Qantas reveals 787-9 ‘premium economy’ seat

Emirates Business

Qantas revealed its next generation Premium Economy seat, which will debut on the airline’s fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from October.
Wider and with more functional space overall, the new seat has a unique recline motion that provides a class-leading level of comfort. When the rear of the seat reclines, several sections shift to support your body as you move into a more relaxing
position.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce unveiled the seat to employees and media at the airline’s Sydney headquarters.
“The Qantas Dreamliner will by flying some of the longest routes in the world, including non-stop from Perth to London, so we’ve focused on making each cabin the most comfortable in its class. Our Business Suite has been dubbed ‘mini First Class’ by some of our Frequent Flyers and our Economy seat for the Dreamliner has features that some reserve for Premium Economy,” said Joyce.
“This new Premium Economy seat has serious wow factor. You have to experience how well it supports you when you recline to realise it’s completely different from anything else in its class. When you combine these seats with the increased cabin humidity and turbulence reducing technology on the Dreamliner, it makes it an aircraft customers will really enjoy flying on,” added Joyce.
The new Premium Economy seat is based on a prototype by Thompson Aeroseating and was designed for Qantas by leading Australian industrial designer, David Caon.
“Developing a new seat comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities. Working with Thomson and Qantas, I think we’ve created a new standard for Premium Economy,” Caon said.
“We’ve made sure this seat offers genuine comfort through design elements not seen before on aircraft. There are a number of new bespoke design elements that we hope will really set the benchmark for this class.”
Qantas introduced Premium Economy with its A380 aircraft in 2008 and later rolled it out onto the Boeing 747. Qantas will assess updating existing Premium Economy cabins in-line with its fleet planning and
product cycles.
The Qantas Dreamliner will seat 236 passengers across Business, Premium Economy and Economy – a seat density that is significantly lower than many of its competitors.
The first of eight Dreamliners will be delivered in October this year with Qantas’ first international 787 services will take flight in December between Melbourne and Los Angeles. Flights between Perth and London, which will directly link Australia and Europe for the first time, begin in March 2018.