Qantas is investing A$400 million to upgrade
seats and inflight entertainment on nine Boeing 747-400 aircraft,
and reconfigure its
Airbus A380 fleet.
"Customer feedback on the Qantas A380 experience
is overwhelmingly positive, and this experience, including the
fully flat Skybed in Business, the all-new Economy seat and the
inflight entertainment system will be available to customers
travelling on Qantas B747-400 services," said Qantas Chief
Executive Officer, Mr Alan Joyce. "Maintaining a First offering on
flagship routes is essential for Qantas as a premium airline. It
is vital that we align this offering with forecast demand which is
expected to be relatively slow compared to Business, Premium
Economy and Economy"
Boeing 747-400 Changes
- Nine Boeing 747-400 will be upgraded and
fitted with Qantas' A380 standard seats and inflight product,
including a fully flat Skybed sleeper seat in Business, an Marc
Newson designed and Recaro manufactured seat in Economy and
state-of-the-art on-demand Panasonic inflight entertainment in all
classes
- First class cabins will be removed and
Business seats installed in their place
- The three-class configuration will offer 359
seats (58 Business, 36 Premium Economy and 265 Economy), an
increase of 52 seats overall
Airbus A380 Changes
- 12 A380s will continue to fly with a
four-class configuration, including First class, but be refitted
to reduce Business seating and increase Premium Economy and
Economy seating. Qantas' 14 A380. The twelve aircraft service
Sydney and Melbourne to London via Singapore and Los Angeles.
- The remaining eight aircraft will be delivered
from 2012 in a three-class configuration and without a First cabin
- A380 seat numbers on future Qantas aircraft
are still to be confirmed
The upgrade and reconfiguration program will
commence at the end of 2011 and is scheduled for completion by the
end of 2013. It will be funded through the combination of
operating cash flows and pre-existing debt facilities. The
majority of capital expenditure will take place in 2012.
"These changes will ensure we remain competitive
in terms of aircraft configuration, product and service and that
we are better able to ensure capacity is more closely aligned with
demand ... They will also add the equivalent capacity of more than
three Boeing 747-400s, ensuring we can support future growth while
reducing the need to purchase additional aircraft," Mr Joyce said.
"The split A380 fleet will give Qantas greater flexibility to
schedule the right aircraft, and the right configuration, on the
right route, based on market demand."
See recent travel news from:
Travel News Asia,
Qantas,
Airbus,
Boeing,
747,
A380
|