Qantas will use cabin lighting inspired by the colours of the Australian landscape on upcoming Project Sunrise ultra-long-haul flights to help minimise jetlag.
The flights will link Australia’s east coast to London and New York when they start in 2026 and will be the longest commercial non-stop flights. The London flights are seen as another one-stop option for Kiwis to travel Britain on the airline, which is expanding in this country.
The design is a result of more than 150 hours of testing in the Airbus Customer Definition Centre in Hamburg, where representatives from Qantas, Airbus, the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre and Caon Design Office created and tested hundreds of lighting patterns and sequences in an Airbus A350 cabin mock-up.
Qantas and the Charles Perkins Centre last year released preliminary findings on how to potentially reduce the impacts of jetlag.
Based on state-of-the-art modelling of circadian rhythms, the Charles Perkins Centre advised the optimal spectral irradiances for light to promote circadian adaption, sleep and time awake. These were implemented and tested throughout the lighting workshops in Hamburg and adjusted for eye comfort and appearance.
The lighting sequence will be tailored to help passengers adjust to their destination time zone before they set foot on the ground.
The trial has produced a series of 12 unique lighting scenes specifically for the Project Sunrise flights, including:
The main cabin will also have “Welcome” and “Farewell” lighting scenes for boarding and disembarking, as well as tailored scenes for taxi, take-off and landing, and sleep.
The Wellbeing Zone where passengers can stretch will feature soft blue-enriched light, creating a daytime sky effect with slow-moving clouds during the “day” to keep customers awake.
There will be a “moonlight-inspired scene” with reflections of water rippling to relax customers who spend time in the Wellbeing Zone while the rest of the cabin is in a dark period.
In a first for the airline, the six enclosed First Suites will offer a fully customisable lighting sequence for their environment so customers can choose the time zone they want to be on for the duration of the flight.
Project Sunrise trial flights were run before the pandemic with a small number of passengers on board.
Qantas International chief executive Cam Wallace said the scientifically informed lighting design was another critical component of the preparation for Project Sunrise flights.
“These world-first flights have been an opportunity for us to work with experts and build on our experience of long-haul flying to rethink the inflight experience with a focus on customer wellbeing and combating the effects of jetlag,” said Wallace.
He said the importance of light cycles and brightness in setting the body clock was made clear by research and that was the basis of this testing.
“Combined with the design of the cabins, specialised meal planning and the movement programme, this unique lighting sequence will help improve our customers’ comfort in the air and minimise their jetlag when they arrive at their destination.”
Australian industrial designer David Caon said the lighting workshops followed more than five years of cabin design with Qantas to maximise customer wellbeing inflight.
“Aircraft lighting doesn’t cross the mind of most travellers but the external light cycle of night and day has more impact on our circadian rhythm and the impact of jetlag than any other factor,” said Caon.
“Using the unique light of the Australian landscape and contemporary interior design as inspiration, we’ve been able to curate an immersive suite of more 12 different lighting scenarios and transitions to help travellers best adjust to their destination time zone and improve their inflight wellbeing.”
Joost van der Heijden, Airbus Commercial Aircraft senior vice-president and global head of marketing, said the A350 had an LED lighting system offering more than 16 million colour combinations, enabling airlines to fully customise their offerings.
“Qantas has taken full advantage of this unique lighting system to create science-based specific effects that will help passengers adapt to the changing times zones. This will contribute to their wellbeing on the world’s longest commercial flights. Together with Qantas and its partners, we are working on the definition of a cabin that will show the A350 at its best. This project is the ultimate endorsement of the A350 as the world’s long-range leader.”
Dr Sveta Postnova from the Charles Perkins Centre said it was great to see circadian science being translated into practice.
“The new lighting scenarios for A350 were developed to optimise the circadian effects of light at different times during flights while accounting for the light appearance, ambience, safety and hardware requirements on board.”
The airline revealed the customised lighting schemes at Airbus’ Airspace Customer Showroom in Toulouse, where a life size mock-up of the Project Sunrise Wellbeing Zone is being temporarily displayed.
Qantas will be the first airline to offer a purpose-built wellbeing zone, located between the Premium Economy and Economy cabins. The area will feature sculpted wall panels and integrated stretch handles, a guided on-screen exercise programme, a hydration station and a range of refreshments.
Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.
The airline sold its last slots at Heathrow in 2020.