Flight: QF 3
Route: Sydney to Honolulu
Class: Economy
Aircraft: Boeing 747-400ER
Duration: 9 hours, 35 minutes. On-time departure landing slightly early into Honolulu at around 8am.

Lounge Access:
oneworld Sapphire and above, and Qantas Business Class passengers. The Sydney Airport Qantas International Business Lounge is to standard, with the usual Qantas food and drink offerings. Unfortunately, it’s a windy afternoon, and the wind is rattling loudly over the outside roof at the left end of the lounge.
Note: Usually, eligible Qantas passengers are able to access the excellent Emirates lounge in Sydney. However, this does not apply to flights to the USA, so the Qantas Lounge it is.

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Onboard
With Qantas’ increased capacity after upgrading flights to Hawai’i from an A330 to a 747, the flight is nearly empty (and it’s the same story on the return QF4 leg two weeks later). Choosing the rear Economy section of the aircraft with its green seats (further forward, it’s brown), means a near-empty cabin, with only 40 out of 140 seats filled. Say no more – it’s stretching across three or four seats for the duration of the flight.

Service
Fantastic, given it’s such a light load. There are as many meals as you’d need, and no queues or waiting.

Good to know
Qantas’ 747s have a small self-service area at the rear of the cabin, behind the final row of seats and between the toilets. Most passengers seemed unaware of this. Tim Tams, muesli bars, toothbrushes and toothpaste were all available for Economy Class passengers. There’s also a water tap to fill up a cup or bottle of water in front of the rear section of Economy.

Final Call
Walking on board, it felt like the romance of flying was back. When Qantas does things well, it does things really, really well. Hands-down one to remember.

Rating: A rare and well-deserved 5/5.