Today we’re revealing our review of our latest flight to Japan. Recently, the team at Japlanning flew Qantas direct from Sydney, Australia to Tokyo, Japan, flying into Narita international Airport. Read on to hear how the flight went, on one of only three direct routes to Tokyo from Australia, with Australia’s biggest airline, Qantas.
In April 2013, some of our team took flight with Qantas out of Sydney heading to the biggest city in the world, Tokyo, Japan. Qantas is Australia's oldest and largest airline, with daily flights to Tokyo direct from Sydney, this is the only route that the airline flies with their Qantas brand, all other routes flown from Queensland to Tokyo and Osaka are all under their low-cost brand, Jetstar, which we recently reviewed.
Arriving at Sydney airport, which we all know is Australia’s most painful airport to deal with, was filled with headaches with the general traffic back up, and even a bus broken down in the area only caused pain before even walking into the airports doors!
Once in the international terminal, things improved drastically: there were no queues at international check in! This was a first for us, and was a great experience, as the Qantas staff were efficient and friendly checking our bags and issuing tickets. We were in and out of the check-in area within 10-minutes, tops! A great feature that Qantas have, is they now offer economy passengers 30kg of checked baggage, whereas most other airlines only offer between 20-23kg to Tokyo, this was wonderful, and just meant we could bring more purchases home (Tokyo is a Shopping mecca, after all).
Sydney’s international terminal has been upgraded over the last few years, and was quite a nice change from years passed. Plenty of shopping and some great food options kept us entertained until it was time to board. We boarded fairly quickly with a not full flight, and departed on time.
Photo Credit - mschutt
We took our seats in 53 A, B, and C, and then, once the doors were closed, moved about a bit as we had a few empty seats about us, which is always nice, as economy can be a little cramped on a full Boeing 747-400RR, which we were flying today. Qantas’ economy seats are quite comfortable, but did feel quite worn, it seemed like the plane, overall, could use a refresh, however we were comfortable enough. The seats are a little cramped at 44.45cm in width, and 78.74 cm pitch, Thank goodness for the empty seats!
Once in the air and we levelled out, the meal service began, and Qantas’ famous service came shining through! This is a good thing, Qantas, of late, has been renowned for their not the best service, and this flight we did not see any of that. The attendants were cheerful and effcient, any question asked was met with a smile and awnsered quickly. The staff were just lovely to deal with.
The meal was okay, nothing memorable, however it is rare to find an economy meal to rave about. The meal was fresh, considering it is being served in the air, and warm, with an accompanyment of Australian wine which was lovely.
Once the meal service was through, the flight attendants disappeared, at this point we checked out the Qantas entertainment system in the back of each seat. They say it is filled with over 500 entertainment options, ranging from movies, TV programs, music and games. This was the best part of Qantas, as their movie range was great, with a good mix of new, classics, and some foreign films, and an average range of TV. We were kept entertained and amused till we tried to sleep.
The flight itself was a little bumpy, however the 747 is a great aircraft and always seems much smoother than other planes.
Sleep was actually easy to get, we got comfortable with supplied blankets and pillows, which were nice, and also a small amenity pack, I know I appreciated the eye mask! We woke up a couple of hours out of Narita, and breakfast service was being served and quite enjoable! A hot breakfast in the air before landing early for a full day in a foreing country can make all the difference!
We landed into Tokyo 35 minutes early, which is always nice, and disembarking was simple and quick, and the flighty staff wished us a safe journey.
Photo Credit - Simon_see
Would Japlanning fly Qantas again to Tokyo out of Sydney? Certainly! Although Sydney airport is the worst in Australia for transiting through, Qantas try to make it as easy as possible. with private bus to international and checking your bags through from your domestic starting point, it certainly takes away the pain that is flying with Jetstar or Virgin internationally from Sydney.
The service of Qantas on their Tokyo ruote would always get us back, friendly staff, who always look well presented, even though they have worked through the night. The entertainment system is also a major selling point, especially if you can't sleep on planes, it will helpt the time fly by.
Be sure to look out for our next flight review in October of Thai Airways, after we’ve flown them from Melbourne to Tokyo return, via Bangkok in August to see how this alternative measures up to Australia’s airline, Qantas.
QANTAS fly to Japan direct from the following regions:
AUSTRALIA
- 1 flight daily from Sydney, NSW to Tokyo
SINGAPORE
- 1 flight daily from Singapore to Tokyo (codeshare with Japan Airlines / JAL)
For flight sales and bookings please visit www.qantas.com