Qantas unveils final 'business suite' design for A330 fleet

Qantas unveiled (21-Oct-2014) the final designs of its new A330 business suites for international services to Asia, Hawaii and key domestic routes, with the new product to be progressively introduced from later in 2014. Designed in collaboration with Marc Newson, the new Business Suite will be available on all 28 of Qantas' A330 aircraft, offering the "world's first seats to allow customers to recline in their seat from take-off through to landing." The suites also offer fully-flat beds and direct aisle access for every business class passenger in a 1-2-1 layout. The Vantage XL seat was manufactured by Thompson Aero Seating. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: "We believe this product will deliver the best travel experience between Australia and Asia, and probably the best domestic travel experience anywhere in the world... We've listened to what matters most to our customers and done extensive ergonomic trials to deliver the highest levels of comfort, privacy and intuitive design... There's enough space to eat while continuing to work, which is something our business customers said was very important to them, and plenty of storage room to keep the range of electronic devices that people now travel with. A key point of difference from all other carriers is that the seat can be in recline and fitted with the mattress from take-off right through to landing." The economy cabins on all international A330s will be fitted with a next-generation model of the Recaro seat. Economy seats on the A330-200s for Qantas Domestic will also be refreshed. Customers in both cabins on the international A330 aircraft will be able to enjoy the latest Panasonic eX3 inflight entertainment system, with domestic business class also featuring the same system. The work to refresh the aircraft interiors - which will take about one month for each - will start at Qantas' heavy maintenance facility in Brisbane next month. The first of the domestic refurbished A330 aircraft will be operational in late Dec-2014 from the east coast to Perth, and the first international A330 will commence operations in Jan-2015. [more - original PR]