Qatar Airways is well known for being a world-class airline, regardless of which cabin you’re traveling in. Qatar Airways is probably most famous for its Qsuites business class. In this post, I want to look at how you can figure out whether your plane is scheduled to feature Qsuites or not, and how to maximize your odds of getting this business class cabin.
In this post:
What is Qatar Airways Qsuites?
Qsuites is Qatar Airways’ business class seat that was first introduced in 2017, which is considered to be among the best products in the world. There are many features that make Qsuites great, including that each seat has a door and that there are double beds in the center section for those traveling together. I’ve reviewed Qsuites several times, including on the Airbus A350-1000, Boeing 777-200LR, and Boeing 777-300ER.
Even nearly eight years after Qsuites was introduced, this product isn’t yet available on all planes. The good news is that even if you’re on a flight not featuring Qsuites, you’ll probably still have a great experience, as Qatar Airways’ business class soft product is exceptional.
It’s also worth remembering that not all new wide body aircraft feature Qsuites. For example, Qatar Airways is taking delivery of 787-9s featuring new suites in business class, but these aren’t Qsuites. The reason for the new product is that these new seats are lighter and also better tailored to the fuselage of the 787.
Qatar Airways has even unveiled a next generation Qsuites product, which looks amazing, and is definitely more evolutionary rather than revolutionary. This will debut on the carrier’s upcoming Boeing 777-9s, whenever they join the fleet. Sadly there are no firm plans to retrofit this product on existing aircraft, though that may change over time.
Which routes have Qatar Airways Qsuites?
There aren’t any routes that 100% consistently feature Qsuites. So first, let’s talk about how you can figure out whether your flight is scheduled to feature Qsuites, and then we’ll talk about which planes in the fleet feature Qsuites.
Look for a business class seat map with staggered seats
The easiest way to tell if your flight is scheduled to be operated with Qsuites is to look at the business class seat map:
- If your flight features Qsuites, it will have a staggered configuration with seats alternating between being forward and rear-facing; by staggered configuration, I mean that a seat in one row will be in a different position than a seat in the next row, as you can see in the below seat map diagram
- If your flight doesn’t feature Qsuites, it won’t have a staggered configuration; that’s to say that seats are in the same place in each row of business class
Why we’ve seen a lot of Qsuites inconsistency
For the past several years, Qatar Airways has had quite a bit of inconsistency when it comes to its fleet, and which flights feature Qsuites. In 2021, Qatar Airways grounded much of its A350 fleet due to a dispute with Airbus over the aircraft fuselage degrading at an accelerated rate.
Fortunately Airbus and Qatar Airways reached a settlement regarding this dispute in early 2023, and at that point, all A350s were put back in service, and the airline has also resumed taking delivery of new A350s.
In the period when the A350s were grounded, Qatar Airways got creative with adding capacity, including bringing back Airbus A380s, leasing 777s from Cathay Pacific and Virgin Australia, and leasing A330s from Oman Air. None of these planes feature Qsuites.
Even though A350s have all been flying for over a couple of years now, these secondhand planes are still in Qatar Airways’ fleet, given how much the airline has grown. Furthermore, it seems like the carrier’s project to reconfigure existing jets has slowed down considerably since the A350s have been grounded, which I’ll cover in more detail below
Last-minute aircraft swaps happen
Even if you book a plane with Qsuites, just keep in mind that last-minute aircraft swaps can and do happen. You might have the type of aircraft for a particular flight swapped, or the same plane with a different configuration substituted.
We’ve seen quite a few aircraft swaps, especially in the past years, as the airline is continuously optimizing its schedule and fleet. So no matter what flight you book, just be warned that you might experience an aircraft swap.
Note that Qatar Airways does have a Qsuite guarantee. If you book a flight with Qsuites and end up with an aircraft swap, the airline will let you rebook on another flight on the same route within 21 days of the original departure date, at no extra cost.
Which planes have Qatar Airways Qsuites?
