Qantas has announced plans to “upgrade” the cabins of its Boeing 737s, though it’s not all good news…
In this post:
Qantas updating Boeing 737 cabins as of 2027
Qantas will introduce new interiors on many of its Boeing 737s — the carrier currently flies 75 Boeing 737-800s, and 42 of those are expected to receive a full cabin overhaul. With this overhaul, we’ll see:
- New business class seats
- New economy class seats
- New, larger overhead bins, which can accommodate up to 50% more bags
- A full cabin refresh with new carpets, sidewalls, and mood lighting
- The aircraft will continue to feature fast and free Wi-Fi
Even though these planes are an average of nearly 17 years old, Qantas is promising the interiors to deliver an “as-new” cabin experience. The intent is that the interiors will be very similar to those on the Airbus A321XLRs that the airline will soon start taking delivery of.
Now, there’s one major downside to this project, which is glossed over in the announcement. Currently, many Qantas 737s have seat back television throughout the plane. As these planes are reconfigured, personal televisions will be eliminated, in favor of streaming entertainment, and fast and free Wi-Fi.
Here’s how Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson describes this investment:
“Investing in our fleet is one of the most significant ways that we can transform the flying experience for our customers and make sure we’re consistently delivering a great journey. As we bring more new aircraft into our fleet, we are also making our existing aircraft look and feel like new.
“Previous cabin upgrade programs have delivered great outcomes for our customers, and allowed us to bring next generation designs and technologies to current fleet that reflect how our customers want to travel. This investment in cabins will also support our people who are dedicated to providing the best inflight experience to our customers.”
When will Qantas reconfigure its Boeing 737s?
The major catch with Qantas’ Boeing 737 project is that we’ll have to be patient. The first reconfigured plane is only expected to enter service in early 2027, around two years from now, and that’s the best case scenario.
Given that these planes are an average of nearly 17 years old, some might be wondering how much longer they’ll be sticking around. Qantas states that 737s are expected to leave the fleet toward the end of the current fleet renewal program, which would be in roughly a decade.
With Qantas having taken delivery of 737s between 2002 and 2018, it’s going to be interesting to see which planes will be reconfigured. My guess would be that the 42 newest aircraft will be reconfigured, since those are most likely to stick around for another decade, or so.
Meanwhile I’d expect that the 33 oldest aircraft are likely to be retired ahead of the completion of the fleet renewal, with those planes having been delivered in 2002-2006.
Bottom line
Qantas has announced plans to introduce new interiors on a majority of its Boeing 737s. The first plane should be reconfigured in early 2027, and the idea is to bring the aircraft interiors up to the same standard as the latest generation aircraft the airline is taking delivery of.
While travelers will no doubt appreciate new seats and overhead bins, the catch is that seat back televisions are being eliminated, since that’s not something that Qantas is offering on its new narrow body aircraft.
What do you make of Qantas’ Boeing 737 fleet plans?
I've flown on quite a few QF domestic flights. Never once has the GAs had to offer gate checking. I've never seen a bag be removed from the cabin fir lack of space. QF offers at least one bag of 23kg on every fare. I wonder if the increased bin space is a "might as well" change or a hint toward policy change.
BTW, Virginia Australia offers an air-fare option like BE with no checked baggage allowance. So, is QF thinking of competing at that level?
Of course it's about $$$. I wonder how much weight & fuel consumption will be saved in the process. Environmentalists should at least be pleased. Not to mention the labor involved in servicing inop units or disgruntled pax frustrated by same with no alternative seat available to switch to. I was amazed at how much just a few inflight magazines collectively weighed when offloading them on the ramp ...
I’m assuming the carrier has done research into this, most people if asked would say that they are mainly interested in wifi, and don’t really watch the in seat video , wifi, which thankfully has been free since its introduction to all of the 737’s is excellent
and people can still stream their free entertainment app which has movie content etc so there’s no great loss I feel
First typo I have ever seen you write Ben. "sill". Thank you so much for the deal alert for MIA-JNB on Qatar. You saved me 4k brother. Much love and Jah bless.
It's a shame that their A321XLRs are getting those cabin - even non-LR/XLR A21Ns of some airlines (like ITA, KAL and some others) have better seats.
Only the domestic fleet. There’ll be a sub fleet with different seats for longer thin routes.
More to come ;)
Only the domestic fleet. There’ll be a sub fleet with different seats for longer thin routes.
More to come ;)
Good to see that they're getting rid of those sweaty plastic seats and replacing them with breathable fabric. A great upgrade.
not all technology is cutting edge but it is hard to understand how any airline can make the decision to yank consumer-friendly technology OFF of a plane.
New technology AVOD can be wireless, tablet based systems that require little maintenance and provide a much nicer customer experience.
Wireless AVOD is built on the WiFi infrastructure on the plane so you have to go really barebones to not have the pieces to do a high quality...
not all technology is cutting edge but it is hard to understand how any airline can make the decision to yank consumer-friendly technology OFF of a plane.
New technology AVOD can be wireless, tablet based systems that require little maintenance and provide a much nicer customer experience.
Wireless AVOD is built on the WiFi infrastructure on the plane so you have to go really barebones to not have the pieces to do a high quality product.
Australia is a great country but their anti-competition protectionism of QF has consequences.
As someone who commutes via trains/buses on a regular basis that can be an hour long, this seems to be more comfortable than your average train or bus. All I would like is the in-flight map shown somewhere, whether on the bulkhead or a flip-down monitor. But I would certainly be disappointed on a longer sector.
I'd rather fast and free WiFi to devices than seatback screens, if I had a choice.
@ chris w -- Oh, I agree, but right now people get both, so...
People get both but have to tilt their head down to watch on their tablets which isn’t good for the neck.
IFE systems are a game-changer for families traveling with children, keeping young passengers engaged and making the journey more enjoyable for everyone.
Having IFEs on board makes a huge difference, and can really help reduce overall cabin noise by keeping kids entertained.
Isn’t that cheap ass Doug Parker on their board of directors? He ripped them out of the AA narrow body fleet also
@ Todd -- Lol, Doug being on the board of Qantas did come to mind when I saw this. I wonder if he proposed the "Oasis" concept at Qantas.