or even London to Sydney or Singapore to Sydney) a little extra comfort can go a long way, and Qantas’ premium economy cabin ticks all the boxes.

The seats are comfortable and benefit from the A380 upper deck’s additional storage, which are more useful in premium economy than business class, which already comes with loads of storage space.

Unlike other airlines, every drink and meal service is served with real glassware, cutlery and plates – the same, I believe, as in business class – which makes a huge difference. You also get choice, with three main courses on offer for the main meal, which is more than most airlines offer.

As with my previous Qantas flight, however, the real highlight was the crew who were friendly and helpful, despite it being a full flight.

You can find out more and book on the Qantas website here.