Jetstar beefs up its business class in preparation for longer international flights

Jetstar is preparing to rip out the cabins from its 787s for a significant makeover in preparation for flights potentially as far away as Africa.

Jetstar 787s are undergoing a major makeover inside and out, with more business class seats, fewer economy seats and a new livery. Picture: Jetstar.

Jetstar is set to rip out cabins from its Boeing 787s in order to double the size of its business class cabin and add a crew rest area so it can operate flights of up to 16 hours.

In response to strong demand for business class, the low-cost carrier will increase the larger seats on offer from 21 to 44, and reduce economy class seats by 33, to 281.

Overall seat numbers will fall by 10 to 325.

Cabin dividers will be removed to allow for the additional seats, and seat-back, in-flight entertainment screens will be scrapped to cut the weight of the aircraft, and therefore the fuel burn.

Work will begin from late 2025, coinciding with scheduled aircraft maintenance on the 787-8s.

Jetstar chief executive Stephanie Tully said the new lie-flat crew rest area would be created above the economy cabin and this would free up for passengers eight business and economy class seats normally used by pilots and flight attendants.

“The new crew rest areas mean our crew will be able to get the rest they need to operate longer flights, unlocking the possibility of new destinations like Sri Lanka and India,” Ms Tully said.

Africa could be added to Jetstar’s network but no decision has been made.

Now close to 10 years old, Jetstar’s 11 787-8s have operated more than 54,000 flights since 2013, flying to Bali, Honolulu, Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.

Ms Tully said the fleet upgrade would “significantly enhance” the medium to long-haul flying experience for customers.

“This multimillion-dollar fleet revamp will allow us to offer our customers more choice,

comfort and amenities when flying longer distances internationally,” she said.

“Our existing 787 business class offering is extremely popular, so we’re doubling the number

of business class seats, and to keep customers connected in the air we’re introducing on-board Wi-Fi.”

Due to the removal of in-flight entertainment screens, passengers will be encouraged to bring their own devices on board and pay to access the internet or Jetstar’s entertainment library.

New Recaro seats across the business and economy cabins will include phone and tablet holders, a power outlet to charge devices and six-way headrests.

There will be no change to the current seat pitch; economy passengers get 76.2cm of legroom (30 inches) and business class travellers 96.5cm (38 inches).

As well as the interior, the 787s will be repainted with the latest livery.

The upgrades will allow Jetstar to continue to operate wide-body aircraft as the airline replaces its existing A320s with longer range and more fuel-efficient A321neos.

To date, nine A321neos have been delivered and three more are due.

Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics data shows Jetstar is the second biggest carrier of international passengers in and out of Australia after its parent, Qantas.

In June just over 11 per cent of all international travellers flew on Jetstar, Bali, Thailand and Korea were the most popular destinations.

Across all routes, the average percentage of seats filled on outbound flights was 93 per cent, and 85 per cent for inbound services.