Qantas QF42 Jakarta to Sydney Business Class Flight Review

Airline: Qantas
Flight no: QF42
Route: Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta Airport (CGK) to Sydney International Airport (SYD)
Aircraft type: A330-200
Flight time: 6 hours 55 minutes
Travel Class: Business Class
Seat no: 1K
Seat width: 21.5 inches
Seat pitch: 60 inches

Check out the video of this Qantas QF42 flight review

I had flown into Jakarta Airport from Bali onboard a Garuda Indonesia B777-300ER. I had a 4 hour layover in Jakarta airport before this flight on Qantas to Sydney.

At the airport

Jakarta airport is huge. The busiest airport in Indonesia. Qantas fly daily between Sydney and Jakarta, a flight I have done a few times before.

Qantas had a separate queue for business Class passengers but I was unable to join the queue until I had completed the mandatory Australian DPD, Digital Passenger Declaration. There was a QR code at the check-in counter to access the form, which was a typical painfully government form. Not only did I have to upload my Vaccination Certificate, I had to manually enter the type and date of all 3 of my Covid Vaccinations.

Form took about 10 minutes and then I was able to check in which took less time than fulling the annoying DPD. I believe now you no longer need to complete the DPD to enter Australia.

When they handed me my boarding pass they informed me that Qantas no longer have access to a business lounger and instead they handed me a Food voucher worth 300,000Rp (around A$30) which could be used in 7 different food outlets in Jakarta Airport. After roaming the length of Jakarta airport, I found 6 / 7 if the food outlets were temporarily closed.

Last time I flew Qantas out if Jakarta, I had access to the Plaza Premium Lounge. I asked at the lounge and they said they are no longer dealing with Qantas. Cost cutting from Qantas?? Maybe.

A $30 voucher is not a good substitute for lounge access. They feed and water you well enough on a business Class flight. The biggest benefit of using a business flight is a nice quiet area to relax before your flight.

On the plane

I have flown in business class on the Qantas A330-200 many times. The Vantage XL Business Class seats are one of my favourite in the skies. They are so comfortable and everything you need us at easy access including the seat controls and the USB port for charging my phone.

I did not get to see the rego number of the lane I was on for this flight. This was the best view of the lane I got.

Amenities kit

Entertainment System

I do like the Qantas Entertainment System on the A330s. The large 16″ TV touch screen is super responsive and loaded with a heap of latest release movies and TV shows.

As thus was a night flight, I really just wanted to watch 1 movie while eating dinner then put the seat is the full lay flat mode and get as much restless sleep as possible. You never really get good sleep on a plane, even in business Class. It is really just different stages if consciousness.

The flight map is the standard flight map on all Qantas planes. Best thing about an the A330s is you can just press 1 button to bring up the map, which automatically pauses the movie you are watching. Then 1 press to drop the map and return to watching your movie.

Food served onboard

A welcome drink was handed shortly after I got onboard. I of course choose a glass of Champagne.

Straight after take-off they started the dinner service with a drink and plate if nuts. I started with a glass if Shiraz red wine.

For entree there was a choice of:

Plant Based Dining – Carrot and ginger soup with croutons
Or
Salad of poached sea bass, green papaya, cherry tomato, lemon grass, lime and chilli dressing.
I had the soup which was delicious! This was seved with a bead oll and bowl o geen salad.

For main meal, there was a choice of:

Plant Based Dining -Stir fried noodles with Tofu, bok choy and sambal
Grilled snapper with red chilli sambal, stir fried kai lan and steamed jasmine rice.
Beef goulash with capsicum, buttered green beans, roasted potatoes and black pepper sour cream
I went for the beef goulash and it was another very tasty dish.

For dessert there was a choice of:
Madeline cake with tamarind cream, caramelised coconut and strawberries.
Ice cream
Seasonal fruit
Hand made chocolate truffles

I went the Madeline cake with a cheeky glass of dessert wine. 3rd dish and trifecta of very good food. This is the 2nd flight out of Jakarta when all the food served was spot on delicious.

I did manage to get a few hours of sleep then was woken for breakfast. Choice was:
Bookmark macadam toasted Muesli with cranberries
Coconut muffin
Indonesian breakfast pastry filled with stir fried vegetables, sesame and rice noodles.

I wanted to try the Indonesian style breakfast. This was not so good. It was a bit dry and not so enjoyable. I should have gone with the Muesli and muffin.

The service

Overall all the crew were very friendly on thus flight. I interacted with 4 different crew, from boarding to getting the various meals and drinks served and all were lovely

A very enjoyable flight with Qantas. Top marks for the food served at dinner.
Shame about the lack of lounge access. I hope they get back lounge access at Jakarta airport next time I fly out of there.