Qantas will fast-track a refresh of its Boeing 767 fleet between now and March 2013, with a spruced-up interior intended to give the ageing jets a fresh look and feel.
The airline says the new Marc Newson interiors offer a "contemporary design", while the free availability of iPads for inflight entertainment adds an undeniably modern touch.
The business class seats have been re-covered with charcoal leather upholstery.
In economy the tones are a muted aubergine.
Other enhancements include new carpet, curtains and dividers plus brighter lighting in all cabins.
But take a closer look at the rear of the seats, which in both business and economy have been fitted with a special iPad holder built into the upholstery.
Each of the Qantas-issued iPads – which are third-gen Retina models, available free to every passenger from tip to tail – comes with a flipcase (coloured in Qantas red, natch) which folds back and slides into a slot on the headrest, so you can keep enjoying that movie or TV show during meals.
Of course, if you're one of the many flyers who packs their own tablet, most covers should also slot in there.
Qantas will refresh 16 of the 19 Boeing 767s in its fleet, with the other three jets being retired from service.
“These aircraft look and feel like new and we expect these changes to be very popular with our customers,” said Lyell Strambi, CEO of Qantas Domestic.
The work is being carried out at Qantas' Brisbane Heavy Maintenance base, and with each refit taking a little more than two weeks the airline says the entire overhaul will be finished "six months earlier than originally planned."
Each of the aircraft will roll out of the base equipped with the Q Streaming system to beam movies, TV shows and music beamed via WiFi to each tablet.
Here's a video of Q Streaming in action, which AusBT shot during the first trials of the technology earlier this year, when it was based on the original Lufthansa Systems' implementation of Q Streaming (however, Qantas since chose Panasonic Avionics Corporation's eXW system for the fleet-wide rollout of Q Streaming.)
Read: Our photo-gallery walkthough of Q Streaming plus some 'behind the scenes' details
The first refreshed 767 is already flying on on the 'triangle' route between Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as from the east coast cities to Perth.
If you happen to catch it, drop back and tell us what you thought of the make-over and the in-flight iPad system.
Get the latest updates for business traveller and frequent flyers: follow @AusBT on Twitter.
About David Flynn
David Flynn is the editor of Australian Business Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
1 on 1/11/12 by John