Qatar Airways’ First and Business Class cabins are being refitted with new seats and products over the next few years. It is therefore helpful to know what to expect in the upcoming months as the carrier undergoes the refitting process in their long-haul planes.
Please note that this post exclusively concerns Qatar’s widebody aircraft.
Overview
Qatar Airways has one of the fastest-growing fleets in the world. It currently has 193 aircraft in-service, of which 142 are widebody passenger jets, including:
- 36 Boeing 777-300ERs
- 9 Boeing 777-200LRs
- 30 787-8s
- 8 Airbus A380-800s
- 19 Airbus A350-900s
- 4 Airbus A340-600s
- 13 Airbus A330-300s
- 21 Airbus A330-200s
Airbus A380, Airbus A350-900 and 787-8
The First Class product on Qatar Airways is unique on their Airbus A380s. There are 8 seats on the Airbus A380 arranged in a 1x2x1 configuration, with a divider between the middle seats in the center of the cabin. The seat measures 23 inches wide and comes with an 83-inch pitch. It is not an enclosed suite, however. While the product has great reviews, it appears that it doesn’t offer much more than its Business Class product already does. There are also no showers offered on the Qatar Airways Airbus A380, which is a unique feature that its primary competitors, Emirates and Etihad Airways, offer to their First Class guests. There is, however, an onboard bar that Business Class customers can use on the Airbus A380.
The Business Class seats on Qatar’s Airbus A380s feature the “Super Diamond” B/E Aerospace seat arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, reverse-herringbone style. These seats are also on the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787-8, as Qatar does not offer First Class on either of these two aircraft. The Business Class hard product is relatively consistent across the Airbus A380, Airbus A350 and 787-8, with a seat width of ~22 inches and a pitch of ~50 inches. When fully extended, the bed goes out to ~80 inches for the A380 and A350 and ~77 inches for the 787.
Boeing 777-300 ER (Version 1) and Boeing 777-200LR
This seat features the B/E Aerospace MiniPod product, which was considered revolutionary back in the mid-2000s. It is now largely obsolete given that customers prefer all-aisle access seating and these are designed to be in a 2x2x2 configuration on the 777s. These seats will gradually be replaced by the Qsuites in the coming years. It currently measures 21.8 in width x 78 inches when fully extended, which is also the length of the seat pitch.
Boeing 777-300 ER (Version 2)
In March 2017, Qatar revealed their new business class product which they’re calling Qsuites. These will be fully-enclosed suites with direct aisle access. The 777-300ER was the first plane to feature the new Qsuites, and all 777s and A350s will eventually receive it. The carrier has stated that the 787s and A380s will feature a modified version of the product. Only a limited number of Qatar’s 777-300ERs feature the Qsuites, which are presently flying from Doha to London Heathrow and New York JFK.
The biggest selling point of the Qsuite is its versatility: it can either function as an individual suite (with a sliding door), a communal space for workers or friends to co-mingle thanks to retracting privacy dividers, or it can double as a romantic bed for two if the couple is traveling together. More information can be found by clicking on this YouTube page.
Airbus A340-600, Airbus A330-300, and Airbus A330-200
Qatar offers First Class on each of these aircraft, although these planes will eventually be replaced by newer Boeing and Airbus variants. The First Class seat on these planes feature the MiniPod seat on the Business Class of the 777-300ER, but with a little extra room, a privacy divider and an ottoman.
The Business Class seat varies between the B/E Aerospace Diamond seat and the older-generation MiniPod product, depending on whether or not the plane has been retrofitted.
Future Fleet
Qatar Airways also has ordered the following aircraft:
- 30 787-9s
- 12 777-300ERs
- 10 777-8s
- 50 777-9s
- 24 Airbus A350-900s
- 37 Airbus A350-1000s
- 2 Airbus A380-800s
It has yet to be announced what Qatar will be using on the 787-9s, Airbus A350-1000s and 777-8/9 planes, but presumably, the Qsuites will arrive on those as well.
There is a helpful Qatar Airways Guide FlyerTalk thread that keeps tabs of the major updates to the Qatar Airways’ fleet based on aircraft registration. As the retrofits continue, it would be helpful to refer to this site often to be able to see which aircraft feature the new products as they are deployed, particularly if you know your registration in advance.
