Qantas to Upgrade its A380 Cabins

August 31, 2017

Airlines & Airports 0

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Qantas will carry out a multi-million-dollar cabin upgrade for its fleet of 12 Airbus A380 SuperJumbos to improve passenger comfort on long-haul flights.

This upgrade will see a change in the seat mix on the superjumbos to meet increased customer demand for premium cabins on flights to the US, Europe, and Asia.

Structural changes include the removal of 30 Economy seats and some partitions, as well as rearrangement of a crew workstation for more effective use of space. This allows for an additional six Business Class and 25 Premium Economy seats, increasing the overall seat count on the aircraft by one and increasing premium seating by 27 percent.

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Other key elements of the A380 refurbishment programme include replacing Business Class Skybeds with the latest version of Qantas’ Business Suites, dubbed ‘mini First Class’ by frequent flyers; installing the airline’s all-new Premium Economy seat in a 2-3-2 configuration; reconfiguring the front of the A380’s upper deck to redesign the passenger lounge for more room for First and Business Class customers to dine and relax; enhancing First Class with fully refurbished suite, contoured cushioning and a larger, higher resolution entertainment screen; and updating Economy with new seat cushions and improved inflight entertainment.

Work on the first A380 is expected to begin in the second quarter of calendar year 2019. All 12 aircraft will be upgraded by the end of 2020. Some elements of the upgrade will be rolled out later this year, including a memory foam mattress and pillow menu in First Class.

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“We’re seeing increased demand for Premium Economy and Business Class on the long-haul routes that the A380 operates, including from people using their Qantas points to upgrade,” says Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce. “Working with Airbus we’ve been able to achieve a very efficient layout on the upper deck. Using this space to increase the proportion of premium seating improves the revenue potential and the overall economics of the aircraft.”

The capacity of Qantas A380s after the upgrade will be 14 First Suites, 70 Business Suites, 60 Premium Economy, and 341 Economy for a total of 485 passengers.