Qantas has announced plans to update the cabins of some of its Airbus A330s. The changes are more evolutionary than revolutionary, and largely center around economy, but it’s still good to see this investment.
10 Qantas A330-200s getting cabin investments
Qantas has unveiled plans to invest millions of dollars to upgrade the cabins of 10 Airbus A330-200 aircraft. This represents a portion of the carrier’s A330 fleet, as the airline has a total of 26 A330s, between the -200 and -300 variant.
Specifically, the planes being upgraded are those that primarily operate international flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo. So, what’s changing about Qantas cabins on these A330s?
- The planes will be getting new economy seats, which are identical to the seats that will be found on Qantas’ Project Sunrise flights in the future
- Economy seats will get 13.3″ 4K OLED entertainment screens with the latest generation user interface; these screens are 20% larger than the existing screens
- Economy will get USB-C fast charging and bluetooth audio connectivity, allowing travelers to watch entertainment with their own headphones
Other elements of the A330 cabin upgrade program include new mood lighting and the replacement of all curtains and carpets.
The carrier’s existing business class product will continue to be offered, as the airline claims it received positive feedback from customers on those seats, and they’re the same ones found on A380s and 787s. That’s fair enough, since there aren’t substantially better A330 business class seats out there, given the fuselage width.
What’s interesting is that it sounds like economy might offer bluetooth audio, while business class might not? That has to be a first…
Qantas has also started its international Wi-Fi rollout on the A330 fleet, whereby the airline is offering fast and free Wi-Fi. This is expected to be available for Qantas flights on some routes to Asia as of late 2024.
Here’s how Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace describes these investments:
“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. 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.”
When will Qantas reconfigure Airbus A330s?
Qantas’ plan is to start reconfiguring Airbus A330-200s around the middle of 2025, in the oneworld carrier’s maintenance facility in Brisbane. The expectation is that the first refurbished aircraft will enter service before the end of 2025, and then all 10 A330s should be reconfigured by the end of 2026 (it’s normal for the first jet to take longer to be reconfigured than subsequent ones).
Qantas’ plan is to keep these refurbished A330s in the fleet until the end of the carrier’s current fleet replacement program. For context, in addition to the Project Sunrise Airbus A350s, the airline has an additional 12 Airbus A350s and 12 Boeing 787s on order, which will be delivered starting in 2027, and well into the 2030s. So that means you can expect these refurbished A330s to be flying well in 2030 and beyond.
Bottom line
Qantas has announced plans to invest in its Airbus A330 fleet, as the airline will be introducing new interiors on 10 of these jets. Specifically, the airline will be introducing all-new economy seats, including new entertainment monitors. These are expected to be used for the carrier’s most premium routes to Asia, and will allow them to be flown until Qantas’ fleet renewal process is complete.
What do you make of Qantas’ plans to retrofit A330s?
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