The first of the refreshed B767s has commenced flying and will predominantly fly between Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
The last aircraft is targeted for completion by the end of March 2013 — completing the project six months earlier than originally planned.
Qantas Domestic Chief Executive Officer Lyell Strambi said customers travelling on Qantas’ B767 fleet will now enjoy updated cabin interiors and in-flight entertainment (IFE) streamed direct to iPads in every seat.
“These aircraft look and feel like new and we expect these changes to be very popular with our customers. We have fast tracked this project to improve the flying experience on these 16 aircraft. The works on each aircraft take approximately two weeks to be completed and will be done in our Brisbane maintenance facilities,” Mr Strambi said.
“Following the successful trial of our QStreaming service this year, we are partnering with Panasonic to provide over 200 hours of on-demand IFE content via iPads to every passenger in Business and Economy travelling on our fleet of refurbished B767 aircraft. We will also refresh the fleet’s cabin interiors with a contemporary design that includes leather seat covers in Business and a new look and feel in the Economy cabin. Other enhancements include new carpet, lighting, curtains and dividers.”
“Our customers were the first in the world to experience the ground-breaking Wi-Fi entertainment technology and we received great feedback from our customers during the trial this year. We’re now looking at ways to evolve this technology platform even further with our partner Panasonic to bring new standards of in-flight entertainment to our customers.”
Qantas’ wide-bodied domestic fleet is made up of B767s and Airbus A330s. A new A330 will be delivered to Qantas domestic fleet in November and progressively our fleet of A330s will grow until the eventual retirement of all domestic B767s by mid-2015.
From Bangkok, Qantas flight QF24 operated with Airbus A330 departs at 2055 hrs and arrives in Sydney at 0900 hrs the following day. From Sydney travellers are able to connect Qantas domestic flights to their preferred destinations in Australia. They can also connect international flights to New Zealand. On the return flight, Qantas flight QF23 departs Sydney at 1230 hrs and arrives in Bangkok at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 1850 hrs.
For further information on Qantas products and services interested people can phone 02 627 1701 or access www.qantas.com.