Premium Economy for Qantas

Qantas has welcomed its first aircraft fitted with the airline's new Premium Economy cabin. It is being progressively installed across the Boeing 747-400 fleet and will be available on every Qantas A380.

The first aircraft with Premium Economy, B747-400 registration VH-OJK, enters service tomorrow and will operate QF127 from Sydney to Hong Kong. The cabin features 32 seats in a two-four-two configuration. It is initially available on select services between Sydney and London and Sydney and Johannesburg. Additional routes will be added as the product is progressively installed.

Seats in the new cabin have been on sale since November 2007, for travel on select B747 services from London from 2 April 2008. Return fares from London start from £1857 for Sydney and £1059 for Hong Kong.

Qantas Premium Economy offers nine inch seat recline and up to 42 inch seat pitch in a 19.5 inch wide seat manufactured by Recaro. Qantas claim this is the world's best Premium Economy recline and leg room. It has ergonomic cushioning and an adjustable headrest, an in-arm touch screen video monitor (at every seat - most Premium Economy seats just put them on the seat backs), a multiport jack with USB (A380 only) and RJ45 ports. In premium economy there is also a Neil Perry inspired menu with premium wines; and a self-service bar offering a selection of refreshments throughout the flight.