Qatar Airways’ Qsuite was hailed as the best business-class cabin in the world at this year’s ‘Oscars of Aviation’ – the Skytrax World Airline Awards.
But the best, it seems, is set to get better.
Qatar Airways, which also won the ‘world’s best airline prize’, yesterday unveiled the ‘Qsuite Next Gen’ at the Farnborough International Airshow, seating that the carrier says will feature on the new Boeing 777X by 2025.
And the verdict? One aviation expert who attended the launch and tried out a mock-up version of the suite declared that it’s even more impressive.
The most eye-opening improvement is undoubtedly the window ‘Companion Suite’.
Qatar Airways unveiled the ‘Qsuite Next Gen’ (above) at the Farnborough International Airshow. In ‘quad mode’ in the current Qsuite, the entertainment screens partially block the views of facing passengers. But in the new version, the screens fold away flush to the walls
Part of the Qsuite’s renown centres around the ability for passengers to create a quad grouping in the middle of the cabin, featuring two facing pairs of seats.
In the next-gen cabin, a companion mode will be available to pairs of passengers who have booked window seats, with a divider lowering between two facing single seats to create a new social space.
Rhys Jones from travel site headforpoints.com said: ‘I can see this becoming a very popular option. The “Companion Suite” concept is the one thing that is truly different about Qsuite Next Gen.’
The ‘Quad Suite’, meanwhile, has been tweaked so that the space can fully open up.
In the current Qsuite, the entertainment screens partially block the views of facing passengers. But in the new version, the screens – 4K OLED devices by Panasonic – fold away flush to the walls. Qatar Airways boasts that the new-style Quad Suite will be ‘the largest social and productivity space in the sky for up to four passengers’.
In the next-gen cabin, a companion mode will be available to pairs of passengers who have booked window seats, with a divider lowering between two facing single seats to create a new social space
Feast for the eyes: The new Qsuite features 4K OLED entertainment screens by Panasonic
The new seats are bigger, too, notes Rhys – two inches wider, one inch longer in bed mode and 4.5 inches wider in bed mode.
He adds: ‘With the centre pair made up as a double bed suite it is, amazingly, almost 10 inches wider than previously.’
Rhys also reveals that the already huge tray table is even bigger and that additional storage options include a lockable slide-out drawer.
The new seats are bigger – two inches wider, one inch longer in bed mode and 4.5 inches wider in bed mode
Qsuite was hailed as the best business-class cabin in the world at this year’s ‘ Oscars of Aviation’. Above – a close-up of the new version
Rhys Jones from travel site headforpoints.com said: ‘What Qatar Airways has done is take an industry-leading seat and make it even better’
Qsuite Next Gen will feature on the new Boeing 777X (above)
Can the new suite be retrofitted to existing Qatar Airways aircraft? It’s too wide for the Dreamliner, says Rhys, but could perhaps appear on the A350 in addition to the 777X, also called the 777-9.
He concludes: ‘At first glance, Qsuite Next Gen might seem like a modest improvement to the original Qsuite. Delve a little deeper and the opposite is true. What Qatar Airways has done is take an industry-leading seat and make it even better.’
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said: ‘We are excited to have finally revealed the long-awaited Qsuite Next Gen at the Farnborough International Airshow.
‘Qatar Airways has once again raised the bar for its award-winning product, the Qsuite.
‘We look forward to welcoming media and partners to our stand throughout the week to experience the future of business class travel with the World’s Best Business Class onboard the World’s Best Airline.’
