Qantas Airbus A380 Economy (Singapore – Sydney)

Qantas' superjumbos are back in service on selected routes to and from Singapore, London and Los Angeles. Most of the attention since the refurbishment has gone to the upper deck. Down on the main deck, Economy was not rebuilt from scratch — but it was not left entirely untouched either.

This review covers QF2, the overnight sector from Singapore to Sydney, in a standard Economy seat. It is a useful test case, because the sector is short enough that sleep is difficult and long enough that you notice every compromise. The conclusion up front: if you have to fly Economy overnight, Singapore is about the best place in the world to begin the journey, and much of what makes the trip bearable happens before you board.

Checking in at Jewel rather than the terminal

A boarding pass can be pulled up in the Qantas app the night before, which is enough to head straight for immigration if you are travelling with cabin baggage only. With a checked bag there is still an option that beats waiting for the terminal counters to open. Jewel Changi Airport, directly across the road from Terminal 1 where Qantas operates, has an early check-in facility used by Qantas and a selection of other carriers. Kiosks print the boarding pass and bag tag, and a staff member attaches the tag and takes the bag.

That leaves you free in Jewel itself, where the indoor waterfall and rainforest remain difficult to accept as airport infrastructure. It is also a reasonable place to shop, subject to the baggage allowance.

Lounges before an evening departure

An Economy ticket does not include lounge access on its own. Whether you get in comes down to frequent flyer status, a Qantas Club membership, or a card benefit.

For Qantas departures from Singapore, including QF2 to Sydney, Qantas Gold status or above opens three lounges. The Qantas International Business Lounge opens at 3pm and does made-to-order dishes, with plenty of shower suites. The British Airways Lounge next door opens at 4pm, with at-seat cocktail service and low, moody lighting, and is very quiet right on opening. The Emirates Lounge opens at 5pm, which lines it up neatly with Qantas' evening departures, and leans towards food that is ready to eat immediately.

Access rules differ slightly between them. The Qantas Business and British Airways lounges also admit oneworld Sapphire and Emerald cardholders from other member airlines. Qantas Club members get the Qantas Business Lounge only.

Travellers with Platinum, Platinum One, Chairman's Lounge or other oneworld Emerald status have a better option again in the Qantas International First Lounge. The salt and pepper squid is the signature order and the laksa the other perennial, though a crisp-skinned barramundi followed by a coconut and mango sorbet makes for a dinner that removes any need to eat much on board. The cocktail list even includes one named 'The QF2'.

Without status or membership, Changi still has options. There is a Plaza Premium Lounge, which can be pre-paid online and is also open to American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders on presentation of the physical card alongside a boarding pass. Priority Pass, bundled with a number of premium cards, counts seven lounges across Changi's four departure terminals, plus another at Jewel that can be used on arrival or before clearing immigration.

The practical lesson from a full afternoon of lounge-hopping is that one lounge is usually enough. Two at most.

The seat

Economy on the A380 main deck is laid out 3-4-3. Seat 56C, an aisle seat in one of the outer trios, was the test bed, with an empty seat alongside as a bonus on an otherwise full flight.

The seats gained new cushions during the refresh, and the cabin does feel fresher for it. Legroom is tolerable rather than generous: at six feet tall, knees stay clear of the seat in front. There is a fold-down foot net that shorter travellers may find useful. Importantly, the recline works by sliding the seat base forwards rather than pivoting the backrest into your knees, which takes some of the sting out of the passenger in front reclining.

The tray table is large and solid, with a circular indent that stops a cup wandering. The trade-off is that it is either fully deployed or fully stowed, with no half-fold option of the kind some other airlines use, so nursing a single drink means committing the whole table.

Power is worth planning for. There are two AC outlets shared across each group of three Economy seats and three outlets across each group of four, located below and ahead of you. Every passenger also has a USB-A port at the tip of the armrest, but these are slow enough to be close to useless: a phone left plugged in from just after take-off until descent gained only 57 percentage points, arriving at 82% from a starting 25%. Bring a proper charger and use the AC outlet.

Sleep on this sector is always going to be limited. Just under two and a half hours was the result on an eight-hour overnight flight, helped by a personal eye mask and noise-cancelling headphones.

Food and drink

All meals and refreshments are complimentary in Economy. With a 7:15pm departure, dinner comes first.

There is no longer a printed menu. An announcement asks passengers to press the 'fork and knife' button on the inflight entertainment to see the options, which on this flight could not be found anywhere in the interface. Ordering blind and assuming a chicken dish worked out: it arrived with vegetables and a garlic bread roll, and was genuinely good by Economy standards. A packaged cake came with the tray, and went largely untouched around the cabin, unsurprising after a long afternoon of lounge food.

Breakfast, ahead of a scheduled 6:10am arrival, is a light refreshment served roughly 1.5 to 2 hours before touchdown. In this case that meant a spinach and feta pastry, which is about right given dinner finished only a few hours earlier. Coffee and water pours were generous.

Entertainment and service

The refurbishment brought improved inflight entertainment to Economy, but that means the software rather than the hardware. The seatback screens are the older style, closer to what you will find on some Qantas Boeing 737s than to the panels on the Boeing 787s. They are dull and reflective, so picture quality suffers even with brightness raised, and they do not respond to a light touch. A firm press, or better still a fingernail tap, is what registers. Qantas would do everyone a favour by mentioning that over the PA, given how often passengers end up hammering the screen and the head resting behind it.

What has improved is the interface: the moving map is updated, the screen greets you with your seat number, and the tail camera is available, if at a resolution well behind the phone in your pocket. Supplied headphones are ordinary, so bring your own.

Summing up

Overnight Singapore to Sydney flights rarely deliver much sleep in Economy, simply because the gap between dinner service finishing and breakfast beginning is around three hours. With lounge access in Singapore, the smart play is to eat properly on the ground, decline what you can on board, and sleep from take-off. That strategy works best from a window seat or an exit row, where you are not blocking anyone's aisle access and so are less likely to be woken.

Seats 80A and 80K are the standout picks: window seats with no seat in front, giving both the view and direct aisle access. They are priced as extra legroom seats, as the exit rows are, and they go early.

Overall, A380 Economy is roughly what you would expect. The seats are a little wider than on the Boeing 787s, which counts for something if you have broad shoulders, at the cost of older screens. One point is easy to forget at booking: the A380 is the largest aircraft in the Qantas fleet, carrying up to 485 passengers plus crew, and that is a great many bags on the belt at the other end. Priority tagging through status got one bag out within ten minutes of the first. Without it, build a buffer into any onward connection.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Economy layout on the Qantas A380? Economy is arranged 3-4-3 on the main deck of the aircraft.

Does an Economy ticket include lounge access in Singapore? No. Access depends on frequent flyer status, a Qantas Club membership, an eligible card benefit such as Priority Pass or American Express, or paying for entry.

Which are the best Economy seats on the Qantas A380? Seats 80A and 80K are the pick, as they are window seats with no seat directly in front, combining extra space with direct aisle access. They are sold as extra legroom seats.

Are there power outlets at every Economy seat? AC power is shared, with two outlets across each group of three seats and three outlets across each group of four. Every passenger has a USB-A port, but it charges very slowly.

How many meals are served on the Singapore to Sydney flight? Two: dinner shortly after the evening departure, and a light breakfast around 1.5 to 2 hours before landing. Both are complimentary.

Did the A380 refurbishment change Economy? Economy received new seat cushions and an updated inflight entertainment interface, but the seatback screens themselves are unchanged and remain the older, low-contrast type.