Qantas will soon be launching service with its new Airbus A350-1000ULRs, which will offer all-new seats across cabins. Given that these planes will be used to operate the world’s longest flights (from Sydney to London and New York), there’s obviously a big emphasis on comfort.
However, the more I look at the carrier’s new first class, the more I wonder if they kind of got it all wrong. I’m curious if I’m alone in feeling this way.
Qantas’ new A350 first class suite with seat & bed
Qantas will be introducing new first class suites on its Airbus A350-1000ULRs. The planes will have six first class suites, spread across two rows, in a 1-1-1 configuration. That’s of course an incredibly spacious layout, and should allow for an amazing product.
The airline has opted to give each passenger a little cabin, with both a flat bed and a separate seat. In theory, that’s of course a nice luxury to have, and we’ve known for years that these cabins were coming. However, the airline has increasingly released real pictures of mockups of the new seats (rather than just renderings), and I can’t help but think that the product might be lacking a bit on the comfort front.
Having a separate bed and seat sounds super cool, but the issue is that it comes at an opportunity cost. Based on looking at the mockup of Qantas’ new first class suite, am I the only one who thinks that both the seat and bed look super tight, especially with the high walls around them? Take a look at the pictures below…
Officially, this suite features a reclining seat that’s 22″ wide, a bed that’s 80″ long, and 57″ walls. It’s not clear to me how wide the bed is, especially when you consider the armrest between the bed and the seat, as it doesn’t look like there’s any way to move that, best I can tell? The bed basically looks as wide as one not particularly large pillow.
And before anyone attacks me for daring to suggest a first class doesn’t look amazing, let me of course add that I’m sure it’ll be extremely comfortable compared to any other cabin. But ultimately first class is very competitive, airlines keep one-upping themselves, and I’m not sure if this product represents a step forward.
This new first class suite seems like the worst of both worlds?
Qantas’ new Airbus A350s will operate the world’s longest flights, so when travelers are booking 18-21 hour nonstop journeys, getting good sleep is of course a priority.
I understand the theoretical appeal of having a first class suite with a separate seat and bed. The issue is that airlines are only willing to dedicate so much real estate to each first class suite, and this just strikes me as not actually focusing on the right things.
That first class seat looks quite narrow, especially with the wall right next to it. Meanwhile the bed’s width is what I find to be most concerning.
Of course Qantas isn’t the first airline to pursue a concept like this. For example, while Etihad’s A380 first class is mighty impressive, the bed isn’t actually that comfortable. It’s wild to me to dedicate so much space to each passenger, only to have a bed that’s average comfort, at best.
A similar thing is true in Singapore Airlines’ A380 Suites. The first class suites are absolutely huge, but then there’s only a fairly small bed that folds out of the wall.
Personally, I think Japan Airlines’ A350 first class is a much better utilization of space, and it’s a pretty direct comparison, given that it’s on the same plane type, also with a 1-1-1 configuration.
Even though Air France’s 777 first class has a combination of a bed and a seat, it’s ultimately a more spacious product, since the bed and seat are across from one another.
Anyway, that’s just my take… am I the only one who feels that way? Obviously I hope to experience the product firsthand once it actually launches, and I’ll reserve my final judgment until then. But I do think this makes for an interesting discussion, as I thought the renderings made it look a bit more spacious than the actual mockups.
Bottom line
In 2027, Qantas will debut its new Airbus A350-1000ULRs, featuring new seats across cabins. These planes will be used for the world’s longest flights, so comfort is a huge priority. These planes will have six first class suites, each featuring a seat and bed.
When you look at the evolution of first class, I can’t help but think that this product just doesn’t look terribly comfortable, and looks rather tight. When you have a limited amount of space, I feel like it would be much better to have a spacious seating area that doubles as a massive bed, as that will actually contribute to the most comfort.
What are your impressions of Qantas’ new A350 first class?
As lovely as the suite looks, the bed does look on the skinny side. I did find a side-view picture on another website. The armrest does not move, and the top seems to flip up with a remote control inside, as with past seats. The side-view picture made the bed look even skinnier than in your write-up.
If there's anything I would expect from a first class cabin on a 20 hour flight, it is flexibility.
Judging by the pictures, yes, it does look tight, and I don't particularly like that side-by-side layout.
Having flown the JAL A350 first class, I must say that the hardware is excellent for both lounging and sleeping, plus, it features tons of storage space. If I can pick, I'd go for the JAL seat any day over this.
