As part of a multimillion-dollar aircraft cabin refurbishment and upgrade programme being rolled out across 10 of its Airbus A330-200s, Qantas has unveiled the new economy-class seats it plans to install. Passengers on these A330s, which operate international flights from Australia to Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, will appreciate the comfort of these seats, which have been built to the extra customer comfort specification for Qantas’ Project Sunrise ultra-long-haul flights.
The new economy seats are a customised version of the Recaro R3 model (previously named the CL3810). The seats will feature 13.3in 4K OLED seatback displays (20% larger than the existing IFE screens on the A330s), running the latest-generation user interface, as well as USB-C fast charging, and Bluetooth audio connectivity which will allow users to use their own headphones.
Other key elements of the A330 cabin upgrade programme include new mood lighting and the replacement of all curtains and carpets.
Work on the first A330 is expected to start in mid-2025 at Qantas’ Brisbane maintenance facility, with the first refurbished aircraft due to enter service by the end of the calendar year. The full A330 refurbishment programme is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
“We’ve used our fleet renewal programme to completely rethink the inflight experience, and these cabin upgrades mean we can bring next-generation features and designs to our existing aircraft,” said Cam Wallace, CEO of Qantas International.
“Customers can look forward to brand-new economy seats that have been specially created to maximise comfort and provide features that our customers want for international travel. They’re the same seats that will feature on our ultra-long-haul A350-1000ULR aircraft, so it will be a preview of the Project Sunrise flying experience,” added Wallace.
The existing Business Suites with fully-flat beds will remain on the A330 fleet, as Qantas says they continue to receive positive feedback from customers and are the same modern product that features on Qantas’ A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleets.
Qantas announced the final piece of its jet fleet renewal programme last year, with a firm order for 24 aircraft that will progressively replace its existing A330s. These aircraft comprise 12 Airbus A350s and 12 Boeing 787s, due to arrive from FY27 into the next decade.
The longer range delivered by the B787 and A350 aircraft on order will enable the airline to operate all the routes the A330s currently operates, as well as to open-up new, longer ones. The 10 A330 aircraft being upgraded are scheduled to leave the Qantas fleet towards the end of the replacement programme as the A350s and B787s enter service.
The wi-fi roll out continues
Qantas has also started rolling out cabin wi-fi across the A330 fleet. A fast and free to use wi-fi service is expected to be available on some routes in Asia from December this year. Passengers on activated aircraft can already connect to w-fi while flying over Australia to destinations such as Hong Kong, Delhi and Bengaluru.
Qantas says the service will offer enough bandwidth for every passenger to enjoy a fast and consistent connection, similar to that found onboard Qantas’ domestic flights, where the speed and reliability of the systems has driven average take-up rates of 75%, with some routes showing up to 100% uptake, according to the airline.
