Qantas has today unveiled new economy seats with larger entertainment screens that will feature across the airline’s Airbus A330s.
These aircraft will operate on international routes to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.
The upgrades will be rolled out across 10 A330-200 aircraft.
What will you find onboard?
- Installing the brand-new Economy seats that have been designed with extra customer comfort for Qantas’ Project Sunrise ultra-long-haul flights.
- 4K OLED 13.3” entertainment touchscreens for Economy with the latest generation user interface (20 per cent larger than the existing screen).
- USB-C fast charging and Bluetooth audio connectivity for Economy which allow users to use their own headphones.
- New mood lighting and the replacement of all curtains and carpets.
There will be no changes to the business class section.
Work on the first A330 is expected to start in mid-2025 in Qantas’ Brisbane maintenance facility with the first refurbished aircraft entering service by the end of the calendar year. The refurbishment program is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said the multi-million-dollar investment in existing A330s cabins would upgrade the experience for both passengers and crew as more new international aircraft progressively join the fleet over the coming years.
“We’ve used our fleet renewal program to completely rethink the inflight experience and these cabin upgrades mean we can bring next-generation features and designs to our existing aircraft,” said Mr Wallace.
“Customers can look forward to brand new Economy seats that have been specially created to maximise comfort and provide features that our customers want for international travel. They’re the same seats that will feature on our ultra-long haul A350-1000ULR aircraft, so it will be a preview of the Project Sunrise flying experience.”
WiFi rollout
Qantas has also started its international WiFi rollout across the A330 fleet. Fast and free Wi-Fi is expected to be available for Qantas flights on some routes in Asia on the WiFi enabled A330 aircraft from December this year.
Passengers on activated aircraft can already to connect W-Fi while flying over Australia to destinations such as Hong Kong, Delhi and Bengaluru.
The service will offer enough bandwidth for every passenger to enjoy a fast and consistent connection, similar to Qantas Domestic flights where the speed and reliability of inflight WiFi has driven average take-up rates of 75 per cent, with some routes showing up to 100 per cent uptake.
