Qantas Unveils A380 Seat Details

[justinbrett]

Which is the first planned A380 route? At one stage it was touted as MEL-LAX but I would severely doubt that, it would surely have to be a SYD departure, afterall, this is Qantas we are talking about.

I thought they said it was going to be SYD-SIN-LHR.

 

[aspro2]

Looking at the Y+ seat pics, I can't help fearing that they will be the same seat that BA WTP uses/used -- if you have slightly longish legs, the legrest is utterly useless because it barely extends far enough to reach your shins.

 

[simongr]

I am pretty sure it is MEL-LAX.

Interestingly there are 60 replies to this thread already and the nw product wont be seen for a year in an aircraft and a month in real life at the Airport.

I might actually do my Oz milege run just so I can see the new product

 

[Keith009]

Y+ will be seen from Feb next year on all LHR and JNB services.

 

[alect]

You assume correctly. There is a privacy divider (electric of course) that can be lowered and raised to chat with your partner if you'd like. The seats cannot turn in on each other though.

The dining table however is large enough for 2 people to dine together. The ottoman is a proper seat, with a seat belt and with plenty of room in the suite it should be quote an intimate and private dining room.

A certain Chairperson insisted on this. He/she was never happy that he/she could not dine with their husband/wife during the flight!

JG1

Do you know whether the enhanced Skybed is the same seat just re-configured to go flat instead of incline? Or is this a totally new seat? IE on the 747s will they need to put in new seats or just take some out and reconfigure the existing ones to be flat?

The only visible difference so far is the divider is bigger and squarer.

 

[NM]

I thought they said it was going to be SYD-SIN-LHR.

That will be the first regular A380 route, but will be operated by SQ. The first regular QF route will be MEL-LAX.

However, I expect we may see the A380 on a few SYD-MEL ops initially just to get the crew experience up to speed before they start the long-hauls.

 

[NM]

JG1

Do you know whether the enhanced Skybed is the same seat just re-configured to go flat instead of incline? Or is this a totally new seat? IE on the 747s will they need to put in new seats or just take some out and reconfigure the existing ones to be flat?

The only visible difference so far is the divider is bigger and squarer.

There are quite a few differences with the Skybed Mk II, so I very much doubt they can easily modify the Mk I to become a Mk II. And of course fitting the Mk II to a 744 wll mean either less J seats can be installed or the J cabin needs to be extended further back. And given the reduction in Y cabin size to fit in the Y+ cabin, I really do not expect to see the Skybed Mk II installed in the 744 unless they see a reduction in J demand after the installation of Y+.

 

[Flying Fox]

Yep it all looks good to me but I have a few questions -

1. On the press release they say the A380 will have 450 pax but on their website its 501 so I am confused cos 51 extra people take up a whole lot of room

2. Does anyone know if you get extra points and/or status credits for flying in Y+?

 

[NM]

Yep it all looks good to me but I have a few questions -

1. On the press release they say the A380 will have 450 pax but on their website its 501 so I am confused cos 51 extra people take up a whole lot of room

Their original plan was for 501 passengers. However, a few months ago they revised that, settling on a configuration with 14 First Class, 71 Business Class, 32 Premium Economy and 350 Economy seats, making a total of 467 passengers.

2. Does anyone know if you get extra points and/or status credits for flying in Y+?

I expect it will be the same as for flying BA WT+ presently, where you earn full economy Status Credits and a 10% cabin bonus for miles flown.

 

[ozmerish]

With QF joining BA with a Y+ cabin, will this put pressure on other OW partners to change their cabin structure as well? Would CX or JAL be the next logical candidate?

 

[dot]

With QF joining BA with a Y+ cabin, will this put pressure on other OW partners to change their cabin structure as well? Would CX or JAL be the next logical candidate?

Given CX announced and started deploying their new cabin earlier this year, (See Cathay's Web site) and given it does not include a Y+ cabin, I would be surprised to see them change track and start to offer Y+ seating...

Likewise as SQ also did not opt for a Y+ cabin and SQ is a significant rival for CX (See here for SQ's new seats - great J seats 1-2-1 layout - v nice), there is even less pressure on them to go the Y+ path - despite what QF and BA are offering.

 

[Craigo]

A certain Chairperson insisted on this. He/she was never happy that he/she could not dine with their husband/wife during the flight!

That certain Chairman wouldn't happen to have a spouse involved in a big property development plan for the Hanazono ski area at Niseko, which is a factor in why a certain airline is flying to CTS?

 

[NM]

I expect the next move for QF will be to remove F from the 744 fleet over time as the A380s come into service. I think that in 5-7 years time, the only 4-class aircraft in QF's fleet will be the A380s, with 744s retaining 3 cabins (J, perhaps with Skybed Mk II by then, Y+ and Y), and the 787s probably also with 3 classes (J, Y+, Y).

