Qatar Airways has announced a major revamp of its Business Class, with the launch of what it’s calling the “QSuite.”
The seats won’t be available to passengers until this summer.
But the airline’s CEO Akbar Al Baker introduced the “revolutionary” change at the ITB tourism conference in Berlin yesterday.
The QSuites, which will be fitted both forward-facing and rear-facing, come equipped with doors to offer greater privacy.
Some of the seats in the middle sections will also have the capability to convert into a double bed.
Additionally, the middle seats have a screen that can open up to allow four passengers to eat together or chat.
The airline has created a special hashtag for the launch called #FirstInBusiness, to assert that it offers a First Class service experience in its Business Class cabins.
Summer launch
According to Al Baker, all of the airline’s existing aircraft will be retrofitted with the new seats by the summer of 2018.
But by this June, the first aircraft to be fitted with the new seats will the Boeing 777s that fly to London Heathrow, he told journalists.
Aircraft flying to Paris and New York’s JFK airport will follow shortly, he said.
Al Baker added that the airline’s Boeing 787s and Airbus A380s will have different QSuites due to their dimensions.
All of the airline’s new Boeing 777 and Airbus A350-1000s will be delivered with QSuites, he added.
No premium economy
Addressing other queries from the press, Al Baker reiterated his statement that the airline has no plans to introduce a Premium Economy class.
He did however add that Qatar Airways will bring in new economy seats “down the line.”
The airline has made changes to the interior of its Boeing 777 fleet over the past two years, fitting 10 seats per row in the economy cabin, instead of nine.
The move reduced the width of each seat by almost two inches, to 17 inches across.
Al Baker also stated his intention to start up a Qatari-owned domestic airline in India “soon,” the Times of India reported.
And when asked his opinion on the ongoing spat between American and Middle Eastern carriers, he replied:
“Donald Trump is a business man and will do what’s in the best interest of the American people.”
Thoughts?
