How Qantas will change plane layout to reduce jet lag from long-haul flights
Qantas is intending to add “move and stretch” and social zones on board its long-haul flights.
The airline announced on Thursday it will use a non-stop flight between London and Sydney to test ways to reduce jet-lag and improve crew wellbeing.
It’s the second part of “Project Sunrise”, which looks at Qantas’s long-haul flights from Australia to both London and New York.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement “travellers want room to move on these direct services, and the exercises we encouraged on the first research flight seemed to work really well”.
“So, we’re definitely looking to incorporate on-board stretching zones and even some simple modifications like overhead handles to encourage low impact exercises,” Mr Joyce said.
Professor Corinne Caillaud from the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre said another strategy the airline will test includes passengers eating “supper at breakfast time” so they can adjust to the change in time zone.
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Passengers will be offered chicken broth with macaroni or a steak sandwich along with a glass of wine and dessert not long after the plane takes off at 6am London time.
Professor Caillaud added passengers will also be encouraged to sleep at 10am London time “to help avoid light and reset their body clock to Sydney time”.
The flight is expected to take about 19 and a half hours.
Qantas will also look at how cabin lighting, stretching and meditation play a role in both passenger and crew well being.
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