Connecting Sydney to London via Singapore, QF1 is an icon of Australian aviation. It is the emblematic Kangaroo Route that provides the means for Australians to answer that sirenic call to see Europe via London.

And with the recent highly visible complaints, fines and ensuing apologies from incoming CEO Vanessa Hudson about the national carrier’s quality, service and practices, Quentin Long hopped on board to check in on Australia’s most esteemed international flight.

QF1’s importance to Australia cannot be overstated.

In the post-war era, every major Australian identity and VIP has probably flown it at least once.

So much so, that the seating allocation is a status symbol. Whoever has the coveted QF1 1A boarding pass can frame it, put it on the wall and retire because they have “made it".

For me, I must tap away on the keyboard for a little bit longer as my 26A seat would suggest.

Short history of the Kangaroo Route

The Kangaroo Route was named for the multiple ‘hops’ it took to arrive in London. The history of the Kangaroo Route is a timelapse in how aviation innovation has played an important role in opening Australians to the world and vice versa.

It kicked off with the Lockheed Constellation in 1945 taking five days and six stops which moved QANTAS from being a domestic/regional carrier to a true international carrier. (Pre-war it was 12.5 days and 38 stops but not on QANTAS aircraft).

In 1955 the Super Constellation reduced the trip to eight stops and three days and six hours. The Boeing 707s reduced it to 27 hours on the first jet services between Australia and the UK in 1959.

In 1971 the Boeing 747 jumbo service started with the uber premium first-class cabin in the upstairs cabin serving cocktails – how fancy.

The Boeing 747-400 became the workhorse on the route in 1989 and had only one stop in Singapore.

The arrival of the A380s in 2008 was greeted by thousands at Sydney Airport and added an enormous amount of capacity to the route.

At this stage, the next great leap forward will be in 2026 when Qantas will realise its Project Sunrise dream and connect the east coast of Australia to Europe with non-stop flights onboard Airbus’ A350-1000.

Pre Departure

I hate that I must report the business class lounge is underwhelming.

In a lounge-to-lounge battle, the Qantas Business Class Lounge in Sydney is not competitive against the national carriers ‘frenemy’ in the Australian market (you know who I mean).

However, most frequent QF business class travellers will never see this sub-par business class lounge as they get access to the incredible (I have had the pleasure a few times) First Class lounge thanks to their status credits which give them access.

Seppeltsfield’s “The Great Entertainer" is the dilemma in a nutshell.

It is a fabulous Australian sparkling. But sparkling? Really. Qantas club I get, but this is meant to be business.

I am all for the magnificent work that Qantas does to celebrate and profile Australian products but this is the airline’s signature business class lounge and is meant to set the standard for the entire airline.

2:45pm departure time means lunch is on the menu. The warm choices are a watery Middle Eastern lamb stew or equally watery Moroccan vegetable tagine all served with couscous. The small cubes of lamb were soft and melted in the mouth.

Salad choices were appealing, the roasted cauliflower with spinach and lentils and apple cider vinaigrette a highlight.

The chop salad of cos lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, egg and bacon bits in a ranch dressing was a little ragged. Half of it was fresh, crunchy and zesty while the other half was reduced to a slop as the cucumbers leached into the ranch dressing and wilted the lettuce to create an unappealing mess.

The hardware is mostly fantastic. The light breezy sun-filled space with a self-help bar, perched table with bar chairs plus comfy sofas are great. But there is an incongruous set of round blonde-wood cafe style tables and chairs that seem out of place.

The Barista coffee is outstanding and the staff and service are excellent.

Thankfully the seats, amenities, service and food are up to standard.

The Seat

The typical 1-2-1 seating found in most long-haul business class means every seat has aisle access and its own storage bin overhead.

The seat is assembled to create a wide and spacious armchair within easy reach of the touchscreen TV and a seat well with ample room to stretch out. Besides the chair is a side table and shelf for storage.

Four pre-set seat configurations make it one touch or upright for take-off, reclining, relaxing and lie flat. The three-seat sections, seat back, seat and leg rest can also be individually controlled up, down, forward or back. Meanwhile, the lumbar support within the seat back can also be independently controlled so it should be difficult to not find your optimum setting.

However, it was not seamless. “Some seats won’t move to lie flat or recline while you are sitting in them" the helpful attendant explained as she assisted me in making my bed. It is unusual as the entire fleet of A380s was refurbished and seats replaced in 2019.

The bedding is excellent. The mattress topper fits over the headrest for a secure fitting and in the lie flat, firm bed. It’s worth noting, and Qantas should be applauded for it, the topper is made from 50% recycled polyester – or 20 recycled water bottles.

The sturdy 100% cotton blanket/doona is wide, long and heavy to avoid the irritating slip-off, overheating or freezing. It is as close to being rugged up at home as you can reasonably expect to be.

The QF jim jams, beloved by all travellers, are still offered in the two M/L and L/XL sizes (it’s about length not width in case you are wondering). Just one small concern, they seem to be getting thinner or is that me?

The amenity kit from Koskela delivers socks, an eye mask, earplugs, a toothbrush, hydrating creams and lip balms from Indigenous cosmetics brand Li’Tya. It contains all the essentials without being wasteful.

