Project Sunrise.. Dream or Nightmare?
I'm curious what people think about Qantas' upcoming A350ULR flights. Every time I see any marketing or promo material for it I just think that sounds truly horrific and will be an out of date concept before long, especially if supersonic commercial aviation is able to regain ground during this time.
If I was flying in first then OK sure I could probably be quite happy, but 20+ hours in economy? Qantas is offering an extraordinary generous 33 inches of seat pitch which is.. well... exactly what JAL already has. It's an improvement yes and certainly noticeable but it certainly doesn't make 20+ hours bearable or pleasant.
The little zone where you can stretch and chat with other passengers while munching on a cryogenic apple? I'm sure after 17 hours in the air everyone will just be dying to have a nice chat with other bedraggled, achey folks they've never met before. "Do you wish you had just had a stopover in Singapore?". "Yes". "My back hurts". "Everything hurts". "I actually really like Changi airport". "Me too..". "Are you taking this flight home as well?". "I don't want to think about that right now". "Shall we open the emergency exit for some fresh air?". "Lucky that bloke on the flight in Korea a couple of years ago isn't here, it would have happened hours ago". "We can only dream".
Opinions? Economics? Do people really want to pay a premium to shave only a few hours off their travel time? Is this really a smart long term play?