In May 2022, Qantas placed an order for 12 Airbus A350-1000s, which will mark an exciting new chapter for the airline. These planes will be used for “Project Sunrise” flights, whereby Qantas intends to fly nonstop from Sydney and Melbourne to New York and London starting in late 2025.
Qantas has now revealed further details about what we can expect from the cabins on these jets, including the overall configuration, and what the premium cabins will be like.
In this post:
Basics of Qantas Airbus A350-1000 layout
Qantas’ A350-1000s will feature just 238 seats, spread across four cabins, including first class, business class, premium economy, and economy. Qantas will have the fewest seats of any A350-1000 operator in the world. This very sparse configuration serves a couple of main purposes:
- In order for these flights to be profitable, Qantas will have to heavily focus on premium traffic, so having more premium seats makes it easier to maximize revenue
- Having fewer seats keeps the weight of the aircraft down, enabling these flights to be operated nonstop
As far as the general layout goes:
- First class will have a total of six seats, in a 1-1-1 configuration
- Business class will have a total of 52 seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration
- Premium economy will have a total of 40 seats, in a 2-4-2 configuration
- Economy will have a total of 140 seats, in a 3-3-3 configuration
Below I’ll be focusing on first & business class, since that’s what Qantas has revealed the most details about. However, what we do know about premium economy and economy is that:
- Premium economy will feature 40″ of pitch, and will be a different seat than Qantas currently has
- Economy will feature 33″ of pitch, 2″ more than the industry standard
Below is a video of the premium cabins of Qantas’ Airbus A350-1000s.
Qantas Airbus A350 first class suite
Qantas’ Airbus A350-1000s will each feature six first class suites, and will be a completely new product compared to what’s available on the Airbus A380. Here are some basic details of the new first class suites:
- First class suites will feature both a reclining armchair (22″ wide) and a separate bed (80″ long), similar to what you’d find in Singapore Airlines’ A380 Suites
- First class suites will have privacy doors and walls; you can expect that the walls will be 57″ tall, so they’re not floor-to-ceiling like in Emirates’ new 777 first class, but rather they’re more shoulder-height
- First class suites will feature plenty of storage, as you can place bags and belongings underneath the bed and ottoman, and there are also several storage compartments
- First class suites will feature a 32″ television with bluetooth audio, a personal wardrobe, and a mirror
- First class suites will feature tailored lighting, temperature, and humidification, for wellbeing
- First class suites will have multiple charging options, including AC power, USB-A, USB-C, and wireless
Below is some more information about the new first class suite, as well as some renderings.
This looks like a pretty solid product, and I can’t wait to see it in the flesh. Something tells me that this might be quite similar to Japan Airlines’ new A350 first class.
Qantas Airbus A350 business class seat
Qantas’ Airbus A350-1000s will each feature 52 business class seats, and will be a new product compared to what’s available on other jets. Here are some basic details of the new business class seats:
- Business class seats will be in a staggered configuration, with each suite being 42″ wide (that includes the seat and console to the side of it)
- Business class seats will feature 47″ high privacy walls and doors
- Business class seats will be 80″ long and 25″ wide when converted into a bed
- Business class seats will feature 18″ televisions with bluetooth audio
- Business class seats will have multiple charging options, including AC power, USB-A, USB-C, and wireless
- Business class seats will feature a personal storage compartment with mirror, a glove box, a work surface, and a cushioned ottoman
Below is some more information about the new business class seat, as well as some renderings.
This looks like a solid seat, though there’s nothing here that’s earth shattering or likely to wow, given the competition. Below is a video with a tour of the A350’s cabin.
Qantas Airbus A350 wellbeing zone
While Qantas’ A350 won’t feature a bar or showers, the plane will have what’s described as a wellbeing zone, which will be located between premium economy and economy. Presumably this will be open to all passengers. It’s not entirely clear what purpose this is supposed to serve, based on the renderings.
It seems that this is designed for people to be able to stretch or grab a drink or snack from a self-serve bar, but it doesn’t seem like there will be much to it beyond that. It doesn’t look like there’s room for yoga, or any other sort of activity.
What’s my initial impression of Qantas’ Airbus A350 wellbeing zone?
