Big PaxEx in small packages

In the United States, for example, very few widebodies are scheduled domestically for their own sake, instead appearing as a way to deploy aircraft efficiently between operational hubs and maintenance hubs, or on trunk routes where demand is orders of magnitude greater than across Australia. Europe sees even fewer widebodies operating within the continent, though that is also a function of the core economic centres being relatively close together.

The trick from the airline point of view is to ensure a reasonably comparable passenger experience on narrowbodies, particularly in the front cabin. With recent generations of fully flat business class beds certified for the narrowbody market, however, this is not the challenge it once was.

While Australian narrowbody passenger experience tops out at a simple recliner pitched at 38”, international airlines have been installing fully flat beds on their mid-haul narrowbodies for the best part of a decade.

Continental Airlines introduced the B/E Diamond seat in a 2-2 configuration for its largely transatlantic Boeing 757 fleet in 2008, and all three US carriers currently use it as the premium cabin on their remaining internationally or premium-configured 757 aircraft, as does Continental’s successor United on the Boeing 787 aircraft with which it serves Australia and New Zealand. Numerous airlines now offer Diamond on Airbus A320 family aircraft, including American Airlines in business on its three-and-a-half class transcontinental Airbus A321 fleet since 2014, and Qatar Airways on a selection of its Airbus narrowbodies. (American also offers a Zodiac Cirrus outward-facing herringbone seat on its transcontinental A321 fleet, similar to Virgin Australia’s B/E Aerospace product.)

British Airways in 2012 introduced the Thompson Vantage staggered fully flat bed (as initially launched on Delta’s Boeing 767 aircraft) in an alternating 1-2, 2-1 layout onto its ex-BMI Airbus A321 subfleet, which largely serves mid-haul markets in the Middle East and Central Asia. This product is also the basis for JetBlue’s 2013 Mint product, while interiors MRO operator Airline Services completed installations on Aer Lingus’ transatlantic Boeing 757 aircraft in 2016.

The A321 — and in particular the A321neo and extra-fuel-tank A321LR members of the Airbus A320 new engine option family — appears set to be the mainstay of the level of mid-haul market demand with which Qantas and Virgin Australia may find themselves presented over the medium term. That both of the more competitive fully flat business class seating options are widely certified on the A321 is a tick in the positive column for a premium narrowbody option.

While no Australian airline operates the 757, the aircraft shares the same fuselage diameter as the 737, meaning that minimal rework for installation and certification should be required if Virgin Australia wished to remain with its plans to take Boeing 737 MAX aircraft but install premium narrowbody seats. No airline has yet attempted a premium narrowbody subfleet on a 737-800, but there are few reasons why this should not work for a small subfleet, even if only 6-8 business class seats were installed.

On either A320 or 737 family aircraft, with careful design and cabin reconfiguration, especially around the galley, where numerous interiors manufacturers are offering space-saving monument void options, lost space around the Vantage stagger or the Diamond angle could be minimised.

Installing a truly premium cabin would reduce the number of economy seats, but both airline groups can soak up economy demand through the use of Jetstar and Tigerair, particularly given that the latter has several aircraft formerly dedicated to its Bali routes looking for a purpose these days.

Indeed, there is even scope for yields to rise if the airlines market the aircraft to experience-sensitive passengers as having an almost business jet feel, with fewer fellow travellers (particularly beneficial from an inflight connectivity perspective) and perhaps an enhanced meal or sleeper service.

All of this may sound a little like the proposed Asian Qantas Group narrowbody airline of several years ago that was quickly dubbed Qantasia and almost as quickly discarded. But the fact remains that demand has shifted since Qantas and Virgin designed their current service levels, and it may well be time to rethink whether it sustains using world-leading ultra-longhaul seats on mid-haul flights.