Qantas A380 refurbishment news and updates

[Fergo747]

Its the seat map thats wrong look at row 87 it shows its a toilet and it most certainly is not especially as row 88 is shown behind it lol

Thanks - I didn't make it past row 15 as I don't like to think I would ever have to sit there

 

[stm1sydney]

And seat 65C would have to be the worst Y seat ever in the history of aeroplane travel. Surrounded by toilets! Doesn't look right.

 

[Snowant]

Surrounded by toilets!

That got a belly laugh! The horror, the horror.

I was a bit disgruntled to read this refurbishment story in the media a few days back. I've been flying to/from the US on QF dreamliners, getting points upgrades from economy to business each time. But I flew premium economy on a dreamliner (points upgrade) a while back, and was pretty unimpressed with how squishy it was. I remember on the Jumbo, being able to get out of the window seat without the aisle person having to get up, but on the Dreamliner that wasn't possible.

So I recently booked my next US jaunt on the A380 (don't like them), and this time for the first time ever, I booked it on Premium Ec rather than Economy, figuring that even if I didn't get my upgrade, at least I'd still be OK. But now it looks like I'll be on an upgraded A380. I guess not too bad in that they'll have more Business and Premium Ec, but... Those bloody foot-nets in Premium, they were horrible. And Business on a Dreamliner (and now A380) has less leg-room. When you extend the bed out, your feet have to go into a little hutch under the TV, and where do you put your shoes? The Jumbos were more generous with space. I guess the pay-off is fewer seats across the plane.

I guess I miss the Jumbo 747s.

 

[downloadingdata]

That got a belly laugh! The horror, the horror.

I was a bit disgruntled to read this refurbishment story in the media a few days back. I've been flying to/from the US on QF dreamliners, getting points upgrades from economy to business each time. But I flew premium economy on a dreamliner (points upgrade) a while back, and was pretty unimpressed with how squishy it was. I remember on the Jumbo, being able to get out of the window seat without the aisle person having to get up, but on the Dreamliner that wasn't possible.

So I recently booked my next US jaunt on the A380 (don't like them), and this time for the first time ever, I booked it on Premium Ec rather than Economy, figuring that even if I didn't get my upgrade, at least I'd still be OK. But now it looks like I'll be on an upgraded A380. I guess not too bad in that they'll have more Business and Premium Ec, but... Those bloody foot-nets in Premium, they were horrible. And Business on a Dreamliner (and now A380) has less leg-room. When you extend the bed out, your feet have to go into a little hutch under the TV, and where do you put your shoes? The Jumbos were more generous with space. I guess the pay-off is fewer seats across the plane.

I guess I miss the Jumbo 747s.

Pretty sure the 1-2-1 configuration is more dense due to the staggered layout and hence more seats per floorspace than the 2-2-2 - at least everyone has direct aisle access...

 

[Snowant]

Never had a problem with aisle access in Business in the past, even if someone had their bed out, you could hop over their legs (from the window). But interesting about their being able to pack in more seats using that 1-2-1 config.

I wouldn't have booked the A380 if I'd known this was happening, but my thinking was that if I didn't get the upgrade, the PE seats were OK, going by my experience on the Jumbo. But if I'd know they were doing this, I'd have kept booking on the Dreamliner. Bugger it.

 

[cove]

When we missed an upgrade from business to first we realized how uncomfortable the business class seat is for a long haul.
These 12 planes have close to zero resale value and would need to be used for parts so a rejig to make them more comfortable is needed that’s for sure.
I do like the A380 as it is big and smooth to fly in long distance

 

[esseeeayeenn]

That got a belly laugh! The horror, the horror.

I was a bit disgruntled to read this refurbishment story in the media a few days back. I've been flying to/from the US on QF dreamliners, getting points upgrades from economy to business each time. But I flew premium economy on a dreamliner (points upgrade) a while back, and was pretty unimpressed with how squishy it was. I remember on the Jumbo, being able to get out of the window seat without the aisle person having to get up, but on the Dreamliner that wasn't possible.

So I recently booked my next US jaunt on the A380 (don't like them), and this time for the first time ever, I booked it on Premium Ec rather than Economy, figuring that even if I didn't get my upgrade, at least I'd still be OK. But now it looks like I'll be on an upgraded A380. I guess not too bad in that they'll have more Business and Premium Ec, but... Those bloody foot-nets in Premium, they were horrible. And Business on a Dreamliner (and now A380) has less leg-room. When you extend the bed out, your feet have to go into a little hutch under the TV, and where do you put your shoes? The Jumbos were more generous with space. I guess the pay-off is fewer seats across the plane.

I guess I miss the Jumbo 747s.

