Qantas eyes 'tip to tail' seat upgrade for Airbus A380

[AviationNZ]

Qantas could begin upgrading its Airbus A380 fleet as early as 2018, with the superjumbos seeing new seats from tip to tail in order to sharpen their competitive edge on routes to the USA and London.

https://www.ausbt.com.au/qantas-eyes-airbus-a380-mid-life-refurb-from-2018-2020

 

[Pleb Status]

If true, it would be nice if QF selected a better J seat than those currently used in the 330 and planned for the 789. The Vantage XL seat already trails behind all reverse herringbone seat designs and a large number of the newer staggered seat designs like the EY J studio.

Interesting to see if they also increase the seat pitch in Y to 32 inches as well to match the 789 and SQ etc.

 

[opusman]

Agreed, I personally find it very claustrophobic. Ok for 7 or 8 hours to Asia, 24 hours to Europe not so much.

 

[blackcat20]

Also not a massive fan of the QF seat; the VA seat is far more comfortable.
Be interested to see what happens to F.

 

[yohy?!]

can't come quick enough, the 380 cabins have been worn hard - agree that the J 'chicken coops' in the 330 are not the right seat (not without significant modification anyway).

 

[Bundy Bear]

Yes an extra inch in Y would be nice.

 

[moa999]

Personally thought QF was better than VA but both are pretty close.

Interesting to see the amount of customisation that Delta is doing to the Vantage XL - looks like a totally different product

https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2016/08/16/delta-goes-thompson-vantage-xl-new-a350-777-biz-suites/

 

[TomVexille]

Yes and extra inch in Y would be nice.

Need and extra three if they want to be industry leading.

 

[amaroo]

Happy Days! Have no idea about these things, but the need and timing (major maintenance checks) seems like common-sense.

 

[eminere]

If true, it would be nice if QF selected a better J seat than those currently used in the 330 and planned for the 789. The Vantage XL seat already trails behind all reverse herringbone seat designs and a large number of the newer staggered seat designs like the EY J studio.

Agreed. Good for lounging and on medium-haul daytime treks to Asia, but 24h in that seat to LHR isn't the best. Very narrow for sleeping comfortably, in my experience.

 

[Buzzard]

Certainly not before time.

 

[oz_mark]

Happy Days! Have no idea about these things, but the need and timing (major maintenance checks) seems like common-sense.

The design team has been busy on the fitout of the 787. Marc Newson has previously indicated that the A380 refit would be next after the 787 work.

 

[DavidFlynn]

Interesting to see the amount of customisation that Delta is doing to the Vantage XL - looks like a totally different product

It's actually built on a different skew of the XL called the Vantage XL Suite. Thompson's been very canny at spinning its Vantage module into several different versions.

 

[Reeldeel]

I do hope they dont have the same J seats as the 330s. They are shockers. I felt truly claustrophobic in those seats had to get up and walk around.

My wife was also cranky after 8 hours of not being able to communicate.

 

[straitman]

Need and extra three if they want to be industry leading.

Do they need to be industry leading?

I would think that they need to be well in the pack though rather than behind the mob.

 

[TomVexille]

Do they need to be industry leading?

I would think that they need to be well in the pack though rather than behind the mob.

Of course they don't need to be.

 

[njba]

Personally thought QF was better than VA but both are pretty close.

Interesting to see the amount of customisation that Delta is doing to the Vantage XL - looks like a totally different product

https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2016/08/16/delta-goes-thompson-vantage-xl-new-a350-777-biz-suites/

The doors are a very interesting addition.

 

[mviy]

When I first saw the article title I thought that perhaps QANTAS may have finally announced a start date for the A380 refurbishment. Sadly that is not the case.

 

[oz_mark]

Do they need to be industry leading?

The trick for an airline like Qantas that keeps its seats for 10 years or so, is to come up with something that won't be way behind in 10 years time. Maybe not industry leading, but it does have to be up there somewhere (IMHO and all that)

 

[theweaselsteve]

Some of these comments are quite funny really. Whilst I understand that there are plenty of people here who only fly J or F, it's amusing hearing people calling any J class seat "claustrophobic". Try sitting in Y for anything over 8 hours, THAT'S claustrophobic!

Having said that, I do totally understand that comparisons need to be made to other products in the market and all opinions are completely valid. I personally found the QF 330 suites very good indeed, and would gladly spend a long haul flight in one. I just hope that Y is improved as well as J and F.