Qantas reveals new premium economy seat

Today Qantas has revealed its next generation Premium Economy seat, which will debut on the airline’s fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from October.

Wider and with more functional space overall, the new seat has a unique recline motion that provides a class-leading level of comfort.

When the rear of the seat reclines, several sections shift to support your body as you move into a more relaxing position.

Other key features of Premium Economy on the Qantas Dreamliner include:

• A separate cabin of 28 seats, configured in a two-three-two layout to improve aisle access for middle passengers.
• A seat that is almost 10 per cent wider than Qantas’ existing Premium Economy (and as wide as Business Class on other airlines) as well as increased recline.
• An ergonomically designed headrest that can be fitted with a specially designed pillow and a re-engineered footrest that significantly increases comfort when reclining.
• High-definition Panasonic inflight entertainment seatback screens that are 25 per cent larger.
• Five individual storage compartments 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 Group CEO Alan Joyce unveiled the seat to employees and media at the airline’s Sydney headquarters.

“The Qantas Dreamliner will by flying some of the longest routes in the world, including non-stop from Perth to London, so we’ve focused on making each cabin the most comfortable in its class,” said Mr Joyce.

“Our Business Suite has been dubbed ‘mini First Class’ by some of our Frequent Flyers and our Economy seat for the Dreamliner has features that some reserve for Premium Economy.

“This new Premium Economy seat has serious wow factor. You have to experience how well it supports you when you recline to realise it’s completely different from anything else in its class.

“When you combine these seats with the increased cabin humidity and turbulence reducing technology on the Dreamliner, it makes it an aircraft customers will really enjoy flying on,” said Mr Joyce.

The new Premium Economy seat is based on a prototype by Thompson Aero Seating and heavily customised by leading Australian industrial designer David Caon.

“Developing a new seat comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities. Working with Thompson and Qantas, I think we’ve created a new standard for Premium Economy,” Mr Caon said.

“We’ve made sure this seat offers genuine comfort through design elements not seen before on aircraft. There are a number of new bespoke design elements that we hope will really set the benchmark for this class.”

Qantas introduced Premium Economy with its A380 aircraft in 2008 and later rolled it out onto the Boeing 747. Qantas will assess updating existing Premium Economy cabins in-line with its fleet planning and product cycles.

The Qantas Dreamliner will seat 236 passengers across Business, Premium Economy and Economy – a seat density that is significantly lower than many of its competitors.

The first of eight Dreamliners will be delivered in October this year with Qantas’ first international 787 services will take flight in December between Melbourne and Los Angeles. Flights between Perth and London, which will directly link Australia and Europe for the first time, begin in March 2018.

23 February 2017

Photos: copyright © Qantas