It’s the battle of the beds and its worth billions.
Virgin Australia started the bed war three years ago with its new A330s and now Qantas has struck back rolling out a revolutionary new business suite – a first for domestic travellers.
It’s no secret that Qantas have the lion’s share of the lucrative corporate market that fill up the pointy end of the plane, but Virgin make no secret that they too want a bigger piece of this pie.
The battle is so intense and the products on both airlines so good, that the loyalty of well-heeled travellers – or those who just want to indulge – could be won over by who has the best laptop storage space or softest pillows.
We travelled on Qantas’s new Domestic Business Class between Perth and Sydney and were impressed.
It can best be summed up as an almost international first class product boasting a range of firsts for comfort, workspace, connectivity and ease of access.
Never has a domestic Business Class been this good.
The seat in detail
According to Phil Capps, Qantas’s Head of Customer Strategy it may be seat storage that sways the customer over the competition.
“There are four separate storage zones, plenty of room for a lap top bag or small wheelie bag, an area for shoes, another for literature and an built into the privacy screen for tablets, laptops and personal effects like glasses,” said Mr Capps.
And at 1.80m long and 63cm wide the fully flatbed will suit almost everyone says Mr Capps.
The suites are configured in a 1-2-1 layout – a stark contrast to the current 2-2-2. However that means fewer seats only 28 – down from 36 in the previous domestic layout – which means loyalty upgrades will be much harder to get.
What will suit everyone, and what we loved, is that in an industry first, passengers can recline the seat 21 degrees as soon as they get on board.
After take-off full recline can be engaged to the flat bed setting and for landing the seat can be returned to the 21 degree recline position.
When you use the seat in this configuration you must engage the three-point seatbelt (similar to what you use in a car) for maximum safety.
So as soon as the wheels leave the ground you can hit the fully recline button and the new “Do Not Disturb” button on the seat’s control panel and your seat number glows red to tell the attendants to leave you in peace.
Thousands of hours of research have gone into developing the Qantas suite.
“There has been lots of research into all competitors and we believe this is the best and we have customized it further,” said Mr Capps.
One clever idea – of the many – is a mirror inside the lid to the remote control which means a last minute touch-up before landing doesn’t require queuing for the toilet anymore.
Another is the positioning of the various outlets power and USB ports.
In the suite they are located at shoulder height in the console instead of being in front of the seat near floor level where it is almost impossible to see.
You’re left asking the question why didn’t they do this year ago?
The pillow is large and soft, the blanket thick and warm and the options for seat positioning, endless.
With privacy for every passenger, a large table that comes out from the side and as mentioned above, plenty of storage, it really is the perfect Business seat.
In -Flight entertainment
Each suite feature a large 16inch screen accompanied by excellent noise cancelling headphones.
The upgraded A330s feature Qantas’ new Q Streaming technology, which can also beam any of the in-flight system’s video or music content over Wi-Fi to your smart phone or tablet but you won’t need to do this when you have a large clear screen right in front of you.
The menu is easy to navigate either through the handset or using the touch screen and there are of course plenty of choices for everyone.
Meals and beverages
As good as it is – this is the only real let down for Qantas and it’s a small one at that.
Whilst it has improved, Qantas still take too long to serve business customers a post take off beverage.
Last time it took 80 minutes to get a drink after take off and on this flight 50 minutes.
It’s a first world Business class problem BUT when you are paying what you are paying – one expects a glass of champagne at least within half an hour of take-off.
The competition does it, airlines round the world do it and Qantas should be too.
Once the meal and drink service started however the service was exemplary right up until the seat belt sign turned on for landing.
Conclusion
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told AirlineRatings.com last year that he “believes the product will deliver the best domestic travel experience anywhere in the world.” and we think he’s right.
