SYDNEY, 2 October 2019: The first of Qantas’ upgraded A380s welcomed its first passengers Monday, delivering a new level of comfort for customers travelling on the national carrier’s largest aircraft.
The multimillion-dollar upgrade of 12 aircraft includes new seating across expanded business and premium economy cabins and a refresh of the aircraft’s first and economy seating. The onboard lounge has also been redesigned.
Smarter use of space has created an all premium class upper deck (now occupied by business and premium economy) and an expanded onboard lounge. There are now 30 fewer economy seats and a 27% increase in premium seating.
Upgrade highlights
The introduction of the Qantas Business Suite, replacing the previous Skybeds, in a 1:2:1 configuration that now gives aisle access to every passenger.
The installation of the new premium economy seat (first debuted on the Qantas Dreamliner) increases seats from 35 to 60.
A larger onboard lounge space seats 10 passengers in business and first-class.
14 first-class suites have new contoured cushioning, seat finishes and a larger, higher resolution entertainment screen.
The first reconfigured aircraft, VH-OQK, will operate as QF2 from London to Sydney via Singapore, arriving in Australia Wednesday 2 October.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the mid-life upgrade of the A380 would ensure its status as one of the most popular aircraft with customers.
“The A380 is a crucial part of our long-haul fleet, and this upgrade program will see customers enjoy everything the aircraft has to offer for years to come,” said Joyce.
“It also provides an increase in business and premium economy seating to help match the demand we see on our long-haul routes.
“By the end of this upgrade, we’ll have next-generation seating across our entire long-haul fleet of A380s, A330s and 787s.”
A further two A380 aircraft are expected to undergo refurbishment before the end of 2019. Each aircraft takes approximately eight weeks to upgrade.
The A380s after the upgrade will have14 first suites (unchanged), 70 business suites (up by six), 60 premium economy (up by 25) and 341 economy seats (down by 30) for 485 passengers (up by one).
Qantas expects to complete the refurbishment of the remaining 11 aircraft by the end of 2020.
