Qantas has been looking at options to keep economy class passengers in reasonable shape while flying ultra long distance routes, such as the new 17-hour Perth to London direct service.
Already Qantas is eyeing even longer routes, from Sydney and Melbourne to London.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told a business gathering in London that the airline is exploring an entirely new class that would be situated in the cargo hold.
The giant space could involve train-like berths and allow a space for cooped-up passengers to stretch and walk around in an exercise area.
Joyce mused, "One of the concepts that we have is maybe if we're not carrying freight you do something lower where cargo is on the aircraft, do you have an area where people can walk? Do you have berths like on a train?”
Speaking later at a lunch attended by Fairfax Media, Joyce elaborated on the concept, saying, "nothing is off the table" when it comes to reimaging a potential new class of travel.
Qantas said it had put the idea to both Airbus and Boeing.