Qatar Airways has revealed to the world what they have in store for their new A380s—and it looks amazing! The seats and more were on display at ITB trade show in Berlin this week, and Qatar proved once again to the world that they are serious about remaining a premium carrier and the world’s best airline!
First class on the Qatar A380 will have 8 seats on the forward upper deck, providing a smaller and more intimate cabin than most of their competitors. Other A380 operators offer 9-12 seats, with Lufthansa being the only other 8 cabin first class. This makes the Qatar A380’s first class cabin one of the smallest on an A380 today. The seats will be semi private suites will offer a 90 inch pitch, dinner for two options (the foot rest becomes a seat), a 26 inch TV, and many upgraded amenities to the cabin’s hard product. Both the beds and the TVs will be the largest first class IFE devices and beds/seats in the air once launched later this year!
Qatar Airways is clever by placing the 48 seat business class directly behind first class on the upper deck. Unlike many airlines which puts economy class (can be loud, full of babies and children) directly behind the first class cabin; Qatar has placed the usually quieter business class cabin here. The 48 seat cabin is very similar to the new 787 cabin and will be four abreast seating with an 80” bed in a 1x2x1 configuration, providing all aisle access. When the seat is made into a bed, everyone’s head will be pointed towards the aisle and feet either towards the fuselage or center of the aircraft. Qatar is trying to provide customers with a consistent experience across their airline and will use the same B/E Super Diamond seat on the A380, which was already well received on the 787.
The economy class cabin will span the entire lower deck and the rear section of the upper deck. On the upper deck there will be 9 seats across in a 3x3x3 configuration and on the lower deck a 10 across configuration with a 3x4x3 set up. The Economy class cabin will be cramped but will still provide Qatar’s five star service for the 461 passengers in economy. If possible, I would advise people to book economy on the smaller upper deck cabin which only has 56 seats.
This new, beutiful behemoth will take off from the New Doha airport to London later this year when the new Doha Airport opens. In the meantime, if you want to book travel on this plane you can either do so through your American Airlines Advantage account or by transferring American Express membership rewards points to a British Airways Avios account. Also remember, US Airways will be joining OneWorld on March 31st, providing even more earning and burning opportunities.
Current Mile Costs to Fly the Qatar A380 London – Doha one way
| Airline | Economy | Business | First |
| American Airlines Advantage | 20,000 | 30,000 | 40,000 |
| US Airways Dividend miles | 20,000 | 30,000 | 40,000 |
| British / Iberia Avios* | 20,000 | 40,000 | 60,000 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles* | 25,000 | 45,000 | 70,000 |
* denotes American Express Membership Rewards transfer partner
