DECEMBER 2017 AUSTRALIAN AVIATION 29GREAT SOUTHERN LANDS
7,312nm, but the great circle route
crosses over the top of Antarctica.)
And beyond that, whichever new
type Qantas selects under Project
Sunrise – the name is a nod to the
‘Double Sunrise’ flights Qantas
operated nonstop between Perth and
Sri Lanka using Catalinas in WW2 – it
seems likely to form part of a larger
subfleet.
Both the A350 and 777X families
present interesting options for Qantas
as it looks to replace its widebody
fleet, the 777-9X could replace A380s
and 747-400ERs for example, the
A350-900 could replace A330s, if the
787-9 is not already pencilled in for
that.
So with major fleet decisions
looming at the top and bottom ends of
the 787’s range and seating capacities
it’s hard to see Qantas taking up all 45
orders, options and purchase rights. But
CAPA – Centre for Aviation’s senior
analyst Will Horton makes the point
that the original Qantas Group 787
operator, Jetstar, could be the natural
home for more of the type.
“Jetstar operates 11 787-8s and
would benefit from a larger fleet,
including -9s, to allow it to finally seize
opportunities it has had to wait on
while competitors – notably Scoot and
AirAsia X have grown their widebody
fleets,” Horton wrote in late October.
But, notes Horton, the Qantas
Group’s target of a return of 10 per cent
on invested capital would “significantly
restrict” the capital outlays available for
any Jetstar (or indeed Qantas mainline)
787 follow-up order.
Nonetheless, there is a small window
of opportunity between when the last
of the current eight 787-9s on order
for Qantas are delivered in 2019 and
the first Project Sunrise aircraft enters
service in 2022 for capital allocation for
new 787 orders, Horton wrote.
“Additional 787s offer substantial
benefits for the new operator Qantas
and original group operator Jetstar,” he
concluded.
One of those tasked with
maximising the benefits that the 787
brings to “new operator” Qantas
is Phillip Capps, head of customer
product and service development. As
such Capps had carriage for designing
the Qantas 787’s cabin configuration.
“For us the challenge was a multiple
one, was to really get the configuration
right so we need to get a mix of the
different cabins that maximises our
profit,” Capps said in an interview
during VH-ZNA’s delivery flight.
“Once we’re clear on that then a
big consideration was to try and fit as
many seats in while still delivering
on the core elements the customers
need, so space, privacy, seat width,
seat comfort and it ends up being
quite a mathematical process to try
and optimise both of those different
profit maximising and also customer
elements.”The configuration Qantas landed
upon to maximise profitability was
a premium-heavy 236-seat layout,
seating 42 in business class in a 1-2-1
configuration offering direct aisle
access for every passenger, 28 in
premium economy laid out 2-3-2 across
and 166 in economy in a 3-3-3 layout
with 32in seat pitch and 17.2in seat
width.
“Then the other really big important
thing for us was to minimise weight
and so we’ve looked at everything
from seat structures through to seat
cushioning, the materials we make the
seat out of and the fabrics on the backs
to the leathers on the headrest, the style
of seat belts ... the type of lift flaps, sort
of seat belt mechanisms that we use,
to maximise safety but also minimise
weight.”
Weight is critical in any aircraft
design, but especially so when you’re
planning to operate nonstop between
Australia and the UK.
“The target that we had across all
the different areas that have worked on
the aircraft was to make sure that we
could operate maximum passenger load
... Perth to London and also Melbourne
to Dallas non-stop, Melbourne to
Dallas being a route that we don’t
currently fly but we could theoretically
in the future, I want to make sure that
we’re future-proofed for that.”
Indeed in many ways the 787 itself,
and what follows it under Project
Sunrise, are about future-proofing
Qantas’s international operations.
As Qantas looks to its future it is
clearly planning to go the distance.Qantas is configuring its 787-9s
to seat 42 in business class
(top), 28 in premium economy
(middle) and 166 in economy
(above).QANTAS