What is offered now in J, and especially with Skybed Mk II, is as god or better than F was 10-15 years ago. Y+ is looking similar to what J was when first introduced by QF back in the 1980s. So I see a cycle where F has grown to a point where it pushes itself out of the market except on the largest of aircraft (A380), and Y+ will grow over time to be the new business class.

This won't happen quickly, but this is what I predict happening over the next 5-7 years.

 

[pauly7]

I am pretty sure it is MEL-LAX.

Interestingly there are 60 replies to this thread already and the nw product wont be seen for a year in an aircraft and a month in real life at the Airport.

I might actually do my Oz milege run just so I can see the new product

Me too - I'm planning on being on the first couple of flights, want to check out all the new metal and upgrades!

Note - maybe someone should organise some sort of comp around this?

 

[markis10]

Likewise as SQ also did not opt for a Y+ cabin and SQ is a significant rival for CX (See here for SQ's new seats - great J seats 1-2-1 layout - v nice), there is even less pressure on them to go the Y+ path - despite what QF and BA are offering.

SQ already have a Y+ cabin, executive economy, its just that the whole plane has it! Would not be surprised if the A380 had executive economy in addition to standard, SQ are being very quiet!

 

[dot]

SQ already have a Y+ cabin, executive economy, its just that the whole plane has it! ...

Strange then that (according to seatguru) the seat pitch on their new interior B777-300ERs is 32" - the same that is is in the old layout B777-200s. Both aircraft have a 3-3-3 economy layout and while the 300ER does have a seat width of 19" (1.5" wider than the B777-200) the layout is the same on both aircraft. Unless Boeing make the B777-300 fuselage slightly wider than the B777-200 fuselage - the extra seat width must be coming from narrower aisles and armrests.

Despite the improvement over their old Y seat, I would not be calling it Y+ unless they make the seat pitch closer to BA's WT+ at 38" (up from a std Y seat pitch of 31" for BA).

 

[NM]

Strange then that (according to seatguru) the seat pitch on their new interior B777-300ERs is 32" - the same that is is in the old layout B777-200s. Both aircraft have a 3-3-3 economy layout and while the 300ER does have a seat width of 19" (1.5" wider than the B777-200) the layout is the same on both aircraft. Unless Boeing make the B777-300 fuselage slightly wider than the B777-200 fuselage - the extra seat width must be coming from narrower aisles and armrests.

I think Markis10 was referring to the SQ A340-500 aircraft that operate SIN-LAX.

 

[markis10]

I think Markis10 was referring to the SQ A340-500 aircraft that operate SIN-LAX.

I was, they also operate these to Newark and some selected flights to Jakarta, the seat has a seat pitch of 37 inches and a width of 20 inches as well as a 150 degree seat recline. There is a 9 inch screen for inflight entertainment and in-seat power supply at selected seats.

 

[Flying Fox]

I expect the next move for QF will be to remove F from the 744 fleet over time as the A380s come into service. I think that in 5-7 years time, the only 4-class aircraft in QF's fleet will be the A380s, with 744s retaining 3 cabins (J, perhaps with Skybed Mk II by then, Y+ and Y), and the 787s probably also with 3 classes (J, Y+, Y).

What is offered now in J, and especially with Skybed Mk II, is as god or better than F was 10-15 years ago. Y+ is looking similar to what J was when first introduced by QF back in the 1980s. So I see a cycle where F has grown to a point where it pushes itself out of the market except on the largest of aircraft (A380), and Y+ will grow over time to be the new business class.

This won't happen quickly, but this is what I predict happening over the next 5-7 years.

Yep, I would have to totally agree with you on this one. Plus given the amount of room that F takes up, 744s will have limited ability to carry this type of pax. It also makes sense since the A380 will be deployed on QF primary routes (ie. to London & USA) this is where I expect the F class to have the highest usage & revenues.

I guess that the 744s will go onto secondary routes or act as back-up aircraft.

 

[JG1]

There are quite a few differences with the Skybed Mk II, so I very much doubt they can easily modify the Mk I to become a Mk II. And of course fitting the Mk II to a 744 wll mean either less J seats can be installed or the J cabin needs to be extended further back. And given the reduction in Y cabin size to fit in the Y+ cabin, I really do not expect to see the Skybed Mk II installed in the 744 unless they see a reduction in J demand after the installation of Y+.

It is a completely new seat. As for replacing 747 Skybeds with A380 Skybeds , unfortunately not quite as simple as that. Boeing & Airbus make life complicated for each other like that!

NM is correct as well. The demand for J seats, would not warrant installing the new Skybed with the extra pitch and losing the revenue from those seats.