Qantas is retiring its oldest Boeing 747s as the new Boeing 787s arrive, but that hasn't stopped one of the jumbos from getting a surprise refresh of its first class cabin.
Only two of Qantas' remaining Boeing 747s still sport first class in the nose of this Queen of the Skies...
... with 14 suites which are quite a 'blast from the past'.
While those suites aren't sold as first class, which now exists only on the Qantas Airbus A380s, they're mainly offered to top-tier Qantas Frequent Flyers (Platinum, Platinum One and Chairman's Lounge members) booked into business class.
Now one of the oldest jumbos in the Qantas fleet (registration VH-OEB, which began flying in 1993 and first carried the Qantas colours in 1998) has received a first class refresh.
The Airline Hub Buzz website has shared these photos of the revamped first class cabin, which reportedly made its debut yesterday on the QF27 flight between Sydney and Santiago.
The new seat padding and coverings, fresh carpet and gussied-up cabin fixtures certainly transform the cabin from what it looked like before this make-over.
Here's another 'before' photo...
... and the 'after' shot.
Airline Hub Buzz claims the primary reason for the refresh "would be that the aircraft will be used by Constellation Journeys, an established travel company, for a private 'round the world' charter" from April 2018 which will see these seats once again sold as first class.
In addition to Sydney-Santiago flights, other routes which most see these classic Boeing 747s include Tokyo and Johannesburg – so if you've got status on your side, check your seating options online and see if you can snare one of these first class suites in rows 1 through 4.
Qantas won't be rolling out this refresh to its oldest Boeing 747-400 (registration VH-OJM), which the airline expects to retire in the next few months.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jul 2014
Total posts 143
That's a smart refresh Looks great
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1206
Constellation must pay serious money for QF to bother to do this.
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1242
Yep, and yet it's always used for some reason.
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2560
It's used because it's a decent-looking PR photo of a Qantas Boeing 747 supplied by Qantas PR. Happy to consider any other suitable copyright-free images of a Qantas Boeing 747-400 if people here want to send that shot to [email protected] for consideration and can attest that they are authorised to offer that photo for such use.
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1242
David, you do realise Qantas has a News Room site with an image gallery, right? And it contains a perfectly good image of a B744: www dot qantasnewsroom dot com au au/gallery/qantas-and-american-airlines/
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2560
Of course we know that, we're there often to grab images; I just don't fancy the particular image there.
24 Apr 2014
Total posts 269
My fondest memory is a 300 flying Mel to Per upstairs in Business. Tons of room and great service.
28 Oct 2011
Total posts 645
Maybe QF/Constellation have more planned charters? OEB could become a charter aircraft for QF, earning a bit more revenue for QF. Good brand awareness having a QF 'tail' at non QF ports. Never underestimate the power of a 'logo' :)
05 May 2016
Total posts 616
When I saw this headline I thought maybe QF was doing this to fly the 747 from MEL to DXB instead of the A380... That would've been an interesting option.
06 Oct 2016
Total posts 3
I sat in one of these coming back to BNE from LAX about a year ago. I haven't seen it on this route ever again so maybe it was temporary.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1374
Looks like this was done in SYD in under 7 days.
19 Nov 2012
Total posts 44
It wasn't done earlier as these 2 aircraft were planned for disposal. As fuel price has fallen in the last few years it became economical to keep them despite the maintenance costs.
24 Apr 2014
Total posts 269
Why is the oldest one getting a refresh? Wouldn't the youngest come first?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1374
Only two 747s with F.. OEB is the youngest starting life with Asiana in 93 then Qantas in 98.
03 May 2013
Total posts 680
So I imagine OEB will be around a few years yet. Doing Constellation Charters(which are 1-2 per year?) Rest of the time ploughing Santiago/Joburg routes? Always a treat flying in of those 2 birds in old F cabin. Very civilised indeed:)
19 Nov 2012
Total posts 44
There is no plan for the above. The Mark II seat takes up a lot of space at 80" pitch. If you look at the reconfigured jumbos 14 first class was replace by 14 J class. That included having to remove the first class galley.
05 May 2016
Total posts 616
That shows QF should have just put in new F seats and made it an Emerald City.
05 May 2016
Total posts 616
But considering the age of the 747 I doubt they'll do that.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Nov 2013
Total posts 27
I'm planning to fly to Johannesburg next April and now hoping I can sneak a seat in the new first class cabin. Hoping my gold status will be enough.
QFF
19 Sep 2013
Total posts 205
I've travelled in the seats as a lowly silver, and my wife managed to score a seat there with bronze, so your gold may suffice.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Jul 2015
Total posts 219
It's great that the venerable Queen has a bit more life left in her but the end must be in sight.
QF NZ
28 Jul 2013
Total posts 29
I came back from JNB (QF64) just before Easter on this layout, very nice. I prefer the single window seats.
12 May 2013
Total posts 2
Flying Syd -JHB 15 June and pre-booked old First Class Seats 3E/F..Hope it is refurbished with the latest seats. Last year flew same route and had old First Class 4K... very dated but oh so comfortable.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Jul 2013
Total posts 203
Had the pleasure of flying SCL-SYD recently and was delighted to find my SO and I had been assigned 1A and 1K and that the row 2 was entirely empty. Very much like a private jet experience. As always the QF service and F&B offering was top notch and even though the seats are quite dated we both found them very comfortable and step up from the SkyBed MkII.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Mar 2015
Total posts 94
I managed to get one of these olf 1st seats sfo to sydba few months ago. They may be old, but the sheer amount of space was amazing!
13 May 2015
Total posts 22
Just to clarify, in the refurbed non-F 747s they've managed to put 14 J seats where 14 F seats were because they have the extra space that the original FC galley took up (now removed)? I was trying to work out how it could a 1:1 swap space-wise!
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