All Classes Will Have Access To The Internet, In-Seat Laptop Power 

Qantas unveiled this week the state-of-the-art interior and seating to be installed onboard its fleet of 20 Airbus A380 aircraft, which are scheduled for delivery beginning August 2008.

Qantas Executive General Manager John Borghetti said the airline's fleet would be configured with 450 seats - 14 in First, 72 in Business, 32 in its new Premium Economy cabin and 332 in Economy.

He said the interiors, designed exclusively for Qantas by internationally renowned Australian industrial designer Marc Newson, would set a new benchmark for the airline and the industry, said the carrier.

"Qantas has combined intelligent design with functionality to deliver more space and comfort in every cabin," Borghetti said.

"Marc (Newson) has designed almost everything onboard, from the seats through to the coat hooks, with style, practicality and passenger comfort in mind.

The design of our First cabin has evolved over five years to culminate in a layout of 14 private suites, each featuring a 17 inch LCD wide screen video monitor, an array of personal stowage options, a unique touch screen control unit and a seat that swivels into a comfortable armchair and a fully flat, extra long and very wide bed," he said.

A key feature of the Qantas A380's Business cabin is the private lounge area on the upper deck of the aircraft featuring leather sofas, a self-service bar, large video monitor with laptop connectivity and a feature display cabinet.

Borghetti said the new Premium Economy cabin, located on the upper deck of the aircraft behind the Business cabin, would appeal to Economy travelers seeking more space, comfort and an enhanced level of service.

"Our new Premium Economy seats will offer extra width and recline, more legroom and a fully adjustable, in-arm, digital wide screen television monitor," he said.

"Customers will be offered menus by Neil Perry's Rockpool Group and premium wines as well as superior tableware and soft furnishings."

The new economy seat features a sliding base that moves with the seat back to create a more comfortable, ergonomically correct position to aid sleep and eliminate pressure points.

"We consulted ergonomic experts to conduct sleep comfort trials, which involved testing the positions passengers were most likely to adopt on long haul flights," he said.

The economy cabin will offer four self-service bars, enabling people to help themselves to refreshments throughout the flight in addition to the normal meal services, according to the carrier.

The Panasonic Inflight Entertainment System Qantas will be installing is state-of-the-art, offering greater choice, more entertainment options and in-seat access to email and the internet as well as wireless connectivity for customers with their own laptop.

"Our new IFE will have over 100 on-demand movies, 350 television selections, 500 audio CDs, 30 PC style games, and a selection of audio books, language tutorials, destination information, business education and radio channels.

An advanced graphic user interface will allow passengers to easily navigate through the vast range of entertainment options," he said.

"Customers in every cabin will also be able to remain connected throughout their flight with wireless connectivity, in-seat laptop power, USB and RJ45 ports allowing them to surf the internet or send and receive emails directly from their seat or personal laptop," Borghetti said.

He said Qantas had also begun updating the interiors of its international Boeing 747-400 fleet with some of the elements designed for its A380 aircraft, including the introduction of a Premium Economy cabin in February 2008.

He said the first refitted 747 was already flying with the entire Qantas Boeing 747-400 fleet to be completed by mid-2008.

FMI: www.qantas.com