PARIS – Even in the midst of enormous political and economic pressure from the multi-Arab nation coalition against the government of Qatar, an unbowed Qatar Airways brought their very first Q Suite-equipped aircraft to the Paris Air Show this week.
The Boeing 777-300ER, aptly registered A7-BED, is fit with forty-two of the new Business Class seat, including five four-person Q-Suites.
Each suite in the center section of the aircraft has the potential to be converted into a double bed — the first bed of its type in business class. Each of the innovative seats has direct aisle access and completely lie-flat seats.
But what makes these seats special is the privacy dividers on the aisle, along with the capability to converse among three other travelers, which could include business associates or family members.
If you don’t happen to be traveling with anyone you know, the Q-Suite offers dividers for each passenger in order to avoid awkwardness. During our tour, no dividers were utilized in order to display the potential spaciousness of the suites.
First announced at ITB (Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin) in March of this year, the Q-Suites product will enter service later this week on Saturday, June 24th between Doha and London. New York JFK is expected to be added in the Fall.
At the suite unveiling in March, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “Today I am proud to unveil the future of Premium travel with our new Q-Suite Business Class. Our unique and patented design is a world first in many ways and challenges industry norms by offering passengers more privacy, more choice, and more personalization.”
“This is truly Business Class as never seen before and is entirely in keeping with our Premium product and service philosophy. On Qatar Airways, you choose when you dine, and the menu options are varied, with something for everyone. You choose when you rest, and when you want entertainment, we offer more choices than any other airline. It only makes sense to give you the choice to make your own cabin-within-a-cabin, creating double Q-Suites or quadrants,” Mr. Al Baker said.
Here are some of the features you can expect to see when flying in Qatar Airways business class in the months to come.
Ahead of the launch, Qatar Airways had vowed to unveil “a new level of luxury” for Business Class, and it surely has delivered on that promise.
