Mention Qatar Airways Business Class these days and you’ll probably only hear about one thing – the Qsuite. However, there are still a large number of the airline’s previous generation seats operating in this cabin, based on the Collins Aerospace ‘Super Diamond’ model.
We took a trip to find out what you can expect from the Qsuite’s ‘poor cousin’, still fitted to over half the airline’s Airbus A350s.
Flight details
- Flight: QR212 Athens to Doha Hamad
- Class: Business
- Seats: 7A & 8A
- Aircraft Type: Airbus A350-900
- Aircraft Registration: A7-ALL
- Aircraft Age: 3.0 years
- Date: September 2019
- Departure / Arrival: 13:10 / 17:25
- Flight Time: 4h 15m
- Cost: 22,000 Avios + £172.10 (c.S$292) per person
Note: Nearly 80% of the cash element payable on this redemption was down to the Qatar Airways fuel surcharge (£137.40, or S$233). Actual ‘taxes’ on this route are minimal.
The Collins ‘Super Diamond’ seat
Collins Aerospace is a major player in the aircraft seats market. While the company does a lot more than just cabin interiors (a market that’s grown for Collins since acquiring B/E Aerospace in 2017), it’s ‘Diamond’ and ‘Super Diamond’ Business Class seats are popular products.
Other airlines choosing the ‘Super Diamond’ in Business Class include American Airlines, British Airways with its new ‘Club Suite’, China Airlines and Virgin Australia.