- Ultimately this seems more about keeping the weight of the A350 down than anything else
- The wellbeing zone is in an area where there’s an emergency exit, so I assume this will be in place of a galley, in an area where there couldn’t otherwise practically be seats
- I suspect this will ultimately be a nothingburger; it’s essentially a walk-up bar area, and there’s nothing in the rendering that suggests there will be more to it than that
- Even if there were some substance to this, realistically sharing such a zone with up to 237 other passengers limits how much value each passenger could get out of it
Qantas Airbus A350 fast & free Wi-Fi
Here’s another exciting development. Qantas will offer complimentary Viasat Wi-Fi to all passengers on the Airbus A350, as Viasat completes key satellite launches covering Qantas’ international network.
This is a huge development for the airline. Currently Qantas doesn’t have Wi-Fi on any long haul jets, so to go from no Wi-Fi to free high speed Wi-Fi is fantastic for customers. The other great news is that this same feature will eventually be available on all Qantas long haul jets, including the A330, A380, and 787.
Bottom line
Qantas has ordered 12 Airbus A350-1000s, which will be used to operate the world’s longest flights starting in late 2025. It’s pretty incredible to think that a nonstop New York to Sydney flight will become a reality.
The airline is continuing to reveal quite a few details about what we can expect from these jets. They’ll feature just 238 seats, making them the least dense A350-1000s in service. We can expect six first class seats, 52 business class seats with doors, a wellbeing zone, and free Wi-Fi throughout the plane.
This should be a pretty sweet ride. Too bad Qantas is so stingy when it comes to award availability.
What do you make of Qantas’ Airbus A350 first and business class?
No seats and decor can change the arrogance and racist behaviour of the ground and cabin crew of this airline.
Nothing overly exciting. Similar to other products.
All these comments about union-busting … makes me inclined to try this product. I hate hate hate and despise unions!
Question for anyone who has tried both (1) a seat and a separate bed, and (2) the more common seat that converts into a lie-flat bed. Which do you prefer and why? I don't see the point of (1) but presumably there is something that I'm not getting.
Yes - on SQ suites. I am a bad sleeper on planes. I would sleep for an hour then sit up and then do it all again. It worked for me - but I do get your point.
Tried it on the Lufthansa First Class on the 747-400 before they retire: https://onemileatatime.com/singapore-for-the-weekend-lufthansa-first-class-new-york-jfk-to-frankfurt/
The main advantage is that allows the usage of an actual mattress. That bed on the LH 747 was more comfortable than the convertible seats I've flown on LH, CX and JL.
It had been too long since I flown it to say if newer generations of First Class seats have closed the gap, however.
With the old LH 744 upstairs it was nice to not have the hassle of having the side bed made up, deal with all the bedding around your feet when you wake up and want to eat or relax.
But sleep wise prob not much difference.
Why on earth does that F seat next to the bed not go fully flat and make a huge surface to sleep on. Almost no difference between that and a solid reclining narrower first class seat. They may as well have gone for standard 1-2-1 the way they have designed it.
Two thoughts: 1) Nothing earth shattering here. F class seat and bed a la SQ, albeit with substantially less space. Only three seats? Why bother? 2) J class appears tight. The doors are a nice touch and if the seats are wider, then this is a plus. Again, nothing that doesn’t already exist.
As for the “well being” area. This is all about weight. There is nothing special about this “area” and as the...
Two thoughts: 1) Nothing earth shattering here. F class seat and bed a la SQ, albeit with substantially less space. Only three seats? Why bother? 2) J class appears tight. The doors are a nice touch and if the seats are wider, then this is a plus. Again, nothing that doesn’t already exist.
As for the “well being” area. This is all about weight. There is nothing special about this “area” and as the OP suggests, one area to be shared by 230+ passengers? Not ideal. Further, if this is to be incorporated into all the other A350s in the fleet, what are the economics of having this configuration on LAX-SYD where existing aircraft can operate it?
If an airline is going to have an aircraft that can do a 20+ hour mission, all that is required is to reduce seats. NZ operates a 787-9 JFK-AKL nonstop and while that is about 90 min shorter, they use a standard configuration 787-9 and just restrict payload. So if you are in Y class, they just block off the center seats and the passenger experience is better without having to beat the expense of a separate configuration. UA operated SFO-SIN with a 787-9 and do the same thing…
A 35X can fly farther than a 787-9 so I have to ask why QF doesn’t do the same? These lower density 35Xs will be hard to justify on missions of 15 hours or less where the higher capacity aircraft are required. If the goal is to use the 35Xs on all long haul routes, I wonder if this is going to bite QF down the line when they start rejecting demand…UA and NZ will love that.
