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IT’S HERE: Qatar’s ‘Qsuite Next Gen’ business class seat is unveiled – what’s new?

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The Qsuite Next Gen business class seat was unveiled at the Farnborough International Airshow today.

Qatar Airways launched its Qsuite business class seat at the ITB Berlin travel show in February 2017. We were there for that, and it was genuinely a revolution in business class seating. You can read our most recent review of Qsuite here.

It was one of the first business class seats (together with the Delta One product) with doors, and started a trend for suites rather than seats inside business class cabins.

Qatar Airways Qsuite Next Gen launched

Seven years on, it remains one of the world’s best business class seats thanks to its spacious configuration that allows you to combine up to four seats into a shared ‘room’. The walls and doors on the suite remain higher than virtually all other business class suites out there.

Introducing Qsuite Next Gen at the Farnborough International Airshow today, Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer decried the lack of competition from other airlines, saying:

“we are happy and sad at the same time: happy to know that something that we developed years ago is still the benchmark in our industry, and sad because we were expecting someone else to come and raise the benchmark for the satisfaction of our customers.”

“However, our team decided to take matters in their own hands. They decided to come and raise the benchmark once again.”

The result is Qsuite Next Gen, or Qsuite 2.0. Qatar’s new teaser video for Qsuite Next Gen gives you a good overview of what has changed:

Qsuite Next Gen: evolution or revolution?

The question on the tip of everyone’s tongue has been whether this new Qsuite product will be evolution or revolution of the existing seat. In other words, is it simply a tweaked version or has it been redesigned from the ground up?

The answer is a bit of both.

Qatar Airways Qsuite Next Gen launched

On the outside, it is an improvement of the existing Qsuite layout and design: 1-2-1 all aisle access, with half the seats forward facing and the other half rear facing. Visually, Qsuite Next Gen is a continuation, fine tuning what is already a market-leading product.

Internally, it is a different story. The seat has been redesigned from the ground up with manufacturing partner Adient Aerospace replacing Qatar’s previous partnership with Collins Aerospace, which manufactures the existing Qsuite cabin.

Qatar has previously partnered with Adient on the creation of the Premium Suite for the 787-9s, which is based on an off-the-shelf product. Qsuite Next Gen is a completely custom seat for Qatar Airways which marks it out from the vast majority of business class seats.

Nobody was very forthcoming when I asked why they had changed supplier!

Qatar Airways has improved companion and quad seating

One of the Qsuite’s unique selling points is the ability to combine four suites in the centre into a quad, with two forward-facing and two rear-facing.

Previously this was achieved with sliding centre dividers and monitors to create an open space in the centre. The problem was that there was still a significant obstruction between seats: after all, the inflight entertainment screens had to go somewhere.

Qatar Airways Qsuite Next Gen launched

The solution, on Qsuite Next Gen, has been to change this from a sliding to a folding mechanism, which allows these dividers to sit flush against the side walls of the suite, fully opening up the space:

Qatar Airways Qsuite Next Gen launched

Qatar Airways is also introducing the ability to create ‘Companion Suites’ between two seats in the window. This was not previously possible and opens up the ability for couples or pairs to enjoy the same benefits of combined suite. I can see this becoming a very popular option, particularly as these suites are adjacent to the windows.

The ‘Companion Suite’ concept is the one thing that is truly different about Qsuite Next Gen.

Bigger, better, lighter

Other changes to the seat are more iterative.

For a start, Qsuite Next Gen is lighter. Qatar Airways wouldn’t tell us how much lighter – “we don’t usually give out that information” – but the difference is likely to be substantial thanks to the newer, lighter and stronger materials being used. This reduces fuel burn which is better for both the planet and Qatar Airways’ bottom line.

Qatar Airways Qsuite Next Gen launched

Qsuite Next Gen is also 2″ wider, 1″ in longer (in bed mode) and 4.5″ wider in bed mode than the previous seat.

With the centre pair made up as a double bed suite it is, amazingly, almost 10″ wider than previously. These are small but welcome tweaks to an already spacious seat. As before, the seat tapers into a relatively deep cubby hole:

Qatar Airways Qsuite Next Gen launched

Additional storage options include slide-out trays as well as a lockable storage unit:

Qatar Airways Qsuite Next Gen launched

Qatar Airways has also taken the opportunity to upgrade the suite with the latest tech, including a 22″ Panasonic Astrova 4K OLED in-flight entertainment monitor as well as wireless charging, USB-C, USB-A and 110 volt power outlets. Bluetooth connectivity for personal headphones is also coming.

