Does this major Aussie airline wants us to travel in the cargo hold?
With it’s first flight from Perth to London done and dusted, Qantas is already looking ahead to its next hurdle.
The airline aims have Project Sunrise, the first direct flights from Melbourne to London and New York, completed by 2022.
But how passengers travel by then may look very different.
Speaking to a private audience of Australian and British professionals in London, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce revealed the airline is exploring an entirely new class which could be seated in the cargo hold, reports Business Insider.
But it’s not as bad as it sounds, the huge space may house train-like cabins to allow for travel weary passengers to walk around and exercise during the mammoth flight.
Personally, we’d rather sleep through the whole thing, but we can understand why people would want to exercise during the flight… sort of.
The event was held at the Australian-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce and under Chatham House rules but was later leaked to Fairfax.
“One of the concepts that we have is maybe if we’re not carrying freight you do something lower where cargo is on the aircraft, do you have an area where people can walk?” Joyce said, according to Business Insider.
“Do you have berths like on a train?”
“There’s a lot of ‘out there’ thinking that’s going on.”
“I don’t know if in 2022 if there’s another going to be another class but if there is Qantas is likely to be the airline that creates it.”
The airline has reportedly already put the idea to Airbus and Boeing.
Joyce also hinted at the prospect of Jetstar one day reaching beyond the Aisa Pacific and broadening its horizons to European destinations.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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