We flew business class from Los Angeles to Sydney.

Pre-Boarding and the Business Lounge
We had a dedicated check-in line, as well as access to the Fast Pass security line.  We were through security and heading to the business lounge within 10-15 minutes.

The lounge is actually for all “One World Alliance” airlines, and reminded us of the British Airways’ business lounge in Heathrow.  There was a buffet where we had our choice of salads, fruits, main dishes, desserts and a number of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.  Outside the buffet area we found various chairs to relax in and had access to free Wi-Fi.  Boarding announcements were very clear, so we didn’t need to keep an eye on the monitor with departure information.

 

Boarding The Plane and the Seats
The seats in the upper deck of the 380-800 are set up 2-2-2.  To get to them we took an escalator up and walked on. We didn’t need to use the stairs on the plane.

The middle two seats have direct access to the aisle.  What they do not have is extra space to store things.

The seats on the end have extra storage places under the window.  What they don’t have is full access to the aisle.  If you have a window seat you will always need to have the person next to you move if you want to get up.

When we got to our seats we found a pillow, and a folded blanket.  There was also a mattress cover underneath the seat in front of us.  We were asked if we wanted a glass of champagne,  orange juice, or water and as we were toasting to the start of a wonderful trip, the attendants were handing out amenity kits which contained socks, an eye mask, tooth brush, toothpaste, hand cream, face moisturizer, and lip balm. A few minutes later we received pajamas (both were large/extra large).  I am always cold on planes and the pajamas were light, so I didn’t wear them.  My husband changed into his and said they were very comfortable.

 

Food
You will have two menus.  Your breakfast menu will be hanging on the back of the seat in front of you. We had our choice of various pastries, cereal, eggs and french toast.  I selected the ham and cheese croquettes and a piece of the raspberry crumble cake.  

The dinner menu will be on your seat.  It will have different items listed as well as an option that says you don’t want to be bothered.

Tip:  If you order your dinner online, you will have a couple “bonus” meals that you won’t be able to choose on the plane.

My husband ordered the beef, and  I ordered the cavatelli with duck ragut (one of the online exclusives). We were offered some bread, and could get a slice of a salted caramel cheesecake, fruit, or cheese for dessert. 

Getting settled in (which included the attendants putting the mattress covers on seats), having some drinks, and eating dinner took around two hours. 

Flight Itself
As soon as I finished my meal and they took my plate, I lowered the seat so that it became a bed, got comfortable with my pillow and blanket, and went to sleep for about 7 hours with no tossing or turning.

When I woke up there was about six hours remaining, so I turned on the TV and decided on a movie to watch.  There are a number of them to choose from – old, new, in multiple languages, etc.  One thing that I loved was that the TV was “in” the middle console, which meant I could reach it and not have to get up. 

With four hours remaining after the movie, I pulled out my headphones.  Apparently the music was a lullaby because two hours later the attendant woke me with a joyous “Merry Christmas”, and handed me my breakfast.

The final two hours consisted of eating breakfast, freshening up, and filling out customs paperwork.

Customs
When we got off the plane there were machines which you used to scan your passport and look into a camera for facial recognition.  There was nobody stamping passports.

The whole process (scanning of passport and clearing customs) took around 10 minutes.  Much easier and quicker than the process when we come back into the United States.

Before we knew it, we were off to find a taxi to take us to our hotel.

Overall Summary:
For me the 15 hour flight (in Business Class) was good – 4 hours for meals, 9 hours sleeping, and a movie.