Qantas Upgrades Its 787 Business Class: Doors Added, Ambitions Managed
TravelQantas is upgrading the business class product on four incoming Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners with a privacy-door suite — a meaningful improvement over its current Dreamliner configuration, but a deliberately evolutionary one that keeps the 787 product clearly below the airline’s A350 standard.
What Happened
Qantas announced new business class seating for Boeing 787-9 aircraft expected in its fiscal year 2028 (deliveries from mid-2027). The upgraded seat operates within the same Thompson Aero Vantage XL platform used on existing Dreamliners, adding a sliding privacy door, a wider footwell, an 80-inch fully flat bed, and a 19-inch entertainment screen. The 42-seat configuration and staggered layout remain unchanged.
The four aircraft affected by this upgrade represent additions to an existing fleet of 14 Dreamliners currently operating with the earlier, door-free configuration.
Why It Matters
Privacy doors on business class seats have moved from differentiator to expectation among premium travelers on long-haul routes. Qantas’s current 787 product — a staggered configuration without doors — reads as competitive with 2019 standards, not 2026 ones. The upgrade closes the credibility gap for a carrier that markets heavily to premium-cabin customers on Australia–North America and Australia–Asia routes.
The more instructive detail is what this upgrade is not. Qantas’s 24 Airbus A350-1000s will carry Safran Unity seats — a substantially more premium product with a materially different feel, door design, and storage architecture. The 787 upgrade is positioned as a floor lift, not a flagship statement.
The So What
For travelers planning long-haul routes on Qantas, the practical implication is aircraft-specific. From 2028, the four newly configured 787-9s will offer a meaningfully better business class experience than the existing Dreamliner fleet, but the A350 routes will still represent Qantas’s best long-haul cabin. When booking Qantas business class through Oneworld programs — including Alaska Atmos and American AAdvantage — it is worth checking which aircraft type operates your specific date before redeeming points. The upgrade is a genuine improvement; the hierarchy among Qantas’s own products is not changing.
Source: One Mile at a Time
Content created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.
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