Qantas takes new shining to Brisbane

Qantas takes new shining to Brisbane
By Hannah Edensor


Qantas passengers can expect a whole new level of luxury when they step into Brisbane’s airport.

The airline is gearing up to launch a multimillion dollar refurb of the airline’s international terminal and lounges, as well as building a new domestic airport lounge.

The new domestic lounge will boost capacity by 30%, with the redesign of the existing Qantas Club and construction of a new Business Lounge and Chairmans Lounge.

Qantas’ existing First and Business Lounges in the International Terminal will be redesigned to create a single lounge experience, continuing the momentum of recent award winning lounge projects in Singapore and Hong Kong. The new lounge will increase the amount of space for customers to dine, work and relax.

Works on all of the new lounge facilities will begin before the end of the year with a staged completion throughout 2016 and early 2017.

The airline also announced about half of its fleet of 737s would be refurbished, with new interiors, in Brisbane.

Around half of Qantas’ 67 Boeing 737 aircraft will undergo facelifts at the Brisbane maintenance facility, while the rest will undergo works in Sydney to fast track the program.

Joyce said the upgrade of the lounges as well as the refurbishment of the 737 fleet was part of the airline’s continued transformation.

“During the past two years we have invested in new lounges, upgrades to our A330 aircraft and rolled out more inflight entertainment options than ever before,” he said.

“The 737 is the backbone of our domestic fleet and this refresh is part of our strategy to deliver the best experience for our customers, whether they’re in the air or on the ground.

“This really shows Qantas is again on the move in Queensland.”

Twenty-nine of Qantas’ 737s already feature personal seat back video on demand inflight entertainment and the refurbishment will see wireless Q-Streaming entertainment installed on the 38 remaining aircraft allowing customers to stream 400 hours of content to their own personal device.

Each of the 737 aircraft will be fitted with an extra row of economy seats made possible by the reconfiguration of the rear galley and lavatories ensuring customers seated in the additional seats enjoy the same legroom and seat pitch offered throughout the economy cabin.

“Ten of our A330s are in service, offering a new fully flat Business Suite which has been described as the best domestic business class cabin in the world as well as upgraded Economy seating and in-flight entertainment,” Joyce added.

“It takes a team of more than 200 engineers and support staff to transform each A330 aircraft and we expect to have 16 of the refurbished aircraft in service by the end of the year.

“Queensland is where it all began for Qantas and we are very proud to maintain such a strong presence and commitment after almost 95 years of operations.”

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