Here is Qantas’ all-new premium economy seat
More legroom leads the ‘sweet spot’ play for Qantas’ non-stop flights to London and New York.
Executive Traveller exclusive
- New Qantas Airbus A350 jets will feature 40 premium economy seats in a 2-4-2 layout with a generous 40” pitch
- The ‘cradle’ seats see an all-new design with upgraded legrests
- Each A350 premium economy seat will have two high-power USB-C ports, but no AC outlets
Qantas has already revealed the Airbus A350 first class roomettes and business class suites which will cosset high flyers on its non-stop Project Sunrise marathons from Sydney and Melbourne to London, New York and Paris starting from late 2025.
But for those whose travel budget won’t stretch quite that far, the A350s will also be the launchpad for a fresh take on premium economy.
The airline has now pulled back the curtains on its third-gen premium economy seat, along with the inflight Wellbeing Zone located between the premium economy and economy cabins, completing the nose-to-tail A350 passenger experience.
Based on a product from seatmaker Safran, and customised by Qantas designer David Caon for greater comfort and convenience, the new Qantas A350 premium economy seat addresses the two concerns voiced by Executive Traveller since the previous-gen premium economy made its debut on the Boeing 787 (and has since been added to the Airbus A380 superjumbo fleet).
Firstly, there’s now more distance between the seats, removing that squeeze at the knees when the passenger in front of you reclines.
The 40” pitch is two inches greater than on the Boeing 787 and sits at the upper edge of the industry’s average 38” pitch (although some airlines top even that, such as 41” for Air New Zealand premium economy).
This should also make it easier to hop in and out of your seat during these ultra-long flights – something we expect a lot of travellers will be doing, and which Qantas will encourage via the Wellbeing Zone shared by premium economy and economy passengers.
Qantas and Caon have also done away with the current premium economy seat’s foot ‘hammock’ which often proved overly complicated, replacing it with a more conventional calf-rest extending from the front of the seat, while a footrest swings down from the bottom of the seat in front.
“We know that the foot netting presents challenges,” Caon admitted to Executive Traveller, “so we’ve developed something different down there…. what we’ve focused on is number one, ergonomics and number two, intuitive use (and) I think we've got it right on this product.”
The Qantas A350 premium economy seat still adheres to a ‘cradle’ concept which fully supports your body, “but it’s a more conventional approach” compared to the 787 and A380 premium economy seat, Caon says.
And he’s no stranger to flying at the back of the bus – when Executive Traveller spoke with Caon earlier this month he’d just returned from a trip to Milan where he clocked up the miles in premium economy and economy.
“We put the same level of detail and work into those seats as we do into first and business class,” Caon insists. “There are more people sitting in those seats than in the seats at the front, so we attach a lot of importance to them.”
A standout feature of the new A350 premium economy seat is the 8” wing on either side of the height-adjustable headrest, delivering increased privacy as well as giving passengers a comfortable napping position by resting their head to either side.
“I really wanted to give a little bit of privacy back to the passenger, which we’ve achieved with this winged headrest,” relates Caon, describing the feature as “a sort of ‘cobra head’ that’s quite pronounced.”
The new premium economy seat itself is more sculpted, with subtle touches such as scalloping the armrests to free up just a little extra room around the waist.
“We wanted to maximise passenger space and comfort, and although the A350 is so wide we are still working on every single little inch.”
Another creature comfort: a groove in the tray table lets you perch a phone or tablet for BYO entertainment, although this will make it more difficult to watch those movies or TV shows when there’s a meal sitting between you and your screen.
To keep your travel tech charged up, each Qantas A350 premium economy seat has two ‘high-power’ USB-C ports below the cocktail table under the shared armrest.
Qantas has opted to do away with the conventional shared AC power sockets in premium economy and economy, which makes sense when you consider that almost all devices from earbuds to laptops already use USB-C charging, with the iPhone 15 moving to USB-C this year.
A Qantas spokesperson tells Executive Traveller that both USB-C ports are together rated at 60W, so there’ll be ample juice to charge most mid-sized laptops.
Of course, you can also dial up Qantas’ library of inflight entertainment on the 13.3" seatback screen, which streams Bluetooth audio to the traveller’s own headphones or earbuds, or jump online, with each Qantas A350 offering fast free WiFi to every passenger.
Another shift introduced by Caon is the lighter and brighter colour palette used in the Qantas A350’s premium economy cabin.
“In the past we've had dark fabrics and darker charcoal plastic, but in the A350’s premium economy cabin it's all a bit lighter and elevated… there's a less contrasted look and feel to the entire cabin, it’s crisper and more refined, and that was very conscious effort on our part induce ‘calm’ with colours, materials and fabrics.”
It’s part of giving the Qantas A350 a more coherent aesthetic from tip to tail, Caon explains.
“We’ve purposefully tried to be very consistent with the materials and finishes all the way back” rather than giving each cabin its own character.
“Aesthetically it’s carrying through a lot of the same language in terms of colours, lighting and mood from even first class, because we want it all to feel connected and holistic.”
This approach also extends not onto to the Wellbeing Zone but into economy class, where there’ll be 140 seats in a standard 3-3-3 arrangement but with a 33” pitch provide an extra inch over the 787.
“We've done away with the dark red fabric, the purple-type colours and just lightened everything up,” Caon says. “We just want everything to feel a little bit more peaceful.”
