We had used our points to fly business class from Hobart to Alice Springs and this was first sector. It left at 605am and we had a yummy breakfast with 2 choices. I opted for the eggs and bacon which were great. Pleasant staff and arrived slightly early.

I'm writing to share a distressing experience my family and I had with Qantas Airlines, specifically with Ms. Meenakshi Singh and Mr. Karl at the check-in counter. Despite paying for excess baggage, we were forced to stand for three hours and were not allowed to board our 6 am flight until the last five minutes due to a system error that failed to confirm our payment, despite our phone records showing the payment had been made to Qantas.

We were subjected to mental harassment and torture, and to make matters worse, one of our bags was removed from check-in and we were told to leave it behind, with the threat that Qantas would dispose of it if it wasn't collected by 10 am. The staff, particularly Ms. Meenakshi Singh, showed no empathy or understanding.

Thanks to the helpful staff at JW Marriott Auckland, our bag was eventually retrieved. However, I had to pay an additional $700 NZD to have it shipped to India via cargo. Qantas Airlines has been unresponsive to my emails and has ignored my requests to transfer the bag from Auckland to India.

This experience has been the most horrible I've had in my 28-country travels.

Worst flight of the trip and I travelled on Finnair, Lufthansa, ANA and Croatia airlines. Qantas had the least baggage allowance than any other airline I used, even though I am a member with Qantas. Only 10kg more than economy class ticket but with a price tag 3 times more than an economy class ticket. Every other airline offered 20-30kg more for business class. Excessive baggage costs, 5 times more than sending through postal service. Service terrible on the plane, staff inconsistent with service, quite abrupt and indifferent. Definitely expected better service in business class.

Qantas has been turned into an ultra-low cost airline for premium prices and a cardboard box of 'food' thrown onto the tray tables, being such a long flight and at night we were given a free miniature bottle of red 'wine' - tasted more similar to a petroleum product than red wine though. Internet onboard was ok but televisions were of low quality, resolution was below that of SD quality and whilst initially it appears to contain plenty of content, most movies and shows are only available via their streaming service to your phone rather than the seat back television which seems very odd. Crew were 'elderly' and really quite unpleasant to the economy passengers, I guess their seniority gets them a couple of nights in the sun mid winter.

Check-in at Qantas business counter was quick and efficient and then via security and immigration and up to the Manaia Lounge airside. Qantas does not have its own lounge at Christchurch International Airport The Manaia lounge was comparable to a Qantas Club Lounge in Australia

Boarding at the gate was relatively on time and the new boarding procedures in place with passengers with mobility issues and young families boarding first along with Business Class and those with Gold or higher status and equivalent One World status. The plane was then boarded in zones from the rear of economy to the front.

This does not appear to be working well when boarding aircraft through the front aircraft door only with passengers queued halfway back up the aero bridge.

The aircraft cabin has 12 business class in 2 x 2 configuration at the front and remaining rows all economy in 3 x 3 configuration.

The seat back in economy have the usual entertainment screen with movies, tv shows, music podcasts and flight map. Sufficient legroom for passengers of average height but for those that need extra legroom an additional payment for an exit row seat might be worth purchasing.

The seats are comfortable enough for the roughly 3hr 30 min flight back to Brisbane.

Meal service offering two choices commenced shortly after leveling out at cruising altitude. I chose the chicken pasta with carrots and beans with a choice of beverages either alcohol , soft drinks or water. Tea and coffee service followed the meal service and Kit Kat also offered.

Overall a good flight on full service airline with staff happy to provide service and additional drinks when requested. The flight arrived on time into Brisbane.

Qantas is currently awaiting delivery of new Airbus aircraft over the coming years that will eventually see all the Boeing 737 aircraft replaced, that are currently used domestically and for short haul pacific flights.