Qantas today took out a top place at The Chicago Anthenaeum’s Annual Good Design Awards for the Qantas A380 First Class Suite.

This is Qantas’s second Good Design Award with the first being awarded 12 months ago for the Qantas A380 Economy Seat.

 Qantas A380 First Class Suit which took out the Prestigious Good Design Award

The full media release from Qantas can be read below:

Qantas announced today that its Airbus A380 First Class suite has been awarded a Good Design™ Award by The Chicago Athenaeum.

Ms Lesley Grant, Qantas Executive Manager Customer and Marketing said this award marks the second design award for the Qantas A380, designed by Qantas Creative Director Marc Newson and manufactured by B/E Aerospace’s VIP jet group.

“Qantas is proud to have won yet another prestigious design award, the second in twelve months for the Qantas A380, this time for our First Class suite,” said Ms Grant.

“Last year we won the Australian International Design Award of the Year for the Qantas A380 Economy Seat for its innovative, functional and intelligent design.

“The Chicago Athenaeum Good Design™ award recognises the Qantas A380 First Class suite for its aesthetics and excellence in design.

“This award continues to build on the positive feedback from both our customers and the industry on the Qantas A380. It reinforces the value of a well designed inflight product, particularly for long haul flights.

“The A380, with its extra space, new materials and advanced technology, has given us the ideal platform to reinvent the inflight experience.

“This is also the second Good Design™ Award for Qantas, having won the award for the Qantas Skybed in 2004, also designed by Qantas Creative Director Marc Newson.”

In another mark of international recognition, the Qantas A380 Economy seat has also been selected as one of the exhibits in Design Real, an Exhibition at The Serpentine Gallery in London, running until 7 February 2010. The exhibition builds on the growing awareness of design and its impact on the world.

This week Qantas also increased its A380 schedule into the United States and now operates daily services between Sydney and Los Angeles, three flights per week between Melbourne and Los Angeles, and daily A380 services between Australia and London.

QANTAS A380 FIRST CLASS

The main deck First cabin features 14 private suites, each with wide screen LCD video monitors, an array of personal stowage options, a unique touch screen control unit and a seat – manufactured by B/E Aerospace’s VIP jet group – that swivels into a comfortable armchair and a fully flat, extra long and very wide bed. The look and feel is one of understated luxury created through the use of custom designed fabrics, innovative materials and premium finishes. First Class highlights:                          

• 14 individual suites featuring electronically adjustable seat with programmable positions and fully adjustable multi-zone massage function;
• seat converts into a fully flat bed complemented by a foam mattress, sheepskin overlay and fitted cotton sheeting;
• electronically deployed 17 inch LCD widescreen video monitor;
• touch screen control unit featuring personal flight map and operating all electronic functions including electronically adjustable privacy screens;
• leather guest seat and large dining table designed to accommodate two;
• a variety of personal stowage options including dresser unit;
• high quality finishes including Edelman leather and real wood;
• noise cancelling headset port, PC power, USB and RJ45 (internet) ports;
• Electronically controlled dual layer window shades;
• mood lighting and enhanced cabin soundproofing; and
• designer amenities, pyjamas, soft furnishings and tableware featuring designs by Marc Newson, Collette Dinnigan and Akira Isogawa.

About the Good Design™ Awards

The Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Award is the world's most prestigious global awards for new product design and graphics. Now in its 59th year, the Museum’s historic Good Design™ program was founded in Chicago in 1950 with the participation of early modernism’s most formable designers including Eero Saarinen, and Charles and Ray Eames.

The Chicago Athenaeum is conferred annually by The Museum of Architecture and Design together with The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

For 2009, The Good Design™ Awards were judged in New York by an international jury of design professionals, architects, experts, and cultural leaders. In the past, Good Design™ juries have been held in Reykjavik, Iceland, Mexico City, Mexico, Helsinki, Finland, Barcelona, Spain, Los Angeles, and Milan.