Qantas Dreamliner economy passengers will get an inch more space while they fly

QANTAS has thrown down the gauntlet to other airlines — promising more space for economy class passengers on its new 787-9 Dreamliners.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner joins the Qantas International fleet from 2017.

QANTAS has factored in more legroom for the economy cabin of its new 787-9 Dreamliners to give passengers more comfort over the longer distances the aircraft is expected to fly.

Economy passengers will get a whole extra inch of legroom compared with those on Qantas A380s, as well as a bigger entertainment screen and more storage space.

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How Economy Class passengers on Qantas's new 787-9 Dreamliners will travel — with an extra inch more legroom than on A380s. Picture: Supplied

The seat pitch will be 32 inches or 81.3 centimetres, as opposed to 31 inches or 78.7 centimetres.

The allowance is significant given the anticipated 16-hour plus flights Qantas is considering on routes such as Perth-London, Sydney-Chicago and Melbourne-Dallas.

Just 166 passengers will be seated in the “back of the bus” — compared with 263 on Air New Zealand’s 787-9s.

However Qantas will have 48 Business suites, whereas Air NZ has 18; and 28 in Premium Economy compared with the Kiwi carrier’s 21.

How Business Class passengers on Qantas's -new 787-9 Dreamliners will travel. Picture: Supplied

Unveiling the 787-9 Business and Economy seats in Sydney, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the interiors were carefully designed with longer routes and changing passenger preferences in mind.

“The Dreamliner is an aircraft built for comfort. The windows are bigger, it helps reduce jet lag, it’s extremely quiet and there’s a system that smooths out turbulence,” said Mr Joyce.

“We’re planning to make the most of the 787’s amazing range, so we’ve designed the cabin to give Qantas passengers a better experience on long haul flights.”

Mr Joyce said many of the cabin design elements were taken straight from customer research.

“Personal storage rates really highly, so we’ve created extra space in Economy for customers to store their personal devices and water bottles,” he said.

“We’re proud that our new Economy seat includes features other carriers reserve for Premium Economy.”

Range map of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner that joins the Qantas International fleet from late-2017. Picture: Supplied

The Business suites all have a fully lie-flat bed and direct aisle access, matching Virgin Australia’s Boeing 777 product on trans-Pacific routes.

“We’re also redesigning the in-flight experience for the Dreamliner, from rethinking our menus to making better use of the self-service bars during different phases of flight,” said Mr Joyce.

Australian industrial designer David Caon created the cabin interiors of the 787-9 and the new economy seat, in a progression of the “Qantas aesthetic” established by Marc Newson.

The first international flights on the aircraft will be on sale before Christmas, for those who like to book travel a year in advance.

Current 747 routes will gradually be taken over by the 787-9 Dreamliner before new city-pairs are added to the Qantas International network.

Mr Joyce also unveiled an update to the Qantas Flying Kangaroo logo, only the fifth time the image has been changed since its introduction in 1944.

The new symbol designed by Marc Newson further streamlines the flying roo, doing away with the front paws.

Originally published as Qantas Dreamliner economy passengers will get an inch more space while they fly