Has no one yet weighed in on economy class, a flight of 20 hours?? Singapore at least only does premium economy. Explains the difference between a 5 star airline and 4 star one.
Huh?
First, Singapore launched its JFK nonstop with a standard A350-900 and sold regular economy class on it for months, before switching to a -900ULR.
Second, Singapore still sells regular economy on both of its LAX nonstops, whose westbound segments can be 17.5 hrs in the winter, only an hour shorter than its all-eastbound NYC nonstops.
The problem is I never sleep and eat/work at the same time. Quantas thinks you will be alternating between work and sleep many times.
Nobody can sleep and eat or work at the same time.
You need to be awake to do that.
Quantas (sic) thinks most people normally don't eat and work in their own bed.
QF's PR photos do look very enticing, but now that you mention it Ben I think that they do actually look rather tight for a 20 hour haul. And relying on 2 tired engines is another story...
"And relying on 2 tired engines is another story."
What are you even talking about?
This looks very tight and I think they (QF) could have done MUCH better.
Another issue with Project Sunrise is that unlike SQ, they have a coach cabin that is also tight. Why not Bix and Premium Y ONLY ... like SQ ? This is WAY too long a journey for a standard coach / economy section.
SQ isn't neglecting Y out of the kindness of their hearts. They'd include Y if they could
One day this guy will write something that fully praises qantas. You look at a picture and make judgement. And to the guy who wrote that we cant wait for the review. Yes we can wait. No matter how good the product might be, he find negativity because its qantas. He is so biased.
BTW have you written about the skytrax awards? No? Because you think your reviews are superior? What a joke.
What's there to write about the Skytrax awards? Qantas finished behind Korean and EVA ?
I , personally, find being able to change my seating position often to be the main advantage in biz class. But I have a bad back
Yes, you’ve nailed it in one and this is exactly why I hated Etihad Apartments. You get a seat which doesn’t recline properly and a bed that is both too firm and too narrow so they can both fit - but hey, it looks good when you post it on social media with the caption ‘a seat AND a bed on a flight, this is FIRST CLASS!’ so who cares, right?
The JAL / AF / Emirates Gamechanger model is much better and exactly why these remain the best first class seats.
We're all eagerly awaiting Ben's review!
flew ba A380 sfo to london and back - - botton half of bed is a seperate fold down w/ large gap that requires you to get up and fold it up to let people walk thru the aisle - horrible flight horrible business class and will never fly ba ever again
Bit silly to discount all BA long haul because of the outdated A380 seats. Club Suites on their other planes is great.
Agreed. 787 was fine compared to 380
The seat half better lie flat as well otherwise that bed is probably narrower than business class.
Agree, Qantas' new F suite if just an inferior version of JAL A350 First class. The setup is pretty much the same, just smaller.
Also, you pictures are mislabeled in this article. Your captions read "Singapore Airlines Airbus A350 first class bed" when it should read "Japan Airlines Airbus A350 first class bed"
Same seat/bed as JAL...incredibly comfortable.
Going back to the concept that Lufthansa had on the 747s.... It does make alot of sense for the 20hr+ treks that this plane will be making.
You're up eating and boozing, then you want to nap or sleep. Not need to adjust the seat to bed position.
Might be narrow but it does the trick. This is what LH should have done with the middle suite on the A350. Let's see how this pans out on the A350-1000 in a few weeks.
Give me a narrow seat and a wider bed.
This feels like a lot of tradeoffs to achieve an F cabin that is very lightweight. My biggest concern looking at it is not necessarily the width but whether the padding is sufficient anywhere. The chair looks like an uncomfortable office chair from the 1990s.
Somehow the width of the suite appears narrower than that of JAL's first class. Aren't they both on the same aircraft type ?
But its QF First class. If the current first class is anything to go by, its meant to provide a subpar experience. Enjoy the tacos and Johnie Walker Green Label whisky.
yeah it looks awful. zero chance a guy with even remotely broad shoulders is fitting in that bed
Didn’t Lufthansa used to have this type of configuration with a bed and seat on their 747-400s and 747-8s’ upper decks? I feel like I recall you reviewing it many years ago.
They did, and then they got rid of it.
You can’t use a bed and a seat simultaneously if they’re separated so I really don’t know why they would do this… I blame Singapore Airlines which while having a very cushy Suite class, is also the most impractical one. Not to mention the compulsory awkward staring right at the guy across from you during taxi, take off, and landing. Have zero clue why people love this airline but it’s honestly one of the worst of the leading 5* airlines post-2012.
