Flight Review: Qantas 787 Dreamliner Sydney (SYD) to Dallas (DFW) Business Class
Business Class seat in the Qantas 787 Dreamliner
NOTEWORTHY DETAILS
QF7 Sydney (SYD) To Dallas Fort Worth (DFW)
Qantas 787 Dreamliner Business Class
15+ Hour Flight
Food and Service Excellent
Smooth Journey during the Long Trip
The Airbus A380 has always been a favorite aircraft of mine to travel on, with the 747 going to the big aircraft boneyard in the sky for our region some years ago. However, I must say my favorite overall design is the Dreamliner. The distinctive swept-back wings look fantastic, and along with the oversized windows and sleek fuselage design for me make it the most visually appealing aircraft around.
For reference, Qantas 787 Dreamliner. Source: Qantas.
With that said, as the old saying goes, “it’s what’s on the inside that counts” and this is never more important than on such a long journey from Sydney to Dallas Fort Worth.
Read on for a detailed personal review of this Qantas offering.
THE SEAT
The seat on the Qantas Dreamliner is the best-in-class offering that Qantas has at time of writing, prior the arrival of the all new business suite style seat that will be installed as part of the Qantas Project Sunrise A350XLR aircraft which will feature a sliding door for the first time in the Qantas line-up.
The seat is nearly identical to the Thompson Aero Vantage XL seat used on the Qantas A380, and features darker wood paneling in a 1-2-1 configuration providing direct aisle access for all passengers. Seat selection is something to be mindful of when choosing, due to the layout in business and staggered orientation of seats.
Similarly stated in my Qantas A380 review, rows 1,3,5,7 and 11 on the windows are aligned hard up against the window, providing meaning the main compartment of the seat is on your left, providing extra distance between you and the aisle, and additional privacy. In the centre aisle, one seat per pair will be configured this way, the other will have the seat directly on the aisle.
Business class seats in orange, with staggered layout.
Naturally I’d recommend selecting seats not against the aisle, however if travelling together it means having to sit separately, which may not appeal to some. Something else to note when selecting your seat is the smaller mini-cabin located in rows 10,11 and 12. This may seem appealing to have a smaller cabin, however, it’s sandwiched between the galley and toilets in front, and premium economy behind. Premium economy does not have it’s own toilet section, so you will notice significant foot traffic back and forth during the flight which may be bothersome.
Note this seat is right on the aisle, you can feel movement in your seat as people walk by throughout the flight. Also less privacy.
Note the extra large windows, also no window shades. They are instead dimmable down to almost black. This seat is not against the aisle, but rather the window which provides more privacy and comfort.
The in-flight entertainment screen measures 16 inches, 2 inches smaller than the A380 and displays HD content, though not 4k. It operates via touchscreen or through the remote in your seat console. You can communicate via text from seat to seat or play games against your travelling companions seat to seat. There is ample content for everyone to enjoy, from movies to TV series, music, meditation and more.
The cabin was certainly light with the larger windows and ambient lighting. The cabin is quite new, and was presented clean with no wear and tear to speak of. With the seat details and presentation upon boarding discussed, it’s time to move on to the flight itself.
THE FLIGHT
Pre-departure, drinks were provided by cabin crew offering champagne (Duperrey), chilled water or juice as passengers settle in. Shortly after and prior to pushing back, our breakfast menu’s were collected, and everything promptly in order to take flight. QF7 took off on schedule for the long journey to Dallas, and at cruising altitude shortly after take-off.
Within approximately 45 minutes of reaching cruising altitude, my lunch order was taken, and another round of drinks provided, along with warmed nuts. I went with the chicken and mushroom dumplings with Sichuan pickles and sesame chili dressing as a starter, followed up with the seared barramundi on garlic toast with tomato, prawn stew and bean salsa.
The quality of the food was of a very high standard I found, particularly the barramundi dish. To me, the reported additional investment in food and beverage onboard Qantas is certainly translating through to the finished product. Plates were cleared very quickly, I think a benefit of the switch to serving meals on trays, though still with proper dinnerware.
I don’t have much of a sweet-tooth so opted as usual for the cheese platter with a glass of grenache.
With the meal service complete I enjoyed another glass of grenache and continued on watching a movie or two. Approximately 6 hours into the flight I settled in to hopefully get some sleep, which I always find challenging no matter the seat. There’s definitely no problem with the length of these seats however just one inch wider I think would make such a difference for me. However, it’s not a game breaker.
Eventually I managed to get almost 6 hours of sleep on and off, which for me is amazing!. I have seen it reported that the Dreamliner is made to provide a smoother ride than other aircraft, thanks to a patented Boeing gust suppression system that actively monitors for turbulence and adjusts ailerons (wing surfaces) to counteract the impact.
Obviously I’m no aircraft engineer, but I can honestly say this 15 hour flight was amongst the smoothest I’ve been on. Was that just good luck with the weather?, I’d like to think this system had some benefit, which I think contributed to my improved sleep.
After this time I awake to watch a movie, and still with around 5 hours to go, I opted for a mid-flight snack of spanakopita with Greek salad.
Spanakopita, which was a perfect serving size for a mid-flight meal.
You can probably see a bit of a theme on this flight, no shortage of food options during the long trip!. That brings us to the next point of the flight; breakfast!. I opted for the egg white omelet with ricotta and cherry tomato’s and basil pesto which was very tasty, and hot. Coffee and green juice, fruit salad and granola rounded out a lovely final meal on this flight.
BOTTOM LINE
Closing out this review, for me personally this long flight could not have gone much better. We departed and arrived on schedule, food and beverage was of high standard and served in respectable time. The flight was smooth sailing, I slept a good portion of the flight, and I arrived feeling better than I have when travelling to the USA. I thoroughly enjoyed this flight.
As a side note from a jetlag perspective, I found flying to DFW rather than West coast USA much better for getting through. I think departing at 1105am and arriving just after 930am at Dallas time, rather than 6am LA time meant I was sleeping or resting for longer on my normal sleep schedule. Also, DFW customs and security was an absolute breeze compared to LAX, I was through in less than 10 minutes overall.
Thanks again for reading this review!, I very much hope it helps your future travel plans.
