For all the pictures that go with this report, please click here.

Yes, you read that correctly. Just checking random prices in November, Sydney to Brisbane on Qantas flying out on a Tuesday and back on the following Tuesday is $1,605, with the prices coming up as $803 each way. This is standard pricing for Qantas domestic business class. I think it is extortionate, personally.

Happily you can redeem using miles for flights and using British Airways Avios means you can use 18,000 Avios and pay €28.00. There is a sliding scale of less Avios and more money so I used 10,000 Avios and paid €148.30 for the return trip. Quite a difference to $1,605 - which is just over €1,000 for those wondering! For a 90 minute flight!

Flights warranting a breakfast service on Qantas are all those departing before 9am. I specifically chose my flight to fall within this window even though I could have gone a little later. Sydney to Brisbane (SYD-BNE) is one of Australia’s busiest air routes.

The Qantas terminal at Sydney Airport features a Qantas Club lounge for oneworld Sapphire frequent flyers. In addition, there is an exclusive Domestic Business Lounge for people travelling in business class along with oneworld Emerald frequent flyers.

QF510 – Sydney to Brisbane (SYD-BNE)
30 August 2017
Boeing 737-838 – VH-VYD – “Eudunda”
Seat: Business Class 1A
Departure: 08:30 Arrival: 10:00

After spending time in the lounge it is time to board the flight. There is a priority lane so people in business class can waltz past the economy class queue and straight on board. Once seated, drinks are offered in business class.



Drinks are strictly non-alcoholic and you have a choice between juice or water. After the safety demonstration it is time for flight. There is often a long taxi at Sydney but today it was very short due to taking off towards the south.



The Boeing 737 used on the SYD-BNE flight features twelve seats arranged two by two in three rows. This is the same as the American Airlines configuration which is not surprising knowing the history of the Qantas 737.



Inflight entertainment on this version of the aircraft is on flip down screens. Headphones are provided in the seat pocket in front of you and the audio controls are in the arm rest.

Qantas offer poached eggs as part of their hot meal in business class. These are hands down the nicest style of eggs to serve on a flight as they get to you how they’re supposed to. Why all airlines don’t do this is anyone’s guess.



Sourdough bread is offered from the basket by the crew. Usually I find the crust to be extremely hard and this was no exception. Drinks are offered next. The Grant Burge sparkling wine is pretty dire. I have now had this on a number of Qantas flights and I think it’s the pits. For what the airline charges for domestic business class, a proper Champagne is in order.



Greek yoghurt comes with the meal and it is quite sweet and delicious. Once done, I asked for more sparkling wine and was offered orange juice too. Good idea, so I made Mimosa’s which masked the terrible taste of the Grant Burge. All is then cleared away and we landed on time.

Qantas offer a comfortable business class cabin on the SYD-BNE sector. The seats are wide and spacious. On board service is quite friendly and the meal is excellent for a flight that only spends 60 minutes in the air. It is a shame the sparkling wine lets the side down. I also would never pay the online price - I understand corporate clients get discounts so that would make some sense considering how it is priced.

Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below. Remember, for all the pictures that go with this report, please click here.

$803 one way? wah too expensive. I rather fly long haul to Asia from USA better

ClassicLover wrote:

Yes, you read that correctly. Just checking random prices in November, Sydney to Brisbane on Qantas flying out on a Tuesday and back on the following Tuesday is $1,605, with the prices coming up as $803 each way. This is standard pricing for Qantas domestic business class. I think it is extortionate, personally.

Thanks for the TR. We are used to paying those sort of fares so we don't generally notice it as much. FWIW the aircraft you flew on VH-VYD had been repainted into the new Silveroo livery about a month before your flight

qf789 wrote:

ClassicLover wrote:

Yes, you read that correctly. Just checking random prices in November, Sydney to Brisbane on Qantas flying out on a Tuesday and back on the following Tuesday is $1,605, with the prices coming up as $803 each way. This is standard pricing for Qantas domestic business class. I think it is extortionate, personally.

Thanks for the TR. We are used to paying those sort of fares so we don't generally notice it as much. FWIW the aircraft you flew on VH-VYD had been repainted into the new Silveroo livery about a month before your flight

Its crazy when SYD-AKL at 3hours is around $600-800 in J and you get an much higher level of service.

But that goes with Australia, I'm always shocked when booking domestic flights in Australia they often can cost more than my New Zealand to Australia fare.

Last week Qantas were offering a one way business class fare ADL-CBR-MEL for around the $2,000 mark!

