Even though it is still 12 months until the first 787 arrives, Qantas has unveiled the Business and Economy class seating that will be found in the aircraft. While Qantas will be flying with a Premium Economy cabin, they have not at this point revealed those seats.
Cabin Layout
The 787-9 dreamliner will arrive at Qantas with a 3 cabin layout. It will consist of a total of 236 seats, across the Business, Premium Economy and Economy cabins. This will be made up of 42 Business Suites, 28 Premium Economy seats and 166 seats.
Business Cabin
The Business Cabin will be made up of 42 Suites, arranged in a 1-2-1 layout. This affords all customers in Business direct access to the aisle.
The seats themselves are a further development of the Buisness Suite product that has been installed into the A330 fleet.
The main change is that there is now a sliding divider between the two middle seats. – similar to that on the Qantas Airbus A380 superjumbo – which travellers can move up for privacy, or down for sociability with their seatmate.
Outside that, the seat remains much the same as it soes on the A330 aircraft. It includes a 16 inch touchscreen, a lie flat bed, and the ability to remain partially reclined during take-off and landing.
Economy Cabin
The Economy cabin will consist of 166 seats, arranged in a 3-3-3 layout. A layout of 9 seats across the cabin had become a fairly standard fitout among the airlines that have taken delivery of the aircraft.
As the Qantas plan is to use the 787 for long range missions, they are offering a 32 inch pitch in an effort to provide some extra comfort. In comparison, Qantas offers a 31 inch pitch in its other aircraft.
The seat is an all new design. Among its creature comforts it features a new personal device holder and USB ports; more storage areas; a seat-back mood light designed to minimise disturbance for other passengers; and a high-definition entertainment touchscreen. The 12 inch touchscreen is larger than the screens in the current aircraft.
Detail on initial Qantas Dreamliner destinations will be revealed in coming months, with the first international flights on sale before Christmas. The aircraft will gradually take over routes currently operated by the airline’s B747 fleet as well as adding new city-pairs to the Qantas International network.
