Flight Review: Qantas Premium Economy (Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner) from London to Perth
With Business Class getting progressively more expensive, and Economy a daunting prospect for a 17-hour flight, we tried splitting the difference on Premium Economy. Is it still worth it in 2026?
Has it really been almost nine years since Qantas introduced the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to service? Starting in 2017 with runs from Melbourne to Los Angeles, Qantas made history in March 2018 when it made the direct connection between Australia and Europe in a single, 17-hour ultra long-haul flight. It remains one of the longest flights in the world.
We’ve made the 8,988 mile (14,465 km) journey between London and Perth a couple of times now. We flew it in 2019 on the outbound trip to London, and again in 2023 on the return journey to Perth. However, both of those were in in Business Class, with all the perks of a lie-flat bed.
So, having just been on a 9-week trip around the work, we hoped to to get some shut-eye on the return voyage. That may have been ambitious.
Flight number: QF10 (London to Perth)
Route: London Heathrow (LHR) – Perth International Airport (PER)
Aircraft type: Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
Seat numbers: 22F and 23F
Fare type: Premium Economy
The check-in experience
We arrived at Heathrow Terminal 3 via the Elizabeth Line within in walking distance of the Qantas check-in. (As a sidebar, I’d recommend the Elizabeth Line over the Heathrow Express as it’s a whopping £15 ($29 AUD) cheaper!)
Qantas employs common-use self check-in machines, meaning other oneworld alliance or codeshare partners use the same physical machines. There were some staff available to assit, which we needed when our machine froze mid check-in. Bag drop only took moments once we’d received our tags. Staffed counters looked like they were predominantly for Business and above. A small desk for queries was also available.
Security was fast even without the priority queue. On the airside, there’s a Priority Line at the gate for Business and Premium Economy, which was odd because we still all went into a shared waiting area. During boarding, we were in Boarding Group 2, right after Business.
Airport lounge access
Premium Economy does not get automatic access to any airport lounges, but as Qantas Club members we were able to access the Qantas London Lounge, located in Terminal 3 (Lounge B area, near Gate 11) at Heathrow Airport.
The Qantas Heathrow Lounge is one of our favourites. Split over two levels, it’s got a mixture of bar service, buffet selections, bathrooms and showers, fast Wi-Fi and a range of seating options. There weren’t many power points where we were sitting though.
Last time we were there, we were able to order off an à la carte menu for table service downstairs. This still seems to be the case, but after waiting a short time for a staff member we wound up going upstairs and enjoying the breakfast buffet. Almost everything was vegetarian, including eggs, mini quiches/tarts, muffins, fruit, salad and pastries.
The seat
The 787-9 Dreamliner has 236 seats: 42 in Business Class, 28 in Premium Economy, and 166 in Economy.
The 28 seats of the Premium Economy cabin are in a 2-3-2 layout. We sat in 22F and 23F near the rear of the cabin, as both had aisle access. Unlike some Premium Economy cabins, it feels like it’s own space: there’s a curtain at the front to Business and back to Economy. Overhead storage was ample for three seats worth of backpacks.
Below the high-definition seat-back touchscreen is a small storage area for phones or cables and a larger seat-back pocket. Other nice touches include a footrest with netting, a small cocktail table and a pull-out armrest tray table.
Seats have shell backs, but the seat in front of you still pitches back to give 96.5cm (38in) of legroom. Seats had a generous width too: 58cm (22.8in) compared with Economy’s 43.7cm (17.2in). The headrest slides up and down, and pillows are designed to slip over them. This was definitely more comfortable than an Economy seat, but I barely slept on this flight. Despite a very comfy blanket and a decent enough pillow, I’m yet to master the art of vertical sleeping.
The amenities and service
Amenity kit
No frills here: a small pencil case with an eye mask, earplugs, socks, Standard Procedure lip balm and a dental kit. The eye mask was way too tight for me. Perhaps my noggin’ is too big, but it would have been nice to be able to adjust it.
In-Flight Entertainment
On the ultra long-haul flights, this is critical. Thankfully, the screen is quite impressive. A large high-definition touchscreen with a decent selection. The new releases section alone has several dozen titles, and there’s a hefty group of encore, genre, and international flicks as well.
