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- Rolled out across 10 A330-200 aircraft
- Brand-new Economy seats designed with extra comfort for Project Sunrise ultra-long-haul flights
- 4K OLED 13.3” entertainment touchscreens for Economy (20 per cent larger)
- USB-C fast charging and Bluetooth audio connectivity for Economy
- Free Wi-Fi coming to some routes in Asia on Wi-Fi-enabled A330 aircraft from December
- New mood lighting and the replacement of all curtains and carpets
- Business Suites with fully flat beds will remain
Qantas is upgrading 10 of its aging A330-200 aircraft before they’re replaced by 12 Airbus A350s and 12 Boeing 787s as part of the brand’s ‘Project Sunrise’. The upgraded Qantas A330s operate international flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, and more.
The upgrade works will begin in mid-2025 at Qantas’ Brisbane maintenance facility. The first upgraded aircraft will enter service before the end of 2025, and the entire project is set to be completed by the end of 2026.
This means the upgraded A330-200s will be phased out almost as quickly as they arrived, and the brand forecasts the planes will leave the fleet from FY27 into the next decade. Most importantly, they use the same seats as the on-order A350-1000ULR aircraft so that you can think of them as a preview of the upcoming planes.
RELATED: Qantas A350 First and Business Class Cabins Revealed.
The headliner of the new Qantas A330-200 Economy upgrade is the new 4K OLED 13.3-inch entertainment touchscreens, which are 20 per cent larger than the current design. Most importantly, this has been paired with USB-C fast charging and Bluetooth audio connectivity, which lets you use your own headphones when you’re watching a movie. If you’re not flying on a plane with this capability, we highly recommend the TwelveSouth Airfly Pro, which basically does the same thing.
Free Wi-Fi will also be coming to some routes in Asia on Wi-Fi-enabled A330 aircraft from December. This will work the same as Qantas Domestic routes, and if you’ve spent as much time travelling between Sydney and Melbourne as we have, it should work pretty well!
“We’ve used our fleet renewal program to completely rethink the inflight experience, and these cabin upgrades mean we can bring next-generation features and designs to our existing aircraft,” said Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace.
“Customers can look forward to brand new Economy seats that have been specially created to maximise comfort and provide features that our customers want for international travel. They’re the same seats that will feature on our ultra long haul A350-1000ULR aircraft, so it will be a preview of the Project Sunrise flying experience.”
Finally, we have to talk about the seats because while they still look positively uncomfortable, they still have the 2-4-2 configuration, which means the window seats are still up there with the roomiest of any international economy class in service.
More information about this Qantas A330-200 upgrade project can be found on the Qantas website, linked below.
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