On the way back from Europe at the end of last year, we flew the Qantas route from Heathrow to Perth to Melbourne in Premium Economy on the 787 Dreamliner.

In addition to the food and bar there's all the usual amenities - comfy chairs and couches, electrical outlets for charging devices, Wi-Fi, fancy showers stocked with luxury toileteries, even a small kids' play area.

So, onto the flight itself! The Premium Economy cabin is quite spacious and comfortable - certainly more spacious than regular economy class, which is what I usually fly. I've never flown First Class, and only ever done a couple of Business Class trips, once in 1992 when my family got upgraded on Malaysia Airlines (the first flight I'd ever done with an individual TV - wow!), and once on the short Frankfurt-to-Heathrow British Airways flight two days before this trip, which had the same seats as Economy but much nicer food and lounge access.

The Qantas Dreamliner 787 Premium Economy Cabin

The seats are in a 2-3-2 configuration, with a 38-inch pitch (source: Traveller.com.au), which basically measures the distance between a point on one seat and the same point on the seat in front or behind it. Thick and non-scratchy blankets, noise cancelling headphones, and pillows that you could attach to the headrest were provided, which helped with the comfort factor. (I habitually bring noise cancelling headphones and a travel pillow with me, but didn't need them on this flight). The TVs were quite large, and there were a good-sized document pouch, drop-down foot rests and a USB charging port. (The table was kept in the armrest). All in all, what I'm saying is that the seat was nice and comfortable for the long flight!

Cheers!

I normally don't drink when flying, but treated myself to a glass of Australian sparkling wine. Cheers! I ended up watching four films throughout the flight, and sleeping intermittently. For anyone who cares, the films were Life of the Party (Melissa McCarthy is hilarious and I love her); Moonlight (so beautiful!); The Dish (Aussie comedy classic!) and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (camp gothic horror classic).
Qantas has been partnered with Australian super-chef Neil Perry since 1997 (over twenty years!), and I was very interested to see what the food offering would be like. Of course, the meals on planes never look quite as good as the promotional materials, but our lunches were tasty and satisfying without being overly heavy. Sandra got a beef and red wine stew with with cooked greens and mashed potatoes, and I got tomato and mascarpone rigatoni. Both meals came with a green salad dressed in "Neil's vinaigrette", cheese and crackers, and a square of rhubarb cake with custard.

Qantas 787 Dreamliner Premium Economy Dinner by Neil Perry: Beef and red wine stew with mashed potatoes and vegetables; Rhubarb cake with custard; Salad with Neil's vinaigrette; Cheese and crackers

Qantas 787 Dreamliner Premium Economy Dinner by Neil Perry: Tomato and mascarpone rigatoni; Rhubarb cake with custard; Salad with Neil's vinaigrette; Cheese and crackers

(Random memory from the deep archives of this blog: when I flew Singapore-London in 2006, I was super excited to see that they offered a Gordon Ramsay-designed meal in Economy of salmon with pancetta peppers, boiled potatoes and herb butter).

The flight is, obviously, long, and they also offer lots of options for between-meal snacking. There was a self-service snack bar, with items like ginger shortbread, crisps, chocolate, and fresh fruit. They also had this Neil Perry-designed vegetable dip served with crudités at the snack bar that was absolutely DELICIOUS, and I was clearly craving fresh raw vegetables after my trip because I ate a lot of this. (Well, I would have eaten more but my wife warned me that it was quite garlicky so I had to stop, hah).

You can also order hot snacks throughout the flight - I got this eggplant cheese pasta bake which was surprisingly good - all crunchy and cheesy and comforting. (And come to think of it, way better than the underwhelming pasta bake I had an expensive chain in London the night before). I also realise now that I chose two tomato-based rigatoni dishes for two consecutive meals. I regret nothing!

Qantas 787 Dreamliner Premium Economy midnight snack: Eggplant and cheese pasta bake

Breakfast was offered as well, shortly before landing, but I actually slept through it - whoops. (I struggle to sleep on planes so it must have been very comfortable!)

When we landed in Perth, it had never even crossed my mind that we'd be able to access a lounge at all. My ticket just said "London to Melbourne", so I assumed we'd simply be waiting in the terminal for the plane to refuel before we boarded it again for the Perth-to-Melbourne leg. I was wrong!

When Sandra said: "We can go to the Lounge!", I was already pleasantly surprised, but I assumed it would be the regular (but still very nice) Qantas Club or Domestic Business Lounge. I was absolutely stoked to discover that Qantas have a dedicated Perth International Transit Lounge for customers with lounge access flying the London-to-Perth or Perth-to-London flights (thank-you again Sandra for getting us access!)

Qantas Perth International Transit Lounge

As you can see in the above picture, there's a sun-drenched patio area at the back, which is where we sat. It was lovely to get some natural light after the long flight!

There were a few features offered in the Lounge for long-haul travellers that we didn't use ("Body Clock Intervention" to minimise jetlag, a full bar, barista service, fancy showers), and many that we did use.

Qantas Perth International Transit Lounge - Tomato soup and damper

Qantas Perth International Transit Lounge - ham and cheese focaccia

Quench Hydration Station!

Qantas Perth International Transit Lounge - Quench Hydration Station

Qantas Perth International Transit Lounge - Aspar skin hydration ritual

One more awesome amenity - a stretch class! I'm really into wellness and self-care - you know, yoga, scented candles, aromatherapy, stretching, meditation, relaxation music, that kind of thing - so when the lovely instructor Amy came around asking if we'd like to participate in a stretch class, my immediate response was an enthusiastic "HECK YES!" The atmosphere was relaxing and the class was simple yet effective. What a great way to (literally) unwind after the long flight.

Qantas Perth International Transit Lounge - Wellbeing studio