A corporate travel head says new Qantas lie-flat seats would be welcome across the Tasman when planes fitted with them start flying the route.
Although QF has no timetable for using its new premium-heavy A321XLRs to New Zealand, Angie Forsyth, local gm of Corporate Traveller says there is always appetite for more choice in premium travel options.
QF is bringing a lie-flat bed to its single-aisle aircraft for the first time, revealing that 16 of its A321XLRs arriving from 2028, will feature a new business suite. They will include a lie-flat bed and a sliding privacy door, as QF reports that premium travel demand continues to outpace economy. Premium cabin revenue is growing at twice the rate of economy across its international network, it says.
The suites on each A321XLR aircraft will be arranged in a one-one configuration in an angled herringbone layout. Features include a 19-inch entertainment screen, wireless and USB-C charging, free wifi and plenty of storage.
The first of the 16 A321XLRs configured with the new business suites is scheduled to arrive in 2028, and is slated to operate QF’s longer routes, including transcontinental services to and from Perth, and on short- and medium-haul international routes. While no date has been set for using the new planes on the Tasman, QF last month revealed its 737 and Airbus A330 fleets used on the Tasman are in ‘ramp down’ and will exit next decade.
Forsyth says more business class options become compelling for those business travellers flying long-haul with QF and for those flying later in the day. QF has 48 A321XLRs on order.
. . . Economic Benefits
QF says there are now seven A321XLR and 12 A220s in operation ‘achieving economic benefits with scale’.
The carrier is already using its new A220s between Wellington and Brisbane with the 137-seat plane, seen as ideal for opening up more transtasman routes.
Future expansion targets include routes from major Australian cities to Southeast Asia and the Pacific, such as Melbourne to Manila, Brisbane to Bangkok and Perth to Phuket or Singapore, he says. Simon Russell, ceo of Eagle Aviation, says long range A321XLRs, with a range of 8700km, are well suited to ‘thin’ Asia routes with demand for business lie-flat seats. QF data shows an A321XLR PER-SIN saves up to 20% in fuel costs compared to an A330.