If seems to me that if Singapore had designed their suites in their a380's the same way as QF is for their a350-1000's, they could make this concept work much better in the 1-1 configuration they are in, as both the seat and the bed could be much wider in the Singapore s380's versus the QF a350-1000's, I would think.
"Not to mention the compulsory awkward staring right at the guy across from you during taxi, take off, and landing."
No. During taxi, takeoff, and landing, one faces *forward* in SQ Suites, not the person across the aisle.
AND SQ now keeps the doors closed during meal service, so one never has to face the person across the aisle unless the suite occupants like staring at each other, like if Natalie Harp were in Suite 1A, and the fat orange Nazi were in 1F, one of the Kardashians was in Suite 3A, and a mirror was occupying Suite 3F.
QF should have done what AF did, and designed the beds to have the head at the front of the suite, and the feet aft, next to the chair. The upper body always needs more room than the feet.
I hate to say it but I agree. I’m not a fan of the separate seat and bed where it means both are narrow. I haven’t flown AF new La Premiere yet but the seat just seems small.
I also wonder why the monitor is so small with these seats. Surely they could have had an ultra-wide monitor like JL?
And, it looks like if those of us shorter than 80" try to move down the bed to avoid the narrowing at the top, the "bed belt" ends up in a lousy position.
Although the bed and seat look a bit narrow, they look narrow on Etihad and Singapore too. I do like the separate bed concept. Sleeping on a seat where people have their butts, fart and sweat doesn't seem first class imo yet people do it everyday. Coupled with the fact that those seats are rarely cleaned between passengers.
@ Alonzo -- Hah, to each their own, but a) there's a mattress pad, which should address that and b) do people not fart and sweat in the beds, or how does that only happen in the seats?
These aircraft will be used on the ULH flights to London and NYC, but also on shorter flights?
On the longer flights, I can understand the advantage of having both a seat and a bed that you can hop between. Although I think it would be better if the armrest between the seat and the bed could be lowered.
But I do think this configuration will be sub optimal on the standard LH flights. I presume they will be used for destinations such as HKG / HND / NRT.
@ David -- The first six will be used primarily for Project Sunrise flights, while the others will be used to eventually replace some of Qantas' most premium ultra long haul routes, so don't be surprised to eventually see these planes flying to DFW, LAX, etc. Maybe they'll sometimes fly to AKL between longer turns, but don't expect much of that service, aside from initial crew familiarization.
I thought, by the 2030s, QF said it plans to have just the 35K and 787 for wide-body, long-haul. *teary-eyed, waving goodbye at a380, a330*
QF medium-haul going to be more of a a321XLR-strategy with lie-flat up-front, expected to enter service starting 2028 (they are starting with mere recliners on BNE-MNL in 2027.)
Qantas A350 = first class for ants!
Looks a bit like a medical facility or a middle school nurse’s room.
I liked the previous generations of first class suites – just a huge seat that doubled as the bed, a giant monitor, and maybe some doors. OZ, EK, TG, LH, SQ and so on
Lufthansa used to have similar seating on their b744
I think Ben did review before
https://onemileatatime.com/review-lufthansa-first-class-747-400-vancouver-frankfurt/
Doesn't look too bad with 1-1-1 arrangement. Air France is 1-2-1 with seat and bed overlapping. What about when you close the curtain in AF - does the curtain bow out? The bed is likely longer on QF - the AF bed might be too short for taller people. QF gives you full leg room. On some of the others - you can't extend you legs out like Etihad. I would take the full leg room and longer bed that QF has.
@ Randy -- The Air France bed is 79" long, so it's one inch shorter. I think that should be plenty big for 99.999% of passengers.
"What about when you close the curtain in AF - does the curtain bow out?"
On the new AF LP, it does not bow out, but it does move out a bit when a FA walks by somewhat briskly - it's the air wake that causes that to happen. It's something visible, but not *too* distracting or anything, and only noticeable (for me) in bed mode while I'm awake watching TV.
They should have gone with the seat JAL used for their new first class.
I’m assuming the bed is made when you board. Weird to sit next to that the entire flight when you’re not sleeping. Nightmare if you spill your drink or food onto it, which will be all too common. QF F gets an F.
