Qantas unveils cabins for Project Sunrise ultra-long-haul flights

Qantas has unveiled the final details of its long-anticipated Airbus A350 ultra-long-haul cabins that will be used on its Project Sunrise routes non-stop to Paris, New York and London from Sydney and Melbourne in late 2025. Speaking at a press conference in New York one day after the inaugural QF3’s non-stop flight from Auckland, Qantas CE Alan Joyce revealed details for the A350’s economy and premium-economy class cabins, as well as a specially designed area for passengers’ wellness. Though none of the rumoured bunk-beds or gyms materialised, the 12 specially designed Airbus A350s will introduce a “Wellbeing Zone” between the premium-economy and economy cabins which gives passengers space to stretch, with sculpted walls and integrated handles to facilitate balance. Guided content will be televised from an entertainment screen to encourage movement, but the area has also been designed for socialising with fellow passengers, with a self-serve snack bar. While the designs for its first and business-class cabins were revealed in February, details of its much-anticipated premium-economy and economy seats – where 180 of the aircraft’s 238 passengers will be seated for the flights lasting up to 22 hours – were kept under wraps. With 33 inches of legroom (84 centimetres), the 140 seats in economy will have the largest pitch of any Qantas economy cabin, which is one more inch than the seats in its Boeing 787 Dreamliners. In a 3-3-3 configuration, the seats will include a six-way adjustable headrest, footnet and an extra shelf for portable devices. The 34-centimetre seatback screens will contain Bluetooth connectivity allowing passengers to bring their own headsets and still be able to tune in to Qantas’ inflight entertainment. Each seat will also contain two fast-charging USB outlets.<br/>