Qatar Airways is joining the list of airlines revealing brand new long-haul Business Class cabin products this year, with confirmation that the promised “Qsuite 2.0” will finally get its big reveal around four months from now, with possible service entry shortly thereafter.
Qsuite 2.0 was originally supposed to debut on the airline’s Boeing 787-9s when they were first delivered in 2021, since their cabins are too narrow for the existing Qsuite, however the new product was not ready and these aircraft were instead fitted with a customised ‘off-the-shelf’ seat by Adient Aerospace.
Now Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer has announced that the new Qsuite will be formally launched later this year at the Farnborough Airshow in the UK, which runs from 22nd to 26th July 2024.
The current Qsuite
First launched in 2017, the Qsuite is widely regarded as one of the best Business Class products in the world, and we can’t disagree with that.
It’s one of our favourites due to its high levels of privacy, thanks to tall walls and closing doors, and the double bed option at rear-facing middle seat pairs – great for couples.
There’s even a quad setup for families or larger groups travelling together, in middle seats that can equally provide solitude for four solo travellers, when configured as individual suites.
That makes this seat, a bespoke design exclusively for Qatar Airways by Collins Aerospace, quite unique and one that’s become a brand of its own in the international Business Class stakes.
Here’s our review of the Qsuite cabin from 2018, shortly after it was first introduced.
Since 2017 we’d probably go as far to say that the Qsuite has only been matched (and perhaps slightly surpassed) by ANA’s ‘The Room’ Business Class, which offers a much larger seat in a not-dissimilar layout.
However, that’s a very niche product for most of our readers. You can’t easily take The Room from Singapore to Europe, for example, without making a significant detour and suffering an inferior product for part of the journey.
Singapore is currently Qatar Airways’ only guaranteed Qsuite route, with all three daily services operated by aircraft equipped with this product, except for occasional operational swaps (less than 2% chance of this, last time we checked).
Qsuite 2.0
Qatar Airways has not revealed exactly what is in store for its second-generation Qsuite 2.0 product, but former CEO Akbar Al Baker previously told Executive Traveller it would be “a revolution of how people travel in Business Class”, adding that the product’s refinement was “a huge enhancement of the current Qsuite”.
For us, it’s difficult to imagine what enhancements can be made to Qsuite 1.0, with the obvious exception of the latest technological bells and whistles now common in the latest Business Class products.
These will inevitably include wireless device charging, USB-C power sockets, 4K IFE screens and Bluetooth audio streaming, all of which have already made it onto Qatar’s Boeing 787-9 stop-gap “Business Suite”.
Other advancements in the industry we’ve seen lately include built-in headrest speakers in the latest JAL A350-1000 cabins, which might be something Qatar Airways could adopt.
Cathay Pacific’s upcoming Aria Suite Business Class is also promising the ability to sync IFE screens for couples or friends travelling together, enabling them to watch the same movie at exactly the same time, for example.
Overall though, we’re expecting the Qsuite 2.0 to be more evolutionary than revolutionary, given the big step-change closed-door suites already brought to the industry (yes, we know, SIA still needs to catch up!).
Interestingly, general industry observation over the last couple of years is that business travel has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, but that demand for premium cabins from leisure travellers is far outweighing that void.
The Qsuite has always struck us as leaning more towards a leisure / family travel concept, given the range of social spaces it can offer compared to most Business Class products.
It will be interesting to see whether Qsuite 2.0 sticks to this kind of layout, or even evolves it further, with ‘premium leisure’ travellers now making up a higher percentage of Business Class passengers compared to 2017.
Another negative aspect for the current Qsuite, as far as the airline is concerned at least, is that it is reportedly among the heaviest Business Class seat on the market, which increases fuel burn, adding operating costs and limiting maximum payload and range for any aircraft it is installed on.
Qsuite 2.0 might therefore have gone on a bit of a diet, with use of lighter construction materials!
SIA still has to catch up to Qsuite 1.0!
Singapore Airlines has a brand new Business Class seat of its own to show off with the introduction of its Boeing 777-9 aircraft in 2025 (or perhaps 2026, depending on the aircraft’s certification schedule).
However, it’s no secret that SIA has fallen well behind the hard product Qatar Airways has been offering with Qsuite over the last seven years – the airline has a lot of catching up to do!
Details of SIA’s upcoming Business Class product have not been shared, though we’ll eat our hat if it doesn’t boast suite-style closing privacy doors, now “de rigueur” in practically all new long-haul Business Class seats, partly thanks to Qatar’s Qsuite – which was one of the first with doors.
Unfortunately, despite rumours, Singapore Airlines shunned the idea of retrofitting its Airbus A350 ULR aircraft with its new Business Class product this year, as each of those seven aircraft go into the hangar for a month-long routine maintenance check.
It therefore looks like we’ll be waiting up to two more years before this one breaks ground.
That’s a shame because it certainly seems like the airline has been left behind in Business Class over recent years, with its decade-old 2013 product only slightly modified for the Airbus A380 in 2017, still doorless and still forcing most passengers to sleep at an angle with their feet in a small cubby hole.
