Fly in Qantas Business Class Pajamas

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed)
Apr 11th 2010 at 11:02AM

What good is a lie-flat seat if you're going to muss your outfit as you slumber? That, at least, is the thinking behind international airlines that distribute pajamas to their upper class passengers, and, it's good thinking -- I've noted before that flying business class is like having the best sick day ever, and where would a sick day be without great pjs?

The last time I flew Qantas three years ago, they weren't on the pajama bandwagon, but it's now a standard in-flight amenity in Business and in First. (There are different pajamas by class, naturally, differences I shall delve into after the jump, so come along.) I was in business so the pjs I received were grey cotton, with the Qantas kangaroo logo on the shirt. They come with a little cotton pouch to store the jammies in post-flight, and the inside of the shirt bears this handwritten phrase: "I wish you wonderful travels to dream land - Morrissey, x. " (The x is a goodnight kiss.) I was a little confused about why the one time lead vocalist from The Smiths was involved with Qantas pajamas -- and isn't he a Brit? I've since learned that this Morrissey's first name is Peter, the Australian fashion designer who also handles Qantas uniforms, which makes much more sense.

The pjs come in two sizes, L/XL and M/L. They're unisex, which isn't something I realized at first, so ladies, even if you like your pjs roomy, bear in mind that the L/XL is designed to fit a big, tall man. It's huge.

The bathrooms do get jammed at the beginning and the end of flights since everyone is changing in and out of their pajamas, and it is of course a little bit weird to be wandering around a plane with a bunch of strangers in sleeping clothes. But I do think I slept better than I would have in my jeans on the way out. And I liked them enough that I wore them each night of my stay in Australia.

If you fly Qantas First, your unisex pjs are designed by Akira Isogawa. You also get slippers (Business gets socks), and your toiletry kit, stocked with Payot Paris products, will include deodorant and a comb, both of which are lacking in the Business toiletry kit, which contains Korner cosmetic products customized by gender. I wouldn't expect a kit to include deo, so that's a nice touch in First, although I will say that the lack of a comb in the Business toiletry kit is a conspicuous absence after a 16 hour flight -- I'm pretty sure that there was a hair-smoothing implement in the kit three years ago.

Tags: airlines, australia, business class, pajamas, pajamas in public, PajamasInPublic, peter morrissey, qantas, toiletries

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Laura Apr 14th 2010 12:16AM

Where do they store the day time clothes at? Does everyone get their own hanger, etc.? There's no point in changing into pajamas if my business clothes are still going to get all wrinkled. http://bit.ly/Qtes

Alison Wellner Apr 14th 2010 9:09AM

Hi Laura - you could hang your clothes in the coat closet, a number of passengers did just that. Also, if you have a window seat, you get a little storage locker at your side, so I just folded my clothes up and put them in there. I wasn't wearing anything too fancy though!

Deborah-Eve Apr 16th 2010 12:21AM

After surviving numerous 16-18 hour flights doing it in pjs sounds really appealing. I bet early plane travelers flew in pjs since they knew how to fly it in style! Great perk for Qantas to offer.

http://bit.ly/Qtes