I recently flew PER-BNE in J on the QF redeye, and I'm generally not someone who takes pleasure in going around complaining and giving negative reviews, but I have to say the airport experience was very poor.
Being dropped by the inter terminal bus and discovering I was in Terminal 4, the signage indicated that Qantas domestic check in was at Terminal 3, so I walked across, only to see more signage that I had to go back to Terminal 4. Not the worlds longest walk, but not sure why the signage that Terminal 3 was closed was all the way well into Terminal 3, they could put something that stops you from going there in the first place.
Also didn't appear to be manned check in counters, the ones there had signage indicating they were for international only. Bag drop is OK I guess, but it's not a premium experience.
Once through security, there was no signage to the lounge, I had to google where it was. The Qantas Club is under renovation, so even entering the business lounge an hour before boarding for the redeyes started it was very crowded. Not anything like as many power outlets as you might expect. And the food offering was very very poor. I was inwardly laughing at the bloke at my table who'd gone for a very eccentric mix of buffet items, only to discover that's all there was. Bad pizzas that looked like they'd been there a while, and a very miserable buffet - corn chips, a limp salad, and not much else. I'd be disappointed at a regional Qantas Club let alone a capital city J lounge. My view is that a lounge at the origin point for redeye flights should also make a proper effort with a decent meal.
Shower in the lounge wasn't even lukewarm on the hottest setting.
Lounge entry staff not particularly friendly. Shower staff were good.
So all in all, it would be a disappointing experience if I were Qantas Club flying Y, and is certainly not a premium one. Not sure what VA is like on redeyes, but hard to imagine it being worse, based on the shorter daytime flights I take and lounge visits I make with them fairly frequently.
The onboard experience was OK. A narrowbody and a recliner, but I knew that going in. I don't really understand why people eat dinner on a redeye, surely you'd want to get as much sleep as possible? And the meal service can be disruptive even to those who decline it. Thankfully in this particular case everyone was considerate and it was not disruptive, but I've been on flights where the clinking and clanking of cutlery and glassware and the talking and laughing has been loud and gone on for an hour or more.
I took a QF J redeye out of Perth to the east coast once before, back when they had flatbeds on just about every one of them. Got a last minute aircraft swap to the old 8-abreast A330 which again was certainly not a premium experience, So far, that makes it 0/2 in my experience, I'm not in a rush to repeat it.
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Qantas J lounge Perth - poor experience
thelongroad
thelongroad
Member since 14 Nov 2015
Total posts 55
I recently flew PER-BNE in J on the QF redeye, and I'm generally not someone who takes pleasure in going around complaining and giving negative reviews, but I have to say the airport experience was very poor.
Being dropped by the inter terminal bus and discovering I was in Terminal 4, the signage indicated that Qantas domestic check in was at Terminal 3, so I walked across, only to see more signage that I had to go back to Terminal 4. Not the worlds longest walk, but not sure why the signage that Terminal 3 was closed was all the way well into Terminal 3, they could put something that stops you from going there in the first place.
Also didn't appear to be manned check in counters, the ones there had signage indicating they were for international only. Bag drop is OK I guess, but it's not a premium experience.
Once through security, there was no signage to the lounge, I had to google where it was. The Qantas Club is under renovation, so even entering the business lounge an hour before boarding for the redeyes started it was very crowded. Not anything like as many power outlets as you might expect. And the food offering was very very poor. I was inwardly laughing at the bloke at my table who'd gone for a very eccentric mix of buffet items, only to discover that's all there was. Bad pizzas that looked like they'd been there a while, and a very miserable buffet - corn chips, a limp salad, and not much else. I'd be disappointed at a regional Qantas Club let alone a capital city J lounge. My view is that a lounge at the origin point for redeye flights should also make a proper effort with a decent meal.
Shower in the lounge wasn't even lukewarm on the hottest setting.
Lounge entry staff not particularly friendly. Shower staff were good.
So all in all, it would be a disappointing experience if I were Qantas Club flying Y, and is certainly not a premium one. Not sure what VA is like on redeyes, but hard to imagine it being worse, based on the shorter daytime flights I take and lounge visits I make with them fairly frequently.
The onboard experience was OK. A narrowbody and a recliner, but I knew that going in. I don't really understand why people eat dinner on a redeye, surely you'd want to get as much sleep as possible? And the meal service can be disruptive even to those who decline it. Thankfully in this particular case everyone was considerate and it was not disruptive, but I've been on flights where the clinking and clanking of cutlery and glassware and the talking and laughing has been loud and gone on for an hour or more.
I took a QF J redeye out of Perth to the east coast once before, back when they had flatbeds on just about every one of them. Got a last minute aircraft swap to the old 8-abreast A330 which again was certainly not a premium experience, So far, that makes it 0/2 in my experience, I'm not in a rush to repeat it.