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Qantas has today unveiled its new premium economy seat which is due to operate on Qantas’ non-stop Boeing 787-900 flights between London Heathrow and Perth from March 2018.
At the time Qantas announced the launch of non-stop flights between London and Perth it kept details of its premium economy seats under wraps, whilst hailing it as revolutionary. Today Qantas has unveiled the seat and some aspects of the premium economy cabin design.
The seat is based on a design by Thomson Aero Seating with customised features by Australian designer David Caon.
Qantas claims the key differentiator is the recline mechanism of the seat. Qantas say that when a passenger reclines the seat, different parts of the seat automatically shift to support the whole of the passenger’s body.
Key features of the seat and cabin also include:
- A separate cabin of 28 seats, configured in a two-three-two layout.
- A seat that is up to 22.8 inches wide and is almost 10% wider than Qantas’ existing Premium Economy seat as well as increased recline.
- A 38 inch seat pitch.
- “Privacy wings” that also feature an individual night light.
- An ergonomically designed headrest that can be fitted with a specially designed pillow and a re-engineered footrest that significantly increases comfort when reclining.
- A high-definition Panasonic inflight entertainment system with seat back screens that are 25% larger.
- Five individual storage compartments such as dedicated water bottle storage and two USB charging points per seat, as well as shared AC power and a personal LED light designed to minimise disturbance of other passengers.
Qantas has not unveiled any further information regarding the premium economy cabin, such as the design of soft furnishings and any additional amenities such as walk-up bars. Qantas has indicated in previous media interviews that, for flights between London and Perth, it is reviewing the complete design of the in flight service such as the timing of meals.
Qantas has also not confirmed whether the new premium economy seat will be fitted to Airbus A380 aircraft.
It’s obviously hard to judge a seat without seeing it in person, let alone experiencing it on a flight. However, initial impressions are that we particularly like the privacy wings. We’re also interested to see other aspects of the cabin and how Qantas designs the in flight service for such a long flight.
Flights between London and Perth will go on sale next month.
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