Paramount+ and HBO filled out the majority of the TV content, with ABC Kids added for the little viewers. The box sets are great for long hauls, although I sometimes found the episodes to be randomly selected. For example, the entire season of The Traitors was there, but only the first few episodes of Peacemaker Season 2.
Like I said, I slept very little on the flight, so I was able to browse the selection thoroughly. In fact, I watched six films that had all been released this year. One caveat: the picture would periodically pause. In some films, it was once every few minutes. In the last film though, it was every 5-10 seconds, making it almost unwatchable. My partner reported a similar experience.
Toilets
The closest toilets were actually in the Business cabin, and thankfully the crew directed us to that in first instance. Toilets were on both sides of the galley and were in good condition with minimal wait time. Still, passing through Business every time I needed to use the loo was a bittersweet experience. Next time perhaps…
Connectivity
Qantas Free Wi-Fi was available for much of the flight. However, the speeds are low — around 1.1 to 2.7 Mpbs — and it dropped out occasionally. That said, it was more than enough for me to check the socials, browse my email and log all those movies I was watching on Letterboxd.
Device charging is via USB-A on the seatback and armrest, with a shared AC outlet between seats. The lack of USB-C is probably the only thing that dates the tech on this vessel. The provided over-ear headphones do a decent job of noise cancelling, and a headphone jack and Bluetooth connectivity allows you to use your own headphones too.
The service
On arrival, we were offered a glass of bubbly or choice of water (still or sparkling), which immediately added to the premium feel. A bottle of water is provided on takeoff, and if you request another than will fill up your existing bottle rather than issue a new one. It’s a more sustainable touch for sure.
As I was clearly not sleeping much, the crew checked on me multiple times to see if there was anything else I needed. When my headphones suddenly fell apart, the crew quickly got me a new pair and later asked if the new ones were working out for me.
I only pressed the service button once, when I needed a new customs declaration card, and after several minutes passed I eventually flagged down a crew member. But I generally found the service pretty good.
Food and drinks
Vegetarian Options
We were disappointed to learn that our vegetarian meal requests hadn’t been saved in the system by Qantas, but thankfully there were vege options on the in-flight menu. This included grilled tofu with vegetables and rice for the main. I’m not sure what we would have done for 17 hours otherwise.
A green pea samosa was available mid-flight on request, and the galley had self-serve snacks. For breakfast, the choices were ‘hot meal’ (egg and meat) or ‘fruit bowl’, which felt quite lacklustre for a premium cabin. There was a muffin and some tortured looking custardy yoghurt dish too. The crew told us that we could have requested meals in advance. Oh, we knew. We knew.
By comparison, we’d been on an 8+ hour Qantas Economy flight to Singapore only a few months earlier, and we were fed constantly. The difference on a flagship aircraft was disappointing.
Final thoughts
So, is Premium Economy on a Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner worth it? That’s two questions we’re asking really: is it a good product, and would we do a 17 hour flight in Premium Economy again?
Is it a good product?
Yes: Qantas Premium Economy is a fine product that does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a premium seat that’s not quite Business. The Premium Economy ticket runs about three times an Economy price tag, but can be at least $2000 cheaper than Business.
The extra leg room, seat width, and entertainment are all commendable. The food options were disappointing, but I’m sure if the preferences are saved in advance it’s a different story. The planes are still looking sharp, and service is friendly.
As to the second question, that’s more complicated.
Would we do it again?
The short answer is “probably not.” At least not on this route. Instead, we’d look at stopovers we can make between Sydney and Europe. For us, it’s become less about the speed and more about the experience.
Perhaps because we’re not getting younger, we really felt the mileage this time. If your goal is to get there as fast as possible, that’s different. Even if you are flying on to another Australian city, it shaves hours off other current connections.
This debate looms large for both Qantas and passengers when they drop their new A350-1000ULR Project Sunrise routes of a whopping 20 hours between Sydney/Melbourne and London or New York in 2027. For us that will be a hard pass.
Let’s be clear though: Qantas Premium Economy on the 787-9 is a good product, but we don’t want to physically do it again. We need a lie-down on a flight that long. But on a shorter route, we’d definitely recommend it.