Qatar Airways has quite a varied wide-body fleet, including A380s, A350s, A330s, 787s, and 777s. The availability of Qsuites differs significantly between those aircraft types — in some cases, all planes have Qsuites, while in other cases, no planes have Qsuites.
So below is the availability of Qsuites by aircraft type, ranked from the aircraft type with the highest percentage of planes with Qsuites, to the aircraft type with the lowest percentage of planes with Qsuites.
All Airbus A350-1000s have Qsuites
Qatar Airways currently has 24 Airbus A350-1000s, and all of those jets feature Qsuites. This is the only aircraft type in the fleet where every plane features Qsuites. Qatar Airways is continuing to take delivery of these jets, so this fleet will continue to grow.
Most Boeing 777-200LRs have Qsuites
Qatar Airways has seven Boeing 777-200LRs, and five of those feature Qsuites (the others feature business class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration). So while it’s not guaranteed, you have decent odds (~71%) of getting Qsuites when flying the 777-200LR. Unfortunately there don’t seem to be firm plans to reconfigure the remaining two jets.
Most Boeing 777-300ERs have Qsuites
The Boeing 777-300ER is the backbone of Qatar Airways’ fleet, as the carrier has 57 of these, including six former Cathay Pacific jets and three former Virgin Australia jets. Of these planes, 40 feature Qsuites (~70%), eight feature Qatar Airways’ old 2-2-2 business class (~14%), six feature Cathay Pacific’s 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration (~11%), and three feature Virgin Australia’s 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration (~5%).
A while back Qatar Airways had a higher percentage of 777-300ERs with Qsuites, but some of the 777s with the old business class have been brought back into service. That was initially due to A350s being grounded, but these planes are now needed to keep up with Qatar’s huge network.
Some Airbus A350-900s have Qsuites
Qatar Airways has 34 Airbus A350-900s. Of those, 23 feature reverse herringbone seats, while 11 feature Qsuites. So unfortunately only ~32% of A350-900s feature Qsuites, while ~68% feature reverse herringbone seats, meaning the odds are stacked against us. While it would be nice if the airline reconfigured these jets, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
No Boeing 787s have Qsuites
Qatar Airways has 54 Boeing 787s, including 31 Boeing 787-8s and 23 Boeing 787-9s (with more to be delivered). None of these feature Qsuites.
Qatar Airways’ Boeing 787-8s feature pretty standard reverse herringbone seats (similar to the old A350 configuration above), while Boeing 787-9s feature an all new business class that isn’t Qsuites.
No Airbus A380s have Qsuites
Qatar Airways had planned to retire its fleet of 10 Airbus A380s, but brought back eight in order to increase capacity. These planes don’t feature Qsuites in business class, but rather feature reverse herringbone seats, similar to what you’ll find on some A350-900s and all 787-8s. On the plus side, the A380 does have an onboard bar.
No Airbus A330s have Qsuites
Qatar Airways continues to fly some Airbus A330s, including four A330-200s and nine A330-300s. These planes feature fully flat seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, and don’t have Qsuites. There aren’t plans for any of these aircraft to be reconfigured, but rather they’ll be retired in the near future.
As mentioned above, Qatar Airways is also leasing some A330s from Oman Air, and these feature a superior product in business class. They have Apex Suites, which are in a 2-2-2 configuration.
Qatar Airways is barely reconfiguring planes anymore
Qatar Airways appears to have basically given up on reconfiguring aircraft with Qsuites. By my math, in the past few years, we’ve seen a grand total of two 777s reconfigured with Qsuites, and that’s it. No A350s have been reconfigured.
I suspect those two 777s were just reconfigured because of Qatar Airways’ investment in Virgin Australia, and all the new service that has created. There are obviously some key markets where Qatar Airways heavily prioritizes offering Qsuites, so I suspect the decision was made that those extra Qsuites planes were needed.
Given that Qsuites was introduced nearly eight years ago, it sure is disappointing that the airline hasn’t made this a priority. The airline often touts how it’s the world’s best airline (for good reason), but then chooses not to invest in offering a basic level of consistency.