Mind you, this was during AFL Grand Final week, where the going rate for ADL-MEL direct flights was about $700 for economy! ADL-MEL flight prices were crazy last week. Needless to say most of the 30,000 strong Adelaide fans that made the exodus to Melbourne drove (including 18 buses provided by Adelaide's supporter group)

Thanks for the report. The service looks good, but wow, that fare is astronomical. How busy was the business class cabin with fares like that?

khunpaul3 wrote:

$803 one way? wah too expensive. I rather fly long haul to Asia from USA better

It's a lot of money isn't it? It's why I used my miles instead. I can't afford that!

qf789 wrote:

Thanks for the TR. We are used to paying those sort of fares so we don't generally notice it as much. FWIW the aircraft you flew on VH-VYD had been repainted into the new Silveroo livery about a month before your flight

Yes, that's true - it's pretty standard for Business Class in Australia. Lucky Australian people are paid fairly well, so it's not excessively out of reach.

I do like that Silveroo livery! Thanks for the comment!

zkncj wrote:

Its crazy when SYD-AKL at 3hours is around $600-800 in J and you get an much higher level of service.

But that goes with Australia, I'm always shocked when booking domestic flights in Australia they often can cost more than my New Zealand to Australia fare.

Yes, I would rather the international service really. Not that it's THAT great on a Boeing 737, but it's a little more worthwhile.

I was never able to afford to fly QF J when I lived in Australia, so it's nice to be able to do it with miles now. Thanks for the comment!

brucetiki wrote:

Last week Qantas were offering a one way business class fare ADL-CBR-MEL for around the $2,000 mark!

Mind you, this was during AFL Grand Final week, where the going rate for ADL-MEL direct flights was about $700 for economy! ADL-MEL flight prices were crazy last week. Needless to say most of the 30,000 strong Adelaide fans that made the exodus to Melbourne drove (including 18 buses provided by Adelaide's supporter group)

That doesn't surprise me at all. Sporting events always push the prices way up, so they may as well take advantage of it when they can. I'm sure they love sporting events to bring in the big bucks - fans will always want to go and will pay to get there.

Interesting data point though, so thanks for sharing!

KLDC10 wrote:

Thanks for the report. The service looks good, but wow, that fare is astronomical. How busy was the business class cabin with fares like that?

It is always pretty full - 10/12 or 8/12 full - in my experience. I guess some could be on miles like I was, and some would be Corporate people on a Corporate discount. Either way, it's not like the cabins are empty, far from it. Thanks for the comment!

Thanks for the great report! What is the AA and QF 737 story you referenced?

ClassicLover wrote:

The Boeing 737 used on the SYD-BNE flight features twelve seats arranged two by two in three rows. This is the same as the American Airlines configuration which is not surprising knowing the history of the Qantas 737.

I wonder if perhaps you are looking too hard for a correlation there beyond it being a reasonably common premium configuration for the 737.

kabq737 wrote:

Thanks for the great report! What is the AA and QF 737 story you referenced?

He refers to the fact that QF purchased a number of 738s (15, if I recall correctly) that were not taken up by AA in the downturn following September 11. AA wanted them off the books sharpish and QF were, uniquely in the world at that time, desperate for capacity following AN's collapse a few days later. Curiously, and deviating from normal practice, Boeing changed the customer codes for the aircraft from AA's 23 to QF's 38, but they still have the hateful AA crosshatch pattern wall paneling.

VH-VYD, the aircraft the OP flew, is not one of these.

XAM2175 wrote:

ClassicLover wrote:

The Boeing 737 used on the SYD-BNE flight features twelve seats arranged two by two in three rows. This is the same as the American Airlines configuration which is not surprising knowing the history of the Qantas 737.

I wonder if perhaps you are looking too hard for a correlation there beyond it being a reasonably common premium configuration for the 737.

kabq737 wrote:

Thanks for the great report! What is the AA and QF 737 story you referenced?

He refers to the fact that QF purchased a number of 738s (15, if I recall correctly) that were not taken up by AA in the downturn following September 11. AA wanted them off the books sharpish and QF were, uniquely in the world at that time, desperate for capacity following AN's collapse a few days later. Curiously, and deviating from normal practice, Boeing changed the customer codes for the aircraft from AA's 23 to QF's 38, but they still have the hateful AA crosshatch pattern wall paneling.

VH-VYD, the aircraft the OP flew, is not one of these.

Oh that’s fascinating thanks so much for the information! Do you know which wall panels QF chose on their own birds?

Not with any certainty, sorry. My memory says it's a fairly plane one, possibly with a very light speckle, and I'm thinking (very faintly) that it was pretty similar across the 767-338s, 744ERs, and the newer 738s before they started coming with the Sky Interior so I reckon it's a Boeing standard one.