I have never flown PE on a 747 so I can't comment on that.
However I have flown both PE & J on both the (old) A380 and the 787.
I would choose the dreamliner for PE, and there is absolutely no competition in J.
The skybeds are awful. The droop, the complete and utter lack of storage space or work area.
And never mind whether or not you have to clamber over another PAX on the way to to loo in the middle of the night, there is the mere fact of having to SIT NEXT TO another PAX. As a frequent solo traveller the window seats in a 1-2-1 layout are infinitely preferable to anything in a 2-2-2 layout.
God forbid I should actually have to TALK to anyone!
It's about time the flagship aircraft was fitted with flagship seats.
Of course they have squeezed them in more than I would like but that is the overall strategy of QF and, to a greater or lesser extent, almost all carriers now.

 

[Katie]

Anyone have idea how they will reassign seats for those who have already picked seats??

We seem to have the refurbed bird on QF12 in mid-Dec. We were in Y+ with seats 28 DEF. We were re-assigned to 33 DEF.

 

[ajw373]

. But interesting about their being able to pack in more seats using that 1-2-1 config.[/QUOTE]

They don't pack more seats in with the 1-2-1 config. Rather the space is used differently. And with the A330's for example the -300's lost 2 seats for the same floor space. The difference is you now have much more space on your sides for storage and consoles etc, but yes the seat in front is closer, hence why your legs go under the console of the seat in front.

 

[calmelb]

So I recently booked my next US jaunt on the A380 (don't like them), and this time for the first time ever, I booked it on Premium Ec rather than Economy, figuring that even if I didn't get my upgrade, at least I'd still be OK. But now it looks like I'll be on an upgraded A380.

Are you 100% sure you will get the upgraded 380? Theres a chance that it will change between now and then

 

[moa999]

They don't pack more seats in with the 1-2-1 config. Rather the space is used differently.

It's a more dense config for Qantas.. more J seats in a given area.
But arguably it's also more usable space for the pax. You get a quasi-desk, more storage etc.
In the SkyBeds you just had a lot of air in front of you

Regarding the new PE, I think it is a DISGRACE that in a cabin of 60, there seems to only be 4 extra legroom seats, being 31 A/B/J/K.

To be seen whether 31 D/E/F have a legroom cutout our similar.
Not sure what else you expect Qantas to do..
In each cabin section there is generally only one exit row.

Eg. There are only 3 exit rows for the whole of the economy cabin.

 

[ajw373]

It's a more dense config for Qantas.. more J seats in a given area.
But arguably it's also more usable space for the pax. You get a quasi-desk, more storage etc.
In the SkyBeds you just had a lot of air in front of you

The desity is much the same, and as I mentioned above in the case of the A330-300 in particular every so slightly less (30 to 28 seats).

But agree the big difference is Skybeds the space was air in front, new seats it is around and more usable. Just may feel a little more closed in, which some would like, some may not.

 

[moa999]

The desity is much the same, and as I mentioned above in the case of the A330-300 in particular every so slightly less (30 to 28 seats).

That was SkyBed I.
A380 has SkyBed II - they are fitting 70 Business Suites where there were 64 SkyBeds.

 

[milehighclub]

Would they still need to retain the side storage bins? That would take up a good part of the 54cm.

On the intranet, the final video flyover is showing lockers on the sides still

 

[Snowant]

Are you 100% sure you will get the upgraded 380? Theres a chance that it will change between now and then

Yep. I'm flying QF11 to LAX in March, and QF12 home (assuming that's the same plane), and it's the next one due for "refurb" (squishing up) after the Kangaroo route plane. I used to jig my trips around where the jumbos were still flying but I think by March all the US bound ones are gone. So moved the Dreamliners, but after the 747 you really notice how crammed they are, PE and Business. I'm terrified of flying economy in one of those.

 

[calmelb]

Yep. I'm flying QF11 to LAX in March, and QF12 home (assuming that's the same plane), and it's the next one due for "refurb" (squishing up) after the Kangaroo route plane. I used to jig my trips around where the jumbos were still flying but I think by March all the US bound ones are gone. So moved the Dreamliners, but after the 747 you really notice how crammed they are, PE and Business. I'm terrified of flying economy in one of those.

There’s no specific plane for a route. The planes swap around based on a cycle. Unless your seat map 1 week out shows the new layout there’s no chance of the new fit out. If you want someone to check we can look it up on expert flyer for you. The first plane after the refurb will most likely go through all of the A380 routes

 

[Snowant]

That's interesting. I guess it'll be clearer in the new year, what they've done and which planes they've done it to.

 

[Paddy Walsh]

When are they going to get rid of that stupid lounge upstairs on the A380, never seen such a waste of space , said it before first class on the A380 is anything but ............

 

[calmelb]

When are they going to get rid of that stupid lounge upstairs on the A380, never seen such a waste of space , said it before first class on the A380 is anything but ............

They’re not getting rid of the lounge. It’s being revamped to be made more useful though

 

[DavidFlynn]

When are they going to get rid of that stupid lounge upstairs on the A380, never seen such a waste of space , said it before first class on the A380 is anything but ............

The lounge is getting revamped into what appears to be a much more useful space, and in fact the refurb’d A380s will have two separate lounge nooks, one on either side of the staircase which leads down to F.