Why has Qatar Airways basically stopped reconfiguring planes with Qsuites? Interestingly, it doesn’t seem to be because the airline is waiting for its next generation Qsuites, because the airline hasn’t announced plans to retrofit that on existing planes.
I suspect the simple answer is because the airline can get away with it. People will fly the airline anyway, and in particular, it’s not like the “old” A350 business class is half bad either. Still, it disappoints me.
Bottom line
Qatar Airways is known for its excellent Qsuites business class. While it has been nearly eight years since the product was introduced, you won’t yet find this on all of the carrier’s long haul jets. For that matter, Qatar Airways has introduced a new 787 business class product since then, so there aren’t even plans to install Qsuites on all jets.
Your best odds of getting Qsuites is to fly the A350-1000, followed by the 777-200LR and 777-300ER, followed by the A350-900. Meanwhile on A380s, A330s, or 787s, you won’t find the product at all. Hopefully, the above is at least a useful rundown of what to expect in terms of your odds of getting Qsuites.
What has your experience been with Qatar Airways’ reliability for not swapping planes?
Just returned from Europe having flows Qatar. The flights between Sydney and Doha were both in Qsuite, Doha to Milan were not.
I have to say (and this is obviously a personal preference) that I am nowhere near as in love with the Qusite as Ben is. I find the space really claustrophobic. Wouldn't be much of an issue if the flight attendants weren't regularly closing Suite doors, but I think they are instructed...
Just returned from Europe having flows Qatar. The flights between Sydney and Doha were both in Qsuite, Doha to Milan were not.
I have to say (and this is obviously a personal preference) that I am nowhere near as in love with the Qusite as Ben is. I find the space really claustrophobic. Wouldn't be much of an issue if the flight attendants weren't regularly closing Suite doors, but I think they are instructed to do so, even when I specifically chose to leave the door open. I also found that the lack of leg/shin support makes a massive difference during day flights, or long flights in general.
The A350 seat on the other hand feels a lot more spacious, and is a lot more comfortable to sit in when reclined.
I can definitely see the appeal of the Qsuite if you are flying with a partner (well, a partner that you like who does not snore ;)) and are able to reserve the "double bed" seats, and for families who can score the 4 seat units. Otherwise - I though the A350 was an overall nicer experience
Q Suites is a first class product. It is the best experience I’ve ever had on par with LH F and EK F .
Ben, I was hoping this article update would include a list of airframes .. as can be found elsewhere, which is super helpful for checking and making a last minute switch. 777s are certainly the hardest to predict without the full airframe list
"By my math" You got told that this morning Ben? Anyways A7-BAH and A7-BAK went in for maintenance in April and May respectively both returned to service with QSuites equipped.
Here’s how you know:
Example route: Jakarta to London Heathrow
If you book via Skyscanner mobile app, you will be able to check the details of your itinerary before booking. Jakarta sees 3x daily A350-900. All 3 are non-QSuites, and their layout is shown as “1-2-1 direct aisle access”. London Heathrow, meanwhile, is almost all-QSuites (apart from A380s). QR105 arrives at the same time as the morning A380, but they’re QSuites, and thus their configuration...
Here’s how you know:
Example route: Jakarta to London Heathrow
If you book via Skyscanner mobile app, you will be able to check the details of your itinerary before booking. Jakarta sees 3x daily A350-900. All 3 are non-QSuites, and their layout is shown as “1-2-1 direct aisle access”. London Heathrow, meanwhile, is almost all-QSuites (apart from A380s). QR105 arrives at the same time as the morning A380, but they’re QSuites, and thus their configuration is labelled “1-2-1 private suites”
If you book through the Qatar Airways app or website it’ll show you if you get QSuites or not. If yes, it’ll have a “QSuites” label on it. If not, then no. This all happens before pre-booking seats
Aircraft swap happen.. a lot. Use flight radar to check a history of airframes actually run on the route you’re booking to see how likely it is the Qsuites will hold. E.g. KUL DOH advertises as such and that’s the seat map, but has 50% hit rate at best and a few hours ahead you’ll see a very disappointing new seat map