“Only three seats? Why bother?”
There are six planned.
These will be a subset of the fleet specifically for the Australia to NYC and London routes, like American's a321Ts are only used for select routes.
How about paying back some of the $2.3billion in JobKeeper you dishonestly stole from the Australian taxpayer.
Great not! Alan to the rescue! Lower fares for everyone! Promise!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11777635/amp/Major-change-coming-Qantas-Australia-Alan-Joyce-promises-bring-airfares.html
Yeah, it’s The Daily Fail, do with it what you will.
Qantas just catching up to what most airlines were already offering in 2010.
Lipstick on a pig.
It’s offensive how short that F suite wall is. If I’m flying for 20 hours on First Class, I deserve my own damn sanctuary!
I’m back flying American in First as my last flights with QF were poor
Happy to use the Qantas FC lounge though at breakfast
Food and beverage once their strength with Neil Perry was poor both recent flights Syd to LAX
The cost cutting they implemented was severe
Hopefully they can improve as they once were my first choice
Sadly I must agree. Qantas hard product was always a little behind, but their soft product was great. I have flown them in all classes of service, and the experience is poor. That, combined with the fact they are significantly more expensive than some of the (superior) competition, makes them an unlikely choice for many. I hope the profit they just announced will enable them to bring back some of the aspects of service they have cut off.
i think this is the Safran Unity seats
All that beautiful union-busting by Alan Joyce really seems to have paid off in some next-level hard product innovation yielding something that Etihad and Singapore have already been doing for years. A seat and a bed! Wow!
Plus the remaining staff are so attuned to customer needs, this is bound to be…an experience of some sort.
Lipstick on a pig with employees that hate management and take it out on passengers. Hard pass.
This is very accurate
Nice layout with separate bed and seat. It would have been quite telling if a cabin crew member/model were standing against the partition in the First Class suite picture. My guess is the partition/door barely reaches the waist height of an average person (170cm). If I were seeking a greater sense of privacy, I think I'd be disappointed. But to each his own..
Yeah, I can't understand why they don't make them fully enclosed. Wouldn't be a cost ot weight factor. Mile high club fear factor?
Air circulation? I think fully enclosed means that the standard air vents that allow for proper circulation need to be changed.
Any word on the PE and Economy offerings? Will these Sunrise planes have extra legroom, or a “stretching station” like the 787s?
I want to sit by the window No need to pine after this first class
I wish they chose nicer finishes, at least for first class. It looks quite cheap with lots of plastic and very little personality.
I seriously doubt the ability to judge the quality of the finishes from a CGI rendering.
Industry standard, but I like the finishes.
I foresee that it's very unlikely that anyone will be getting award space in first on any Sunrise flights unless they're Qantas FF Platinum One or Chairman's Lounge, and even then they'll have to ask really nicely.
Joyce has made it clear that this is targeting the considerable number of people living in Sydney (and to a somewhat lesser extent, Melbourne) who will cough-up megabucks for these premium flights. I think it'll be a winner,...
I foresee that it's very unlikely that anyone will be getting award space in first on any Sunrise flights unless they're Qantas FF Platinum One or Chairman's Lounge, and even then they'll have to ask really nicely.
Joyce has made it clear that this is targeting the considerable number of people living in Sydney (and to a somewhat lesser extent, Melbourne) who will cough-up megabucks for these premium flights. I think it'll be a winner, but I can't see them releasing any reward space in F.
The new service might free-up a few big chairs at the front of the 388s, though.
Agreed. This product doesn't launch for several years and very few people will have the opportunity to ever fly it.
Personally a non-stop from MEL to LHR would be useful if it provided a tangible time benefit over the one-stop service via Perth. We'd be in second class though, not first
Is there any practical reason why none of these new First class seats can fold down completely flat, so that it's levelled with the permanently flat portion and form a much wider bed?
I don't see any reason why I would prefer a narrow seat and a narrow bed over a wide seat/bed.
I'm sure they've done focus groups and product trials with their most frequent F customers prior to making a decision. If the customers who are earning 10K+ status credits flying Qantas F every year like them, they're a winner.
Maybe reducing overall weight by not having a heavy seat reclining mechanism?