First look: Qantas A350-1000 seat map

Frequent flyers love a good seat map – and as the first Qantas A350-1000 jets take shape at the Airbus factory in Toulouse, some 700km south of Paris, experts have pieced together a tip-to-tail treatment for the newest member of the Flying Kangaroo’s fleet.

To recap: these ultra-long range A350-1000s, fitted with a special fourth fuel tank, will unlock non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York.

This ambitious undertaking, which Qantas has dubbed Project Sunrise, means travellers will spend upwards of 20 hours on those globe-striding flights, which are expected to begin in the middle of 2027.

In the early days of Project Sunrise, Qantas shared a cut-away diagram of the A350-1000’s general layout.

This was primarily intended to bring to life the cabin configuration of:

• six high-walled first class suites
• 52 doored business class suites
• 30 premium economy recliners, and
• 140 standard economy seats

This was followed by something closer to a conventional seat map, which called out each cabin along with the unique Wellbeing Zone where premium economy and economy passengers will be able to stretch their legs as the hours drift by.

The first Sunrise A350 rolled off Airbus’ Toulouse production line last month, ahead of exhaustive test flights across the third quarter of this year, while the second A350 – which will actually be the first plane delivered to Qantas – is now coming together on the assembly line.

Qantas has already confirmed the A350 will make a series of special trans-Tasman familiarisation flights between Sydney and New Zealand from early 2027, ahead of its trailblazing debut on either the Sydney-London or Sydney-New York route (we’re putting our money on London).

And of course, we’ve seen what the Sunrise A350 suites and seats will look like – from the well-appointed cribs in first and business class...

Qantas' new first and business suites.

... to premium economy and economy, both of which will have extra legroom over the Qantas A380s and 787s.

Now, the team at AeroLOPA – a free website which has succeeded now-defunct SeatGuru as the online go-to for airline seating charts – have put together the best representation yet of the Qantas A350-1000 layout.

AeroLOPA notes that this is “a speculative layout based on the information Qantas has published to date about this aircraft and its cabins”, but it’s as close as we’ll get to the real thing until Qantas releases the official A350-1000 seat map.

The AeroLOPA take even suggests which specific seats might have the best view, based on the A3500-1000 fuselage and how it expects each cabin will be fitted into that floorplan.

For example, the staggered business class layout will put some seats closer to aisle and others right next to the window – and AeroLOPA expects that seats 15A and 15K will be the most scenic.

This seat map also drives home the ‘premium-heavy’ layout which not only reduces the number of seats to help give the Project Sunrise A350-1000s their incredible range, but also shifts the focus onto the reliable revenue stream of premium travellers.

More than half of the Qantas A350-1000 is given over to premium cabins – first, business and premium economy.

It’s only when you get behind the A350’s sweeping wings, and past the stand-and-stretch Wellbeing Zone, that the economy cabin starts.

In fact, the ultra-long range Qantas A350-1000 has just 238 seats, compared to 350-400 seats on a standard A350-1000 as flown by other airlines.

You can take a close-up look at this seat map, and hundreds of others, at AeroLOPA.com.

Also read: How much will Qantas charge for non-stop flights to London?