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NEW QANTAS A380 HITS THE SKYS

Aaron Landers

Updated: Mar 12, 2020


What a delight it was arriving from JFK almost two weeks ago into LAX to discover the onward connection across the Trans-Pacific on QF12 was on board their brand new refurbished A380 aircraft that was scheduled to be initially only operating the SYD-SIN-LHR route – so it was such a treat seeing it through the window as I awaited boarding. I was given a tour of each cabin by the amazing crew on board and the changes are impressive. One of the major changes in the refurbishment is Business Class and Premium Economy dominating the upper deck with the same seating found on the 789 aircraft. The Business Suite looks great and is very comfortable and each seat has direct aisle access. This has replaced the Marc Newson sky bed which years ago would have been one of my favourite products in the sky – but it is very dated and it is great Qantas is getting innovative and keeping up with what other carriers are doing. An absolute highlight was seeing the newly designed lounge space at the front of the upper deck. It is a social space with booth-style seating around café-inspired tables on either side of the staircase down to the lower deck. The ambiance looks fabulous thanks to soft LED lighting and wooden wall panelling – this is perfect for a drink and a snack at 35000 feet as you cross the Pacific. First Class looks clean but the changes are only cosmetic. Personally, I would have loved to have seen a few more changes with this cabin, but it does look fresher and Qantas’ regular First passengers will still be delighted with the cabin – why change something that their regular cliental love and continually book! Although I travelled in Premium across the Pacific, I was lucky enough to be offered the First-class amenity kit which included a collection of botanical-based products from Aurora Spa Rituals (ASPAR) and pyjamas from Martin Grant which were so comfortable and stylish that they had to come home with me. The cabin is arranged in a 2 – 3 – 2 pattern and measure up at around 20.5 inches wide with 38 inches of pitch and 9.5 inches of recline. The entertainment screens are 13.3 inches wide. Each seat has several small personal storage areas for things like tablets, eyeglasses, travel documents and water bottles, ergonomic foot cradles, and USB ports for charging electronic devices. They also have tablet holders for to watch our own content. I was impressed and although a regular in flying First and Business this has made me think twice. Premium was comfortable and in fact although the seat isn’t lie flat, I was able to sleep and the service was faultless. I arrived home with the comment that I had travelled in worse Business cabins to Qantas’ new premium cabin! Of course, the crew were attentive and this makes any flight regardless of the cabin but I would certainly consider flying this again!

Qantas Fact Sheet of the New A380

All 12 aircrafts will be upgraded by the end of 2020. The capacity of Qantas A380s after the upgrade will be: 14 First Suites (unchanged), 70 Business Suites (up by six), 60 Premium Economy (up by 25) and 341 Economy (down by 30) for a total of 485 passengers (up by one).

New Layout of the Qantas A380 on the Upper Deck

New Layout of the Qantas A380 on the Lower Deck


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