Qantas' new A350 first class suites pair a separate seat and bed, but early photos suggest both may be cramped despite the spacious cabin layout.
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.
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) 😀
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!
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.
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.
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 wider seat, and no separate bed.
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.
Isn't the seat going to recline fully flat along the bed?! :O
Not a hot take. Qantas is overpriced and underwhelming in every class of service.
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“.
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.
They should have gone with the seat JAL used for their new first class.
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.
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/
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