Wind the clock back by about a decade, and Qantas’ presence in India came through a Brisbane-Singapore-Mumbai route. Those flights would eventually change to a pure Brisbane-Singapore service, dropping the Mumbai tag.
Then came Delhi, with direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne. Sydney would retire first, with Qantas’ Sydney-Bengaluru service proving more successful. Melbourne would hang on for a while longer. But in mid-2025, those direct Melbourne-Delhi routes also went on ice. What remains today is that flight to Bengaluru, now Qantas’ sole service to India.
As it happens, I was onboard the inaugural Sydney-Bengaluru hop back in 2022. There was a fair amount of fanfare on the day, given it was the first-ever commercial flight between Australia and Southern India. But inaugural flights can be very different from your average run-of-the-mill business trips.
With a conference to attend in India (and that trickly media visa sorted out…), I thought it fitting to take the Sydney-Bengaluru route again to see how the current experience stacks up.
By now, we all know what Qantas’ Airbus A330 Business cabin looks like. After all, the seat has been flying for over a decade and still going strong. So, let’s focus on the passenger journey.
Qantas American Express Ultimate
From Qantas check-in to take-off for India
Today’s journey to India includes a same-day connection from Melbourne. With a flash of my visa at the check-in desk, everything works as it should. As we land in Sydney, I catch a glimpse of the plane that’ll take me the rest of the way.
There isn’t much time for lounging about once the transit formalities are completed. But I get around 15 minutes to relax in between. By default, a Business ticket unlocks the Qantas Business Lounge. But if you have Platinum status or another Emerald-tier card, the Qantas First Lounge awaits. If only there were more time… but, at least, I have the lounge’s quiet library to myself.
I chuckle at the entertainment screen after taking my seat. It’s defaulted to ‘ORI’ and ‘DES’ as the journey codes. Clearly, that’s meant to represent the origin and destination. But apparently, we’re off to Desroches Island on flight QFXXXX (brought to you by the beer, perhaps?). While a flight to Seychelles would be nice, an announcement of our destination confirms we’re on the right track. As long as the pilots know where we’re going, I’m comfortable!
Waiting at my seat is an amenity kit and menu. Destination glitch aside, so far, this flight is routine – and that’s a good thing.
Lunch, anybody?
For me, this is a 13-hour flight on a workday… so I’m really in the mood for a coffee as I power through my to-dos. I’m pleased – and a little surprised – to find that espresso drinks are available. I didn’t think the A330 had the machine. Too many domestic flights taken on jets without it, perhaps. But here we are. Warmed nuts are a very welcome on the side.
For lunch, the menu pleasingly sports three starters and four mains. From today’s selections, I opt for the pan-fried prawn gyoza with sesame chilli dressing and pickled cucumber to start. I wasn’t sure how tasty this would be – made on the ground, reheated in the air – but they’re delicious. They’ve clearly rehearsed the cook and reheat times down to a tee.
For the main, I notice a protein that’s really been doing the rounds at Qantas for a while now… Humpty Doo barramundi. It seems, every Qantas international flight I take from Australia has this same option, or one very similar. The accompaniments may rotate seasonally, but it does give the impression that the menu hasn’t overly changed in a while.
But the other options are certainly different than the last time I took this service. I opt for the hearty lamb rogan josh for an early taste of our destination, paired with a glass of red. Don’t ask me what the red was, though. Even in Business Class, Qantas’ beverage list reads only “wine”. We’ve covered that before, but that’s still Qantas’ way. The other thing that hasn’t changed is the ‘green leaf salad’ – which many frequent flyers quip is a fancy way of saying, ‘bowl of lettuce’.
Cheese finishes things off. During the flight, I find the Bundaberg ginger beer to be quite refreshing. Give it a try, if you haven’t already.
Fast-forward to Qantas’ dinner before India
Normally, I choose my inflight meals around the arrival time at the destination. The goal is to adjust to that destination time as much as possible, before the wheels touch down. By the book, we arrive around 5pm local time in Bengaluru. But that’s after a 13-hour sprint from Sydney. While I wouldn’t normally eat dinner at around 3pm (a couple of hours before landing), it’s necessary here. Otherwise, I’d be super peckish.
This service centres around a single main dish. Served, you guessed it, with an identical ‘bowl of lettuce’… sorry… ‘green leaf salad’. That’s not the only dish performing an encore. Our old friend, the Humpty Doo barramundi, is back! Don’t get me wrong; it’s a delicious dish. But some variety wouldn’t go astray. My mind wanders to the chicken and slaw sandwich that lived an extended life in the previous decade. (Long-time Qantas flyers will know what I’m talking about!)
I leave the barra to swim and go for the black pepper chicken instead. It’s a tad similar to my lunch selection, but that’s my doing. I’ve tried not to snack on this flight – focusing my calories on quality meals instead. The accompanying eggplant and tamarind sambal adds a nice flavour to the dish.
To conclude, the limoncello trifle is a winner. It catches the eye of others in the cabin as they soar from galley to tray table.
Separately, Qantas has tweaked its overall dining flow. Now, rather than replicating a restaurant vibe, the airline delivers food on plastic trays. It’s designed to save time. But it’s a daytime flight and we have 13 hours to kill. To me, a plastic tray feels more like a casual cafeteria than a restaurant, so it feels like a downgrade.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Photography by Chris Chamberlin, who travelled at Point Hacks’ expense.
Also read: Qantas partner IndiGo eyes Australian routes with order for 60 Airbus A350s
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Qantas is now offering a seasonal service on an A330. to Delhi from Melbourne. We are flying QF69 Mel-Delhi next month.
Long time QF fliers like me are seeing the depths to which QF plunged (and remains in) during the Joyce era, after experiencing the wonderful highs of the 80s and early 90s. At most, QF is 3.5* airline today. The nostalgia is what keeps some people thinking it’s still a 5* airline. And it was objectively a superior airline in decades past, compared to what it is now. Just one small example will suffice, although it is indicative of the general malaise QF is now stuck in: once upon a time we got real silverware, even in economy. Now it’s wooden, disposable ‘cutlery’ on offer. What a comedown!
The “salad” is sad and does not meet any sort of salad expectation. Having no wine list is just not cool, and made to feel just cheap and nasty when combined with the cafeteria style serving style.
Qantas knows that it owns the Australian flying crowd, and that it has basically no real competition on the flights to India (Sorry, Air India – you are nowhere near getting your act together). I think they have entirely missed the fact that there is an entire younger generation who is getting to used to much better standards with much better airlines.
While Sydney to Bangalore is a convenient option, if you are a Sydney flyer, any other destination in India will require a connection, in which case you will be better off flying SQ or TH (or even MH if you get the right plane) and connecting there/.