which earns points with Qantas Frequent Flyer or Emirates Skywards Miles
and gives access to the Qantas Club lounge.
THE SEAT 38-inch (92.5-centimetre) pitch, 19-inch (48-centimetre) width. There
are just 21 business class seats with a 2-3-2 layout, and it’s fully
booked.
leather recliners are like business class of yore: they’re broad and tip
back to a snooze-worthy level, though it does become squeezy for the
passenger behind, working on their laptop. The Dreamliner offers decent
27 centimetre (10.6-inch) screens, big overhead lockers that I can
actually reach and windows that are nearly half as big again as other
aircraft. Instead of shades, Dreamliners have an electronic dimmer
which, when the afternoon sun hits the window, turns the cabin a curious
aquamarine colour, surely like snoozing in a fish tank? Despite the
captain’s warning of some bumps, the flight is mostly smooth, another
Dreamliner feature.
 |
| Jetstar’s Dreamliner business class seats. |
and even test out the “health videos”, a blend of natural sounds,
orchestral music and seascapes of NSW’s Wattamolla Beach – a sort of
Enya-meets-Sharon O’Neill clip. I’m very surprised to find the R-rated Game of Thrones
available. I think I’ve selected one episode without full-frontal
nudity but I’m mistaken. Luckily, there’s a bulkhead between me and the
small children behind. I could turn on the “Seat Chat” feature to see if
someone wanted to chat online with me, but perhaps not …
it’s no hardship in business class, where the Piper-Heidsieck champagne
is making a showing. The flight touches down just a shade off schedule.
Staff are informative (but not too chatty), though obviously still
becoming familiar with the new aircraft’s features.
FOOD We’re served dinner and supper on this afternoon/evening service. The
appetisers, two little savoury tarts, are dry and pretty unappealing
but the Chinese spiced duck leg tastes as good as it smells. The
Australian cheese plate finishes me off. But wait… the staff circle
again, this time with Baileys or a Rutherglen muscadelle and chocolates
and shortbreads. Bizarrely, supper arrives just two hours later, and
still only 4½ hours into the flight, for those who didn’t eat a
three-course lunch. The chicken BLT is so large that eating it just
isn’t ladylike, but I persist and it’s a winner. The Eden Road
chardonnay from Tumbarumba is a welcome respite from the sauvignon
blanc.
low-cost carrier, with seats priced from $949 one-way ($399 in economy).
The convenient day flight to Phuket departs 3pm and arrives at 8pm.
However, I pity those who draw the short straw and get the middle seat
in the 2-3-2 formation: it seems to defeat the purpose of flying
business.
Tested by Belinda Jackson, who flew courtesy of Jetstar. See jetstar.com.
This review by Belinda Jackson was published in the Sun-Herald newspaper’s Traveller section.