The concept also reminds me of Lufthansa’s old 747-400 First Class, where each passenger had a separate seat and permanent bed. That always looked wonderfully indulgent, but Lufthansa ultimately moved away from it. I’m curious whether Qantas has perfected the idea, or rediscovered why dedicating space to two pieces of furniture can leave neither quite as generous as you’d expect. For such a flight I suspect you are correct that the JAL A350 first class...
The concept also reminds me of Lufthansa’s old 747-400 First Class, where each passenger had a separate seat and permanent bed. That always looked wonderfully indulgent, but Lufthansa ultimately moved away from it. I’m curious whether Qantas has perfected the idea, or rediscovered why dedicating space to two pieces of furniture can leave neither quite as generous as you’d expect. For such a flight I suspect you are correct that the JAL A350 first class concept would work far better than this seat/bed concept, especially with the high walls which look like they are creating a claustrophobic sensation rather than a “room“.
Not a hot take. Qantas is overpriced and underwhelming in every class of service.
AMEN!!!!!
Isn't the seat going to recline fully flat along the bed?! :O
This is what I thought also. If you fully recline the seat, it will be a good sized bed.
For this uniquely long route, the best comparison is SQ’s A359ULR, which didn’t opt for First or Economy, just Business and Premium (recliners).
QF’s 4-class 35K will have these first suites, business (lie-flat), premium (recliners), and regular economy (talk about grueling, even in the extra legroom seats) for 20+ hours.
At 22 inches, that first class chair is narrower than business class seats (25 inches wide), but those don’t get a separate bed...
For this uniquely long route, the best comparison is SQ’s A359ULR, which didn’t opt for First or Economy, just Business and Premium (recliners).
QF’s 4-class 35K will have these first suites, business (lie-flat), premium (recliners), and regular economy (talk about grueling, even in the extra legroom seats) for 20+ hours.
At 22 inches, that first class chair is narrower than business class seats (25 inches wide), but those don’t get a separate bed (and are 1-2-1 vs. 1-1-1).
Is it better than QF First on a380? I recall Ben (and his dad) reviewed it in 2025; that product seems far less private, even if a much wider seat (29 inches), and no separate bed.
But QF is reportedly retiring its a380s by 2030. Then, for long-haul, it’ll be just QF’s 787 with J, or these 35K with F.
Regardless of seat or bed width, the additional privacy and comfort of this first class suite would be a real treat, compared to any other option on-board.
Could QF have copied ME carriers or JL/NH? Yeah, but, I kinda like that they’re trying their own thing, here. Guess we’ll have to wait until at least mid-2028 to find out for sure.
SQ is planning on retrofitting some of the A350-900 ULRs with a first class (four seats in a 1-2-1 config., no confirmed introduction date yet), so at some point (sooner than later, one hopes) we'll be seeing those on the SIN-JFK/EWR flights.
22 inches of width is only 4 inches more than Singapore economy, so yes definitely tight. The fact that they boast about the length of the bed without mentioning the width does indeed suggest it's not impressive and they hope you won't notice!
22 inches is actually a fairly generous seat size for F. BA's first class seats on the a380 and the 777 are 22". Emirates A380 F seat is 23", and it reclines into a bed. Any wider, unless you are very large of course, and it starts to become less ergonomic - you have to splay your arms out to reach the armrest!
I am certain Qantas will make a big announcement closer to launch that the first class seat lays completely flat and they will have a huge mattress pad to create the biggest (or nearly?) bed in the sky. I could be wrong but knowing QF they've kept a few aspects of the onboard product secret in order to grab headlines down the track.
@ JK -- Yeah, there's absolutely no way that the seat would become part of the bed, that's just not how this product is designed. The airline even explicitly states it's a reclining seat, and not a bed.
But why cant the seat be reclined fully with a mattress pad over the top? All you would need to do it lower one armrest? Surely the product isn't that inflexible?
@ chris w -- I didn't design the seat, so I can't speak as to why. :p But Qantas is explicit that it's simply a reclining armchair, and if it actually did become part of the bed, the airline would've certainly revealed that by now.
That seat must lay flat to make the bed bigger? Otherwise this will be the worst F failure in a long time 😁
Too bad Qantas didn't hire you to design the new seat, @Ben. Otherwise they would have a good product now, instead of a partially reclining 'F' seat and a flat surface next to it (Btw, LH called and want them back for Allegris FOX 2) :D
Fair call. With a proper mattress pad, any reclined seat can be turned into a proper bed. You wonder why they didn't go with a wide seat to a wide bed, not the narrow seat and narrow bed.