Qatar Airways is known for its incredible Qsuites business class — not only is this among the world’s best business class seats, but the overall experience is among the best in the world as well.

Given how many aircraft have Qsuites, in this post I’ll talk about how to go about picking the best seat. After all, there’s a bit of nuance to that, given the staggered configuration, seats alternating between being forward and rear facing, etc.

Qatar Airways Qsuites are available on select A350s & 777s

Qatar Airways has a bit of an issue with fleet consistency when it comes to the onboard product. Currently you’ll find Qsuites business class seats on all Airbus A350-1000s, and on select Airbus A350-900s, Boeing 777-200LRs, and Boeing 777-300ERs. I won’t get into too much detail on that here, but you can see my guide to which planes have Qsuites.

While the exact layouts do differ between aircraft, the general layout is the same. You can tell if a flight features Qsuites based on the seat map, which should show a staggered configuration, where seats in each row alternate in terms of their locations. The cabin is always in a 1-2-1 configuration.

In the interest of being thorough, let me share the primary Qsuites layouts you’ll find for each aircraft type (note that there are some higher density subfleets as well, with smaller cabins).

Below is the Qatar Airways Qsuites layout for the Airbus A350-900.

Below is the Qatar Airways Qsuites layout for the Airbus A350-1000.

Below is the Qatar Airways Qsuites layout for the Boeing 777-200LR.

Below is the Qatar Airways Qsuites layout for the Boeing 777-300ER.

How to pick the best Qatar Airways Qsuites seats

One of my favorite things about Qsuites is how customizable the seating options are, depending on whether you’re traveling alone, as a couple, or as a family or group. So let’s talk a bit about how to go about picking the best seat in the Qsuites layout, based on the type of traveler you are.

Which window seats are best, who should pick center seats, is there a benefit to forward or rear facing seats, and which part of the cabin do you want to be in?

The best Qsuites seats for solo travelers

If you’re traveling alone, then you probably want to select one of the single seats by the windows, if possible. Regardless of which aircraft you’re flying, there are two options:

• The “A” and “K” seats are closer to the windows, and are rear facing
• The “B” and “J” seats are closer to the aisle, and are forward facing

Seats with the letters “A” and “K” are the true window seats, as these seats are right by the windows. Then closer to the aisle is the console and storage area, and then the door is past that. If possible, you definitely want one of these seats, since they feel the most private, and also the least claustrophobic due to their distance from the door. Furthermore, you can easily look out the window.

As mentioned above, the real window seats are rear facing, so is that a good or bad thing? Personally I quite like rear facing business class seats, since it’s kind of fun, and it also means your head will be positioned slightly higher than the rest of your body when reclined, given the slight nose-up angle of aircraft. However, if you suffer from motion sickness, then maybe you’ll want to avoid these seats.

Seats with the letters “B” and “J” are still good, though will feel a bit more claustrophobic. For these seats, the console and storage are closer to the window, while the seats are closer to the aisle. These are still great seats, though they may feel slightly claustrophobic, since you’re seated right by the door. These are forward facing seats.

The best Qsuites seats for couples & groups

If you’re traveling with someone, then you may appreciate the varied Qsuites seating configuration, as you can create a double bed. Seats with the letters “E” and “F” are what we often refer to as honeymoon seats, as these are the rear facing seats that are the closest together, in the center of the plane.

Don’t worry, if you’re traveling with a stranger, you won’t be forced to cuddle with them, as there’s a partition that can be raised. However, if you are traveling with someone, these are great, since you can have your beds right next to one another (it’s not quite a double bed, but you’ll be very close together).

What about the center seats with the letters “D” and “G?” These are forward face seats in the center that are closer to the aisle. They’re not ideal if traveling with someone, since you’ll be quite a ways from them.

Here’s where it gets cool, though. If you’re traveling as a group of four, you can select a “quad,” whereby you basically pick the pair of honeymoon seats, plus the center seats in the row behind, and then you can turn that into a larger, four-person space. About 80 seconds into the below video, you can see what that would look like.

The best location within the Qsuites cabin

Now that we’ve discussed the differences in the various seats, in what part of the cabin should you ideally assign a seat? As you can see, most planes with Qsuites have a forward and rear cabin, so how would I go about assigning seats?

If possible, I’d avoid being within one row (or maybe even two rows) of the forward and center galleys, since there will be light pollution, noise, and possibly smells (from the food and bathrooms).

Beyond that, I don’t think there’s a strong advantage to being in the forward cabin vs. the rear cabin. The way I see it, the main advantage of being in the forward cabin is that you have less foot traffic during boarding, since most economy passengers board through the second set of doors.

The main advantage of being in the rear cabin is that there’s less foot traffic during the flight. That’s because there’s a galley and bathrooms at the very front of the plane, then another galley and more bathrooms between the two cabins. That means if you’re in the very back of business class, you have virtually no foot traffic during the flight.

Personally my preference is to sit toward the very back of the rear cabin, but that’s a general preference I have for my flights. The only potential downside is that sometimes babies in bassinets are in the first row of economy, though that’s not something I usually have an issue with.

How can you assign blocked Qsuites seats?

As you’ll notice on the above seat maps, virtually all of the center seats in Qsuites are blocked, including the honeymoon seats and the center seats that are closer to the aisle. The reason Qatar Airways does this is to be able to save the seats for those who may actually value the honeymoon seats, or the ability to create a pod.

So, how can you assign those seats? If you’re traveling as a couple and are on the same record locator, you’ll sometimes see those seats no longer show as blocked when managing your booking for an eligible itinerary.

Alternatively, Qatar Airways’ call center is typically able to assign those seats to couples and groups, including in advance. So it may require picking up the phone, but it could well be worth it.

Bottom line

Qatar Airways’ Qsuites business class is an excellent product, among the best in the world. You should have a great flight no matter where you sit, but there’s definitely a strategy to picking seats in this configuration.

Most important is that if you’re traveling alone, you’ll probably be happiest in the “A” and “K” seats, which offer the most privacy. Meanwhile if you’re traveling as a couple and want to enjoy the flight together, the “E” and “F” seats are the way to go. Aall of those seats are rear facing ones, so that’s something to be aware of, in case you have motion sickness concerns.

What’s your take on the best Qsuites business class seats?