As part of a major refurbishment program, Qantas is set to retrofit 10 A330-200 aircraft which will be used on international routes from Australia to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), Singapore Changi International Airport (SIN) and Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT).
The cabin upgrades, which Qantas describes as a “multimillion dollar investment”, are expected to start in mid-2025 at the airline’s Brisbane maintenance facility. The first refurbished aircraft is scheduled to enter service by the end of the calendar year and the refurbishment program as a whole is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Cabin upgrades include the following:
- Installing the brand-new Economy seats that have been designed with extra customer comfort for Qantas’ Project Sunrise ultra-long haul flights.
- 4K OLED 13.3” entertainment touchscreens for Economy with the latest generation user interface (20% larger than the existing screen).
- USB-C fast charging and Bluetooth audio connectivity for Economy, which allow users to use their own headphones.
The A330 cabin upgrade program will also include new mood lighting and the replacement of all curtains and carpets. The existing Business Suites, with fully-flat beds, will remain on the aircraft.
“We’ve used our fleet renewal program to completely rethink the inflight experience and these cabin upgrades mean we can bring next-generation features and designs to our existing aircraft,” Cam Wallace, Qantas International CEO, said in a statement.
“Customers can look forward to brand new Economy seats that have been specially created to maximize comfort and provide features that our customers want for international travel. They’re the same seats that will feature on our ultra long haul A350-1000 ULR aircraft, so it will be a preview of the Project Sunrise flying experience,” Wallace added.
Qantas has also started international Wi-Fi roll out across its A330 fleet. Fast and free Wi-Fi is expected to be available for Qantas flights on some routes in Asia on the Wi-Fi enabled A330 aircraft from December 2024.