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Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson has said customers won’t be able to tell the difference between its new A321XLRs and refurbished 737-800 cabins.
Speaking at The Australian Financial Review’s 2025 Business Summit, Hudson said it was important for Qantas to overhaul its fleet given the delays in receiving its new A321XLRs and A220s. The Flying Kangaroo currently operates five A220s, with its first A321XLR to arrive later this year.
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Qantas had previously announced a cabin refresh for 42 of its 737-800s alongside its results for the first half of the 2024-25 financial year.
“There’ll be new seats, there will be free Wi-Fi, there will be new overhead bins, there’ll be new carpets,” Hudson said.
“There’s going to also be new parts in our galley. So it’s going to feel like new. We’ve got a number of young 737s, and so these aircraft are going to fly alongside the new aircraft. And from a customer perspective, there will be no visible difference.”
Asked about the record of predecessor Alan Joyce, Hudson told the conference that CEOs need to “strike a balance” between profits and customer loyalty.
“You can never assume you’re entitled to anything, share price or customer loyalty, you can never become complacent,” she said.
“Striking the balance is the single most important thing that any CEO in any business has to focus on, and striking that right balance is first and foremost, we can never feel entitled to customer loyalty.
“If you are getting that balance right, being profitable is a fantastic thing because it enables you to invest in ongoing aircraft or customer experiences, invest in your people. But we should never feel entitled about profit.”
Qantas will be one of the first airlines in the world to operate the A321XLR, with its first entering the final assembly line in December; the airline has released new photos showing it in its full livery. A total of four are expected by the end of the calendar year.
“The A321XLR offers more comfortable Economy seats, a 66 per cent increase in Business seats, a quieter flight, long and wide spacious cabin, extra-large overhead lockers and fast free Wi-Fi,” Qantas said in a press release.
The 737s to be overhauled are those due to leave the fleet last as part of the airline’s renewal program, which will see the aircraft type gradually replaced with A321XLRs; some earlier-retiring aircraft will also be refreshed.
