Qantas has given passengers a sneak peek of what it will look like onboard a 20-plus-hour flight from Australia to Europe . The Aussie airline has today unveiled its unique and customisable cabin lighting that will feature on its Airbus A350s for upcoming Project Sunrise ultra-long-haul flights. And not only is it inspired by the colours of the Australian landscape, it's also designed to help minimise jet lag.
READ MORE: These are the most stressful airports in Australia according to new study The design is a result of more than 150 hours of testing in the Airbus Customer Definition Centre in Hamburg. 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 a cabin mockup. You can watch the video above.
READ MORE: How to avoid being a victim of brazen phone thieves on holiday Based on the modelling of circadian rhythms, the lights aim to promote circadian adaption, sleep, and wake. The sequences will then 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.
Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace said the scientifically-informed lighting design was another critical component of the Project Sunrise preparations. "One of the things that was clear from the research is the importance of light cycles and brightness in setting the body clock and that was the basis of this testing," he said. "Combined with the design of the cabins, specialised meal planning, and the movement program, this unique lighting sequence will help improve our customers' comfort in the air and minimise their jet lag when they arrive at their destination.
" 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. The Wellbeing Zone was recently recognised at the Crystal Cabin Awards, taking out the category of 'Passenger Comfort' on the specially designed A350..
