On Board The New Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
The first Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner arrived in Sydney on Friday morning, 20th October 2017, at the end of its delivery flight from Everett, Seattle (via Honolulu). This was my first opportunity to look on-board the aircraft to see the overall layout, and the Business, Premium, and Economy cabins. Qantas will operate the Dreamliner with 236 seats, 42 in Business, 28 in Premium Economy, and 166 in Economy, significantly less seats than on other operators of the aircraft (the Air New Zealands' Dreamliners are configured with 302 seats, 18 Business Premier, 21 Premium Economy, and 263 Economy). This extra room will be appreciated by passengers on the extra long 17 hour Perth-London non-stop services. Passengers will have seven toilets available, one wheelchair accessible, and three with baby change facilities. Cabin Crew will operate from three Galleys, Forward, Middle, and Aft, with the aft Galley running the full width of the aircraft.
There is a large Economy Cabin at the rear of the aircraft with 124 seats, and a smaller Economy Cabin just forward with 42 seats. The Premium Economy Cabin forward of Economy has 28 seats, and the Business Cabin is divided into a smaller cabin forward of Premium Economy with 12 seats, and the main Business Cabin in the forward section of the aircraft with 30 seats.
Read About The Qantas Dreamliner Arrival And Welcome Ceremony
The Economy Cabin is laid out in two sections with a 32" seat pitch, 1" more than the Qantas A380 Economy seat, and the seat has a 6" recline
The IFE screens in Economy are large at 12 inches, with a USB port below, and a shared AC outlet between the seats
The forward row of the Economy Cabins have pull up IFE Screens
The extra large Dreamliner windows make the cabin much brighter, and even the aisle seat has a good view out the window
All the Dreamliner windows a electronically controlled (no pull down shades), and take 2 minutes to go from clear to black. There is good height adjustment in the individual headrests
At the front of the forward Economy Cabin there is a bassinet on both sides (Row 40 ABC/HJK). There is also a bassinet if the front row of the Main Economy Cabin, this time for the centre three seats (Row 46 DEF). Both Business cabins have one bassinet in front of the centre seats in Row 1 EF and Row 10 EF. The Premium Economy has a bassinet on either side of the front row of seats, Row 20 AB and Row 20 JK.
The pull up IFE Screen in the first row of the two Economy Cabins
Premium Economy has large 13.3" IFE screens, pull down foot rests, and a 0.5A USB port below the IFE screen for charging your tablet or phone (there is also a second 2A USB port in the armrest)
Leg room in Premium Economy is excellent with a 38" pitch, and the centre seat is actually slightly wider than the rest if you like a little more space
When it comes to sleep time, the headrests have pillows that slip over the them to stay in place
Tray tables are in the seat divider, and have plenty of room for your laptop or other devices
There are two Business Cabins, one with 12 seats, and the other with 30 seats
The seat reclines to a 2m fully flat bed, and the seat number acts as a "Do Not Disturb" indicator to the Cabin Crew. The IFE screen size is 16".
The paired centre seats have a slide up divider for privacy, and AC, USB, and headphone sockets are easily accessible
The seat can be partially reclined during the taxi, take-off and landing stages of the flight
The overhead hand luggage bins are extra large for those last minute purchases
The forward Crew Rest is located in the ceiling above the front Business Cabin, with access via a door in the forward galley. Vertical steps lead up to two bunks and a seat. There is also a rear Crew Rest in the ceiling above the back of the Main Economy Cabin, with access via a door in the port side walkway between the rear galley and Economy Cabin. This Crew Rest has six beds, three side by side forward and aft.
The Qantas Dreamliner has three galleys, this is the forward galley for the Business Cabin
Starboard cabin door in the galley between the two Business Cabins
The mid galley is located between the two Business Cabins
The rear galley runs the full width of the aircraft - this is the port side view
Rear galley starboard side view
Starboard Crew seat in the rear galley, and starboard aft cabin door
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