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What a 16-hour non-stop flight on Qantas's Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be like
In a little over a year, Qantas will add the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner to its fleet.
And in as little as two years, business travellers could be flying the advanced jet on non-stop routes from Sydney to Chicago, Melbourne to Dallas and possibly even Perth to London.
Those flights will top the 16 hour mark, representing a dramatic shift from journeys broken by stopovers due to the limits of other aircraft, such as as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747.
So what will it be like to travel in the Red Roo's new ride, and how bearable would those longer trips be?
Luxurious configuration
Qantas gave its first hints earlier this month, with CEO Alan Joyce promising the Dreamliner would see "a very luxurious configuration" to match its very long-range routes.
This doesn't necessarily mean showers, bars and spas at 30,000 feet. If you want that, you'd better pony up north of $350 million for your own Boeing 787-9, and that's just for the jet – fancy fittings are extra.
What Joyce has tipped will include "a big business class and a big premium economy cabin", with the airline's latest generation of seats.
At the pointy end of the plane that'll mean the airline's highly-regarded Airbus A330 Business Suite, which is already tick-tacking on Australia's east-west and east coast 'triangle' route as well as most flights to Asia.
Refined and redesigned
Expect a refined and slightly redesigned version of this seat, based on traveller feedback since the seat debuted some 18 months ago.
With its direct aisle access, ample storage space, lie-flat bed and large personal video screen this is going to put the 'Dream' into the Dreamliner.
It'd still be nice if the Boeing 787 allowed some social space where travellers could get out of their seat to mix and mingle en route, but the plane's relatively modest footprint doesn't permit such creature comforts as you'll find on the A380 superjumbo.
Premium pitch
Behind the business class cabin Qantas will fit a smaller premium economy section, and behind that lies economy – of which Joyce says "we will be giving some very good seat pitch for economy seats given the the lengths we'll be flying."
That's a good sign even if the seats themselves will be ranked nine-across, in a 3-3-3 arrangement which means three of those usually unwanted middle seats per row.
But smart developments in seat design are freeing up more room down the back of the bus.
For example, advanced materials and manufacturing allows for seats to be thinner without sacrificing comfort and all-important lower back support, while the pocket for the safety card, magazines and barf bags can be relocated higher up the seat.
Such tweaks can easily add more than than inch around the knees – and that's where passengers find it's needed the most.
Add the Boeing 787's other passenger-friendly traits – clearer air, higher cabin pressure to provide greater humidity and oxygen for reduced inflight fatigue and jet-lag, and an overall smoother ride – and that 16 hour flight may not be quite the torture chamber that you'd think.
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What a 16-hour non-stop flight on Qantas's Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be like
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