Recaro Aircraft Seating has just announced that it has been chosen to equip the economy cabins of Qantas' Airbus A350-1000 ULR, as part of the "Sunrise" project. With the CL3810 seat, Recaro will equip all 12 Airbus A350s (140 seats per aircraft) from late 2025. 

A seat 15% lighter than its predecessor

With a pitch (distance between rows of seats) of 33 inches (83.8 centimeters) and a recline of 6 inches (15.2 centimeters), the CL3810 seat features a six-position adjustable headrest, an articulated seat cushion and cushions. The CL3810 seat is almost 15% lighter than its predecessor. On the IFE front, passengers will benefit from the Panasonic Astrova system, with a 13.3-inch (almost 33.8 cm) OLED screen, 3D Spatial audio system, BlueTooth connection, 4K resolution and a total of 67W of power for a possible USB connection. 

The return of the very long-haul 

For the record, the genesis of the "Sunrise" project dates back to 2017, when Qantas launched plans to open very long-haul flights between Australia's major cities and Europe, hoping in particular to revive the mythical 1947 "Kangaroo Route" between Sydney and London. The Australian company therefore put Boeing and Airbus out to tender for aircraft models capable of providing 20-hour flight times in one go. Airbus won the bid with the Airbus A350-1000 ULR (Ultra Long Range). To enable the Airbus 350-1000 to cover very long distances, Airbus will install an additional 20,000-liter fuel tank, for a total fuel capacity of 179,000 liters. In addition, the Airbus A350-1000, which normally has a configuration of up to 410 seats in tri-class version, will feature the lowest configuration ever imagined for this type of aircraft in the ULR versions of the Sunrise project. Qantas is planning a 238-seat configuration (six first-class suites, 52 business-class seats with a 1-2-1 layout, 40 Premium Economy seats with a 2-4-2 layout, and 140 economy-class seats with a 3-3-3 layout. The first Airbus A350-1000 ULRs from the Sunrise project are scheduled to take to the air from 2025.