Qantas is introducing Economy Plus, a new cabin product offering travellers a way to fly more comfortably in Economy. The new product will be available from February 2026 across its Boeing 737, Airbus 220 and Airbus A321XLR aircraft.
Economy Plus will come with a few benefits over a standard Economy seat. While the main benefit is the extra legroom, it will also offer priority boarding, and priority access to overhead baggage space.
While Economy Plus is a paid option, there is some good news for platinum frequent flyers. Platinum members (and above) will receive complimentary access to Qantas Economy Plus when making their flight booking. In addition, Gold members will receive complimentary access at check-in. All other members will need to pay for Economy Plus.
Qantas Economy Plus
From February 2026, Qantas Economy Plus will be available for purchase on Qantas’ 737, A321XLR and A220 fleets. These narrow body aircraft operate the majority of the domestic services, and also operate on many short-haul international routes.
Legroom
It can be thought of as an extension of the current extra legroom seats currently available on those aircraft. However, Qantas will be making additional rows available on some aircraft, following a reconfiguration of those aircraft.
For example, the current 737 fleet offers three rows of extra legroom seats. These 18 seats are found in row 4, and the two exit rows. Qantas will be modifying the layout of the 737 to include a total of 48 Economy Plus seats. The number of Economy Plus seats on the various aircraft will be
- 48 seats on the Boeing 737
- 20 seats on the Airbus A220
- 36 seats on the Airbus A321XLR
For the most part, these seats will offer a 34 inch seat pitch, compared to the standard 30 inch pitch now. However, depending on where you sit, the pitch could be as high as 50 inches. The full details are:
| B737 | A321 | A220 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front Row | 51-52 | 39 | 39 |
| Main | 34 | 34 | 34 |
| Exit Rows | 38 | 38 | 38 |
| Standard | 30 | 30 | 30 |
Priority Features
While legroom is the big advantage, there are some additional features that will help make your journey better. Passengers booking the package will have access to priority boarding and priority access to overhead baggage space.
Access to Economy Plus
As mentioned, Economy Plus is a paid feature, however it is available to platinum frequent flyers at no charge. While those with gold status will need to pay, it will become available to select for free during the check-in process. All other passengers will need to pay. To summarise
- Platinum One and Platinum members: Free selection at the time of booking.
- Gold members: Free selection from at check-in (up to 24 hours prior to flight)
- Silver and Bronze members: Available as a paid option during or after booking
- Non frequent flyers: Available as a paid option during or after booking
Qantas has not yet revealed to cost of Economy Plus. As with the current options, it will likely vary based on the length of the flight. So, you could expect the cost on a trans-continental flight to be higher than for say a Melbourne-Sydney flight.
Final Words
If this all sounds familiar, it probably is. In many ways, it reflects the Virgin Australia EconomyX offering. There are also similar offering made on various overseas carriers.
While pricing has not been announced, we could probably look to EconomyX for some ideas. As an example, EconomyX between Sydney and Melbourne is on offer for $50.
The real winners here, are of course, platinum and above members. They will be able to select these seats for free any time after booking.
All up, it looks like a good offer, that should offer more comfort to passengers on the various flights it will be found on. I’ll be looking at it when I take my next Qantas trans-continental flight!
