I have never been one to write about my experiences in the air. Generally, flying has been the unavoidable thing that I need to do in order to see the world and do all the bucket list trips that I dream about. However, thanks to the world of frequent flier points, I have had some fantastic opportunities to fly in premium cabins and on the whole, flying has become a much more enjoyable experience for me. Don’t get me wrong, this gal still flies in economy most of the time, but this just makes those business class flights even more special.
When Dad and I decided to start our trip in Madagascar, flying the daily Qantas service from Sydney to Johannesburg seemed like the easiest way to get there – and as an added bonus, it is one of the easiest routes with which to snag international Qantas rewards seats. Amazingly, I was able to book the coveted 1A seat in the first class cabin for only $254 AUD – about a quarter of what an economy seat costs!
Our journey started in the Qantas First Class Lounge. Now, Dad wasn’t flying in First (sorry Dad) but I was able to bring in a guest and thus he was able to accompany me through. I should also mention that the dedicated First Class check in area was delightful and we were personally walked through security – easily the quickest I have ever gotten through in Sydney airport. Oh, and I had also been emailed a few days before my flight to ask if I wanted to book in for a pre-flight spa treatment – yes please!
The Qantas First Lounge is absolutely gorgeous and the service we received inside the lounge itself was phenomenal. We started with champagne and coffee as we watched our enormous A380 taxi in. The last time I had flown on an A380 was on an Emirates service from Dubai to London in 2012 – I was actually so excited to get on board!
We opted to have our pre-flight massages before breakfast so that we wouldn’t feel any stress at all as boarding time approached. Our massages were so good and I was not feeling a single ounce of stress by the time they were over!
We had ordered breakfast before we went in for our massage which meant that pretty much as soon as we emerged our orders arrived on our table and I gotta be honest, this was easily one of the best airport lounge meals I have ever had. It may look like just a simple eggs and bacon breakfast but looks are definitely deceiving and I would do many questionable things to be able to eat that little hash brown again!
Before I knew it, it was time to board and claim what would be my home for the next 14 or so hours.
I legitimately could not stop smiling as I settled into my seat and was greeted by my fantastic flight attendant Remy with a glass of champagne.
Pictures do not do this seat any justice at all. It was easily the most comfortable seat I have ever had on a plane and had everything you could possibly want on a long haul flight.
Check out the grin on this happy face!
After take off I was treated to a delicious French 75 and caviar canapes while I did the inflight magazine crossword (a ritual of mine) and explored the in flight entertainment options.
This little caviar thing was so unbelievably good. I may have expressed my love of it to Remy who suddenly made more of them appear – he was a literal angel!
I proceeded to spend the next hours eating, watching movies, drinking wine and enjoying cosying up in my Qantas pajamas. It was bliss.
So, the food.
My first course was this steak sandwich and it slapped. Gonna give this a solid 9/10, only thing I would’ve changed would have been the sauce ratio.
Next up was this coconut chicken curry dish. Gonna rate this one a solid 9.5/10, my only complaint was that I was already so full from the steak sandwich that I couldn’t eat as much of it as I wanted!
I opted to not have dessert straight away because I was strongly resembling Violet Beauregarde (the girl in Willy Wonka who eats the blueberry gum and blows up to a positively rotund shape) but after a few hours I was ready for some indulgence. I opted for a double dessert situation with a cheese plate and an affogato.
Now, the cheese plate was solid (8/10) but that affogato? I have thought many a time about that affogato since. It was boozy, indulgent and everything I wanted – easy 11/10 and easily the best thing I have ever eaten on a plane.
Now, le pj’s! Qantas is well known for being one of the few airlines to offer pajamas that you can take home with you when you fly in one of their premium cabins. I (and literally every other person in the First class cabin) wasted no time in getting changed into these uber comfy threads and let me tell you, I still wear these on a regular basis – they are a lovely perk that more airlines should definitely consider implementing.
I decided not to sleep on this flight for a couple of reasons. Most importantly, with the time difference it would be much better from an avoiding jetlag point of view to push through and go straight to bed once we got to Jozi, but also, I just didn’t want to waste a second on this glorious flight!
After I had watched a couple of movies I decided that binging season one of The White Lotus was exactly what was required and settled in with a big ‘ole glass of red wine to do so.
I’d check the flight map every so often and I am not gonna lie, I have never been so sad to see myself getting closer to my destination!
I drowned my sorrows with some more delicious caviar canapes, life could definitely have been worse, lel.
Next I opted for some dumplings and these were also seriously bloody delish, a solid 8/10.
I will say that the only thing on the entire flight which I found underwhelming was the gnocchi – if I had been served this first I think I would have rated it more highly, but after the incredible smorgasbord I had already had it just was so-so by comparison. 6/10.
All too soon we had landed in Johannesburg. This was easily the best flight I have ever taken and I can’t see it being topped any time soon. Remy was an incredible host and helped make a great flight even more special.
Oh, and the fact that I only paid a few hundred dollars for it?
Abso-freaking-lutely delightful.
Stay tuned for the first (of many) Malagasy adventures!
Qantas daily service from Sydney to Johannesburg: You can fly this direct service from Australia’s east coast to the gateway to South Africa with Qantas. If you plan to book with points, I recommend booking as early as possible as rewards seats in premium cabins are notorious for getting snapped up very far in advance
Remember: Don’t redeem your frequent flier points for anything other than rewards flights! Doing otherwise will seriously devalue your hard earned points!
