Qantas is continuing its overhaul of older Boeing 747s to bring their seats and cabin up to the same spec as its flagship Airbus A380s.
Having now upgraded all six of its long-range Boeing 747-400ER jumbos, it's now the turn of the 'standard range' late-1990s Boeing 747-400s to get passenger pleasers such as the fully lie-flat Skybeds in business class.
The first of these is already in the air – it's the special Olympic livery 747 used to ferry Aussie athletes to and from London's Olympic and Paralympic games.
Two more 747s will make their way into the workshop for a similar refit in the coming months , and when that's done all nine of the Qantas' jumbos will have been given an A380 make-over.
With the last of the 747-400ERs to be upgraded now in service, this means that the long flight from Sydney to Dallas/Fort Worth will now always offer those superior seats.
Take a look inside a revamped jumbo to find out why those new beds are so much better.
As part of the 747 refit, first class is being removed from the jumbo's nose to make way for more business class seats: a total of 58 downstairs and up.
Here's how to pick the best seats in business class on the revamped Qantas jumbos for your next flight.
Speaking of Qantas refurbs, throughout August and September the A380 between Sydney and Los Angeles will be scaled back to four flights per week – the other three days will be picked up by a Boeing 747.
This is due to the Red Roo's reconfiguration of the Airbus A380 into a new layout with a smaller business class cabin and more premium economy and economy seats.
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About John Walton
Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.
1 on 7/8/12 by spinoza