Meanwhile, new product reveals by British Airways, Qantas, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Swiss and Japan Airlines have all gone down the closed-door suite route, with Emirates, Qatar Airways and Malaysia Airlines among those still to reveal their latest Business Class seats this year alone (including Qsuite 2.0).
Let’s hope the new SIA long-haul Business Class, originally due to enter service in 2021, is worth waiting for and boasts design features that haven’t been left behind by recent products revealed by other airlines in the meantime.
Which aircraft will get Qsuite 2.0?
While the new Qsuite will inevitably feature on Qatar’s upcoming Boeing 777-9 aircraft from 2025, the carrier has not yet confirmed whether it will be fitted to any other aircraft.
However, following a formal launch in July this year it seems likely the product will be rolled out much sooner than that.
This could include upcoming Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-9 deliveries, or potentially retrofits of older aircraft that never got the original Qsuite, such as earlier A350-900s, Boeing 787-8s and some Boeing 777s.
The airline’s most recent Boeing 787-9 delivery (A7-BHQ) in December 2023 has yet to enter service or apparently receive any cabin fit out, leading some to speculate that Qsuite 2.0 will be launched on that aircraft, later this year.
If that’s the case, we expect the jet will probably fly to Farnborough for the airshow in July, with the full Qsuite 2.0 cabin installed to show off to the media, and then potentially enter into regular service shortly thereafter.
Qatar Airways started deploying its original Qsuite only three months after launching it at ITB Berlin in 2017… so watch this space.
New First Class
In a surprise move, Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer also announced this month that the airline would be reversing strategy when it comes to its First Class cabins.
Former CEO Akbar Al Baker famously dismissed the need for the airline to have a First Class cabin, which currently only features on its 10 Airbus A380s, and indeed Qsuite was actually dubbed “First in Business” when it launched!
However, the new CEO has had a change of heart.
Al Meer confirmed in an interview with CNBC that Qatar Airways is in the advanced stages of developing a brand new First Class cabin.
“We were always focusing on two cabins, Economy and Business, however, based on demands for certain sectors we see that there is and that there will be, always, very high demand on First Class.
Badr Mohammed Al Meer, CEO, Qatar Airways
“I have decided in the last few months that we have to introduce a First Class cabin, especially when we have to [retire] the A380.”
Qatar Airways will only deploy First Class on specific routes and on specific aircraft types, according to demand for this cabin.
The airline currently deploys its First Class product on the A380 on selected flights between Doha and London, Sydney, Paris, Bangkok and Perth.
You can read a recent review of Qatar Airways First Class on the Airbus A380 here.
While a retrofit of existing Qatar Airways aircraft to include First Class isn’t out of the question, we suspect the product will only be included on the carrier’s upcoming Boeing 777-9 fleet, entering service from 2025 at the earliest.
Nonetheless Al Meer stated that “we are 70-80% ready, we are only finalising colours and small touches… hopefully we’ll be able to announce it very soon”.
Al Meer likened the development of the new First Class product to the “new benchmark” he says it set in Business Class with the Qsuite, back in 2017.
The airline will also aim to utilise its knowledge and expertise from having its own private jet company, Qatar Executive.
“We want to combine the experience of flying commercial and flying on [a] private jet and develop something new which is the First Class cabin…
Badr Mohammed Al Meer, CEO, Qatar Airways
“…what we did with the Qsuite by raising the benchmark [in Business Class] for a very long time, we will do the same with the First Class cabin.”
That’s quite a promise, given both the current and upcoming First Class and Suites offerings on the market.
Qatar Airways has strong competition in the First Class stakes, with SIA’s A380 Suites product and its upcoming brand new First Class on the Boeing 777-9, plus the Emirates “game changer” fully enclosed Suites.
There are also brand new First Class cabins in store for Lufthansa, Swiss and Qantas passengers in the coming years, all of which look impressive, so we’ll be keen to see how the benchmark is raised in Qatar’s concept, once it’s revealed.
Summary
It’s amazing to think that the Qatar Airways Qsuite is already approaching seven years old, and that means it’s time for a refresh, which we’ll see unveiled in July this year at the Farnborough Airshow.
The Qsuite was something of a step-change for Business Class when it first launched in 2017, and this time round our expectations are geared more towards an evolution, rather than a revolution.
That means the latest technological enhancements like wireless charging and an upgraded IFE system, but also a product made of lighter materials that’s narrow enough to fit on the tightest wide body cabins in the fleet – the Boeing 787s.
The new cabins don’t stop at Business Class, with Qatar Airways doing an about-turn on its decision under former CEO Akbar Al Baker to reject First Class cabins in future, once the A380s had departed.
Under fresh leadership, a brand new Qatar Airways First Class will now be fitted on at least some Boeing 777-9s, to be deployed on key routes no doubt including Doha – London, at least replacing the product when the carrier’s Airbus A380s are eventually retired.
A new industry benchmark is promised in the First Class cabin, so we’re eager to see what’s in store there, just as we are with Qsuite 2.0.
(Cover Photo: Qatar Airways)
Love the content and keen to see new QSuite.
A pedantic point – you say ‘outweigh that void’. You fill a void, not outweigh it. Presumably they don’t weigh much on account of not having anything in them.