Food and Beverage

The large format menu sits on the side table when you find your seat. The partnership with Neil Perry is still in place and in a sign of the evolving times, every menu has a plant-based option for every course.

Like all great business class flights, it starts with a champagne, Duval-Leroy.

From SYD – SIN the dinner service offers a signature aperitivo cocktail. Tommy’s margarita is just a little too sweet for me so I revert back to the safety of the Duval.

The pumpkin ginger soup with crème fraiche is a soothing creamy start, but as with almost all dishes served on both legs, the soup was a little tepid and could have been done with another five minutes in the oven.

I choose the focaccia over the sourdough. In contrast to the soup – it should have been taken out of the oven earlier and is now a crisp oily cracker the width of a mini cricket bat and not a soft salty olive oil-infused sensation.

My herb-crusted snapper with snow peas and slow-roasted cherry tomatoes on corn puree is well balanced, the sweet corn with the acid of the tomato and herb snapper protein.

Opting for the cheese to finish, three generous wedges of excellent Aussie cheese arrive with abundant wafer thin crackers and lavosh.

Great meal in the air, focaccia aside.

What is missing is a wine list. I love a wine list and typically decide what I eat based on what I feel like drinking. I was offered a “sauvignon blanc or a chardonnay". I opt for the nameless chardonnay and enjoy a pleasant white that I later find out is the 2022 Rising chardonnay from the Yarra. I have the no-name Syrah with the cheese and still don’t know what it was.

If during the 8-hour journey, you are so inclined to snack, the mid-flight options are Red Rock deli chips, whole fruit, a Lindt chocolate bar or almond, chickpea and fava bean chips.

Before landing in Singapore I opt for an excellent small bowl of egg rice with prawns, shitake mushrooms, ginger and sesame oil.

The SIN-LHR leg starts with supper and my favourite meal of the entire flight – the Dong Po Rou; braised pork belly with Chinese greens and rice. The pork is not overly fatty and the braising sauce is a great balance of spice and sweet and there was the perfect amount of sauce to not overpower the pork. It really shows Perry’s particularly great Asian cuisine skills.

As you would expect for a 14-hour flight with just two meals, the mid-flight offering is more substantial; chicken biryani with coriander and fried onion, or mushroom and thyme pizzette with rocket leaves plus the usual chips, chocolate and fruit.

To make sure there is as much time to sleep as possible, breakfast is ordered as you take off in SIN from a menu that looks a lot like the door-hung menus of a hotel. It is a smart way to execute the final meal as people will wake at different times and there is even the very considerate option “If I am sleeping do not disturb me to dine".

I chose the scrambled eggs with chorizo over the sauteed oyster mushrooms with thyme ricotta accompanied by fruit with yoghurt and a full-sized croissant (as opposed to the bite-sized ones found in many other airlines).

Entertainment

I counted more than 124 movies available across 14 different categories (yes I did count them all and yes IO do get pedantic when reviewing things).

Movies range from the latest release Premiere (37 in total) to popular recent releases Encore (27 in total) and then collections like Marvel, Harry Potter, Nolan (director Christopher Nolan), and of course, Classics (82 in total).

With such a huge selection only the most ardent movie watcher would not be able to find something to enjoy for the first time.

The TV options are equally endless across 10 categories including Paramount+, HBO, Box sets, Comedy, Documentaries and Reality.

Audio is limited to 14 categories of music and audiobooks – but no podcasts which is surprising considering their ubiquity.

It is pleasing to see there are Audio Described and Closed Captions and or subtitle options for all types of passengers.

Service

Overall, the service is dedicated and professional, ensuring that the journey is a great one. It is often under-appreciated but the QANTAS service is now incredible.

However, there is a marked change in service at half-time when the Australian-based crew are replaced by what I assume (and the accents do nothing to tell me I am wrong) is the Britain-based crew for the SIN-LHR leg.

My main attendant SYD – SIN was an astonishingly beautiful man from South America but was a little lost on some of the smaller details (“What champagne is this?" “I am so sorry but I totally forgot to look").

The crew on this leg were professional if a little cold.

The crew from SIN-LHR all seemed to hail from a town between Edinburgh and Glasgow and brought a Scottish light-hearted professionalism to the service.

The IT Verdict

Let’s be honest, we are all rooting for the flying Kangaroo in the long run.

When spotting the red tail kangaroo aircraft in a foreign airport is like a warm comforting embrace. We do step on board and it does feel like home.

The reality is that there are some areas for improvement but the core product is great.

The Qantas A380 Business Class product is a great product and very competitive with the three big Middle Eastern competitors. Considering their considerable structural advantages, that is a massive achievement.

Service

8

It was a match of two halves; the first a little curt and the second a lot more relaxed and happy but both halves were always professional and responsive.

Comfort

8.5

The bedding is fantastic and on top of the seat, it delivers on the most important metric – a great sleep.

Food and Drink

8

The offerings are good but a little more care for the products reheating and quality should be a focus (maybe it’s the training of the crew?).

Value for money

7.5

Prices are coming down….