Revamped Qantas A380 best seats

6^th Oct 2019

Qantas refurbished Airbus A380 aircraft have had a complete rebuild. The cabin upgrade to Qantas fleet of 12 A380s includes not only new business-class seats but a new lounge area at the front of the aircraft. We look at the best seats on the Qantas A380.

The upgrade of Qantas' fleet of their decade old Airbus A380s is underway, with the first aircraft now taking to the skies. The multimillion-dollar revamp means the capacity of Qantas A380s will get a boost to 485 passengers (up by one), made up of 14 First Suites, 70 Business Suites (up by six), 60 Premium Economy (up by 25) and 341 Economy (down by 30), which really shows the popularity of Premium Economy.

By far the biggest boost are the two new lounge spaces on the upper deck. Originally just a small narrow and little-used lounge to one side of the 'grand staircase' between the decks, this space has been redesigned as a social cafe inspired design with two tables fitted with soft LED lighting surrounded by comfortable padded benches and room for five passengers.

On the other side is a new space with a a self-serve minibar for drinks and snacks, and seating for three people.

Between these spaces, there's a huge flat-screen video screen visible from both areas showing entertainment from the usual IFE system.

From it's first use, it's clear the new business class lounge works well, with cafe-style tables.

Qantas A380 First Class

All of Qantas' 14 First Class Suites have received a light refresh with new contoured cushioning, seat finishes and a larger, higher resolution entertainment screen.

Located on the lower deck, it's good to see that Qantas still decided to keep this class, rather than removing it as with oneworld partner Malaysia Airlines.

Qantas A380 new Business Class

The new Qantas Business Suite is vastly better than the old Skybed seats.

All of the business-class seats are in a 1-2-1 configuration giving all seats aisle access.

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce says "Working with Airbus, we've been able to use the cabin space more efficiently and improve the economics of the aircraft while also providing a better experience in every part of the aircraft."

The new seat offers a bump-free flat bed, lots of inflight storage and workspace, and a 16-inch High Definition video screen that's much brighter and sharper than the older 12 inch TV.

The Qantas A380 Business Class best seats are undoubtedly the front rows, row 11, and row 16. 11A and 11K are single seats, and the EF pairs are best for couples.

Qantas A380 new Premium Economy

There has been a reconfiguration of the upper deck, giving 25 more premium economy seats, bringing the total to 60.

It has a pretty usual 2-3-2 layout in a dedicated cabin at the back of the top deck. Originally fitted to the Qantas Dreamliner, it's not the best of the Premium Economy seats, being rather compact, with a fixed shell, but it does the job.

Qantas A380 new Economy Class

The Economy cabin just gets a new colour palette and an "improved" inflight entertainment system, but little else.

Revamped Qantas A380 best seats

Qantas A380 First Class

Qantas A380 new Business Class

Qantas A380 new Premium Economy

Qantas A380 new Economy Class

Recommended