Qantas Reveals New Business Class Seats
Joe Cortez October 22, 2014
New business class seats will begin rolling out on Qantas A330s in December, with system-wide availability by mid-2016.
Qantas flyers will soon have something new to look forward to when they take to the skies. The Australian flag carrier has revealed new business class seats for its Airbus A330 aircraft, which will begin to roll out in late December.
The seats are a variation of the Thompson Aero Seating Vantage XL, with special customizations built for Qantas. The new seats will offer generous room and power outlets for those who wish to stay productive at 30,000 feet. They are expected to be installed in a 1-2-1 format on all 28 of Qantas’s A330s, which fly both domestic routes and serve international destinations in Hawaii and Asia.
“A key point of difference from all other carriers is that the seat can be in recline and fitted with the mattress from takeoff right through to landing,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in the statement announcing the new seats. “With many business passengers enjoying a meal in the lounge prior to traveling, this means more time to rest and sleep.”
According to a report from FlightGlobal, the new seats are just one part of a cabin refresh for Qantas’ A330s. The internationally configured aircraft will also be fitted with brand new Recaro economy seats, and both domestic and international aircraft will be equipped with wireless streaming entertainment systems. The upgrades will begin in November at the carrier’s facility in Brisbane.
The first refreshed A330 will begin flying domestic routes by the end of December, and the first international A330 will be ready in the first quarter of 2015. The entire fleet is expected to complete refitting by the middle of 2016.
[Photo: Qantas]
