Coming Up – Qantas 747 Economy Class To The United States

by Zac George
a large airplane taking off

If you’ve been reading this blog for some time, you’ll know that Economy Class isn’t a subject I’ve covered much here. It’s not because I can’t fly economy or anything like that, I’ve just preferred to use points effectively to get as much value as I can from my flights and try to aim for a premium cabin redemption.

Qantas has been quite vocal about their retirement plans for their 747’s and have even scheduled domestic flights so passengers can get a final experience onboard the Queen of the Skies. The airline will sadly say goodbye to their 747 fleet by 2020 with the 787-9’s taking its place.

VH-OJU will be the next aircraft to move to be retired and it’ll be operating it’s last ever commercial service on Sunday (13/10/19) from Sydney to Los Angels before moving to the desert for storage. I saw on Twitter that the prices for the flight were very reasonable (about a third of the cost of other QF services on the same day) and knew that this was a fantastic opportunity to not only review Economy on a long-haul flight but to also have one last 747 experience with Qantas.

 

 

a screenshot of a flight ticket

For the flight, I was able to select 43K which is a window seat in the forward section of the 747, just behind Premium Economy. Qantas’ 747-438’s have a total capacity of 364 seats spread across 3 cabins. There are altogether 270 seats in Economy and they’re in a 3-4-3 configuration.

The last time I flew onboard one of Qantas’ 747’s was way back when the airline ran the QF8 service via Brisbane, oh how I miss those days. It was honestly the best way to get to Sydney and I’ll always regret not doing it a couple more times before it switched to a direct A380 Sydney service.

Before that, it was when I was 12 years old travelling back from the United States with family in Premium Economy.

a man sitting in an airplane

Qantas 747 Economy Class

How am I getting home?

And this is the part I’m having some trouble with deciding upon. What airline should I fly home? There are a few options I’m thinking: EVA, Fiji Airways, ANA or should I try something completely different?

I’m really excited about this trip and I think it’ll be good to make me appreciate a premium experience a lot more and be a lot more aware of cabins that aren’t premium as it’s something I’ve really wanted to explore and learn more about as it’s a topic that has been completely absent from the blog.

What do you think my experience will be like?

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2 comments

Wayne Galloway October 10, 2019 - 11:02 am

Maybe give Air New Zealand a go, check out the Sky Couch in economy, alternatively Business Premier to see how it is holding up given its age, or their Premium Economy option.

Zac George October 10, 2019 - 11:20 am

Oooh, Sky couch would be a very interesting one. Thank you for the suggestion 🙂

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