Review – Qantaslink 717 Business Class, Sydney – Brisbane

For a while now I’ve wanted to get a full list of reviews of both the Qantas and Virgin Australia fleet, I can finally say it’s coming along slowly but surely. Not long ago, I was in Sydney after flying on a 747 from Brisbane and thought it’d be an excellent opportunity to jump onboard the 717 back home in business class.

I’m ashamed to say, but this was only my second time flying on one of Qantas’ 717’s but lucked out, and the aircraft operating my flight would be the Discover Tasmania livery, the exact same aircraft I flew on two years ago from Canberra.

Qantas 717 Business Class

The business cabin on the 717 consists of 12 seats which are in a 2-2 configuration. Each seat has a pitch of 37” and a total width of 20.”

Each seat also features standard USB power in the seat in front as well as another port and 110v powerpoint located in between the seats in the armrest. The seats aren’t fitted with IFE screens as Qstreaming is used on the aircraft.

Qantas 717 Business Class

Qantas 717 Business Class

I, for one really enjoy the business class product on the 717 and to me, it’s visually the most appealing out of all the domestic products. The seats are pretty comfortable, and the pattern reminds me of taurillon leather which I’m a big fan of.

Qantas 717 Business Class

As much as I like the 717’s, there’s no secret that unfortunately, the aircraft is quite unreliable. This isn’t an issue exclusive to Qantas, but it’s something a lot of staff have mentioned to me and I found it interesting.

Qantaslink Dash 8’s

Once all the passengers were seated, the crew came around to offer business class guests a pre-departure beverage; I elected to get a sparkling water.

Sparkling Water

Push back commenced on time, and we taxied out to runway 34R. I was quite keen for the departure as this meant you’re given some pretty fantastic views departing Sydney, no matter which side you’re seated on, you’ll get some stellar views on your climb out.

Departing Out Of Sydney

Qantas 717 Business Class

As you can see, I was seated on the right side of the aircraft and was given some great views of the coast. The smoke haze in Sydney had been pretty severe the past few days beforehand, but on this day, it was pretty clear.

Departure Out Of Sydney

Shortly after takeoff, the cabin crew started their meal service with a beverage of choice, I’m a Queenslander and am a massive fan of Bundaberg drinks so naturally went with a ginger beer which has quickly become my favourite in-flight drink, depending on my schedule or time of departure, it’s also lovely with some vodka 😉

Ginger Beer

Guests in business were given two options for meals and even had the chance to try everything on one plate. I went with the latter so I could give everything a go.

Qantas 717 Business Class

The cheese options on Qantas are pretty good consisting of Comte, Maffra Cheddar and Fourme D’ Ambert:

Cheese Selection

There was also some sausage rolls, a standard bread roll and an iced mocha type of sweet:

Sausage Rolls and Bread

I’m not a massive fan of soups but still decided to give the sour cream and chive soup a try and It was pretty good, It had a lot more flavour than I was expecting:

Cream and Chive Soup

Here is one of the USB power ports located on the seat in front:

USB Power

As you can see below, the legroom is quite sufficient, and there is also some storage for small devices located in front of you:

Qantas 717 Business Class Legroom

For those who were wondering, I was seated in the last row of business, seat 3F to be precise:

Row 3 of Business Class

As we were approaching Brisbane, the smoke was a lot more evident, and it’s pretty upsetting to see how bad it had gotten and what it had caused for a lot of people.

Cruising To Brisbane

Just after an hour or so in the air, we touched down in Brisbane about 5 minutes ahead of schedule.

Arrival In Brisbane

Parked directly next to us at the gate was VH-VZM:

VH-VZM

I wish I could get another angle of the aircraft but here is the ‘Discover Tasmania’ aircraft with the registration of VH-YQW:

Discover Tasmania 717

Overall

The 717 is a fantastic aircraft, and I know it’s only my second time flying on one but I really, really enjoy the aircraft. As the engines are located at the rear, it’s very tranquil upfront, and it’s overall a comfortable and spacious little machine – I would take this over the 737 if available.

Have you flown on a Qantaslink 717 before?