“But there’s this same fleck of the burgundy coming through: the same ox-blood burgundy leather that's in business is also in the literature pocket in premium economy, and in economy we've used it as the headrest, but we've also gone away from that dark fabric on the seat.”
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
14 Jun 2017
Total posts 48
The fixed headrest thing is brutal. Air Canada has them in PE, and they’re wildly uncomfortable unless they’re exactly your size. It also prevents anyone in the window from leaning on it.
Disappointed - wouldn’t fly it.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
06 Sep 2012
Total posts 231
Looks decent, but not really 'revolutionary' nor industry leading. I suppose judgment should be reserved until the flights officily commence.
18 Aug 2021
Total posts 6
I have to agree with Mjkcan. I would expect that one of the most important features for such a long haul flight would be an adjustable headrest. Nothing worse than waking with a sore neck. I think the fixed headrest is a big miss.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 May 2013
Total posts 381
Looks good, but not a fan of those head rests in premium economy.
03 May 2013
Total posts 679
I hope Qantas gets rid of those ridiculous and unnecessary business class seat side panels which block window view. Which brainiac at Qantas thought that would be a good idea?
26 Oct 2018
Total posts 2
Economy and business may well be better on the A350 than other planes but premium economy seems to be an exception. You only gain one economy seat width to share among 8 PE seats. This will be a narrower and less comfortable seat than PE on any other plane I can think of (the exception being airlines like Lufthansa or China Airlines that do 2-3-2). I’d avoid it and go economy or a different aircraft, assuming Qantas doesn’t sell this higher density PE product more cheaply.
12 Aug 2022
Total posts 11
As someone who likes to lean against the window with multiple headrests those fixed headrests are a dealbreaker for me too. Nice work on the 40" though!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
27 Nov 2017
Total posts 17
The article said the headrests are height adjustable. I would have thought the wings would swing in and out (left and right) as well.
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1205
Good to see the 40"pitch though pictures look like recline in to space behind may still be an issue. Is it me or do the shared armrests look narrow?
Aegean Airlines - Miles & Bonus
16 Jul 2019
Total posts 31
2-4-2? Ouch.
Those headrests look well and truly fixed unfortunately.
Looks good though. If this was offered for a small premium over Economy I'd take it. But if it's double, I'd prefer to pay for Business or buy 2 seats in Y and spread out.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Apr 2013
Total posts 387
Isn’t 13.3” display a bit small for PE going forward with airlines shifting to a 15.6” display which is what the Safran seat is designed for?
Etihad - Etihad Guest
06 Apr 2012
Total posts 125
The smaller screens may be a weight saving for the aircraft. I imagine Qantas would be very focused on saving weight n in the fitout wherever possible given the ultra long haul routes these aircraft are intended to fly.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Apr 2013
Total posts 387
Possibly yeah. Would a 3 inch larger screen weigh much more though? And J should be 22inches.
29 Jan 2012
Total posts 182
With these flights having 20+ hrs onboard rather than the standard 12, lets at least increase the legroom. QF is charging a surcharge for the "privilege' to fly on these Sunrise flights, then lets make it comfortable. And why not as we're at it make PE 6 seats abreast and Y 8 seats abreast. This will eat into the profits, but will at least makes the experience a little more attractive.
For me, the competition with 1 stop is looking the way to go.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
16 Jan 2018
Total posts 129
I guess that comes down to the individual. No doubt it will be popular as they ‘upgrade’ the rest of the fleet with this product. Although I would say that 7/8 abreast in Y+ is not going to go away. All airlines are targeting economy upgrades to Y+ as opposed to business downgrades. Even with economy note having 33” is an upgrade on the current product and I can see that also being popular for that reason. The one stop prolongs the agony in 31-32” and adds extra time. Personally I’d rather the non stop if in not intending to stopover.
07 Dec 2023
Total posts 1
I would also pass on this prem. econ. fixed headrests are a hard no as they are super uncomfortable and like others have mentioned, unless your a perfect fit they dont work. Not a revolutionary hard product at all. Sorry Qantas but your just pushing even more business away with mediocre products.
One positive is the new colour scheme. That looks nice.
03 May 2012
Total posts 121
Hi David, could I please make a humble request that you ask the airlines, and include in the article, what the seat width is. It is very important information for judging the comfort of the seat.
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2560
Hi PK – that's a good suggestion, we can certainly ask for that information if it's a seat we've not yet reviewed, and try to incorporate it in reviews.
03 May 2012
Total posts 121
Thank you, that is very much appreciated. As someone who is 6’5”, I find that two seats with equal pitch but different widths makes a dramatic difference to general comfort as well as being able to keep slight movement in my legs on a long flight.
12 Feb 2014
Total posts 228
The current PE seat in the A380 allows you to slip a pillow over the headrest. I find that works pretty well. The mock-ups shown here don’t seem to incorporate that in the A350 design. Maybe that could be clarified with Qantas?
I think PE is good value. I compare it with what you get for double the price in business, rather than half in economy. Happy to use points for a business class seat but I wouldn’t pay for one.
04 Sep 2019
Total posts 67
the location of those USB-C points are terrible, who thought that it would be a good idea to have them stick out into where your sitting rather that install them so the charge point faces the seat in front or have it situated in the seat back.
21 Jun 2019
Total posts 7
Photos show they may be very slightly recessed which may help a little. Where to locate is an ongoing challenge..in the seatback inconvenient for window and non-aisle when want to get up, front of armrest means hard to locate for some pax.
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