Meanwhile, the tray table is even bigger, probably about twice the size of most other business class seats:

Qatar Airways Qsuite Next Gen launched

What aircraft will Qsuite Next Gen be installed on?

What hasn’t changed with Qsuite Next Gen is the cabin space requirements. Qsuite Next Gen will continue to be a seat that can only be installed on the largest widebodies – think the A350 and Boeing 777X.

This means that retrofitting it on smaller widebodies, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, is out of the question. It is simply too wide.

For now, Qatar Airways has committed to installing Qsuite Next Gen on the Boeing 777X fleet, which it still optimistically believes will arrive in late 2025. Whether Boeing can stick to that schedule remains to be seen, but I’d be surprised to see it before the middle of 2026 given current delays.

No commitment has been made to retrofitting the existing fleet. A significant number of A350-900s and Boeing 777s do not currently have Qsuite at all: the sensible thing would be to install Qsuite Next Gen on these, but at least for now Qatar Airways is playing its cards close to its chest.

Qsuite Next Gen stats

  • Seat width (in arm): 23″
  • Seat pitch: 100″
  • Bed length: 80″
  • Bed width: 27.5″
  • Double bed width: 58.6″
  • Suite height: 56.25″
  • Meal table size: 20″ x 25″ (bifold)
  • IFE monitor size 22″ Panasonic Astrova 4k OLED

Conclusion

At first glance, Qsuite Next Gen might seem like a modest improvement to the original Qsuite. Delve a a little deeper and the opposite is true. What Qatar Airways has done is taken an industry-leading seat and made it even better.

This includes:

  • the highest suite walls in business class for the industry
  • the unique ability to combine four suites into quads, now rolled out to window pairs for true face-to-face seating
  • wider and longer beds, bigger tray tables and updated tech

Now all we have to do is wait!

Category

Qatar Airways and Privilege Club

Comments (108)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Maples says:
    22 Jul22 July 16:23

    The design of things makes it look more of a futuristic sci-fi stuff.

  • johnny_c-l says:
    22 Jul22 July 16:23

    How does the lockable storage work, does everyone have their own key of is it like a hotel safe with keypad?

  • Duck Ling says:
    22 Jul22 July 16:28

    I would much prefer it if QATAR would just standardise their long haul seating product first instead of constantly launching new products.

    They have become probably the worst in terms of inconsistency in inflight business class seating.

    My personal experience – booked QR QSuite A350 DOH-HND. A few weeks before the flight it switched to a non QSuite A350. No big deal, at least it is still direct aisle access for all. Then the day before it switched again to a 777 with 2x2x2 seating. So, from a QSuite to a 2x2x2 config. What a joke.

    Congrats on Qsuite 2.0 though (eye roll).

    • Rhys says:
      22 Jul22 July 17:30

      Fleet consistency is a major issue and I would hope that they roll out the Adient Ascent seat onto the other widebodies where the Qsuite doesn’t fit. I imagine part of it is dragging out older aircraft like the A380 which by now would have been retired, because of delays to the 777X programme.

      • LittleNick says:
        22 Jul22 July 20:32

        Do you think QR could eventually dump their A380s to BA as BA would like them cheap?

      • TGLoyalty says:
        22 Jul22 July 20:32

        A380 retired? Even the very first one to fly commercial isn’t even 20 years old. How long did 747’s go on for at BA? Aren’t some of their 777’s in use now over 25?

        • planeconcorde says:
          22 Jul22 July 21:23

          The first A380 went to Singapore Airlines and is now scrapped.

          • TGLoyalty says:
            23 Jul23 July 09:58

            It was just give a sense of time rather than suggest it was still flying. Commercial reasons and lemons will mean airlines make decisions on a single plane basis I just wouldn’t expect the whole fleet to be scrapped so young.

            Think the first two were actually returned to the leasing company 10 years in

            Then they scrapped few more in 2021 Partly a consequence of Covid travel restrictions and huge losses partly as the very first ones just aren’t quite as good as later deliveries (12 were refurbished)

  • patrick says:
    22 Jul22 July 16:36

    Oh come on everyone, this is untested innovation; surely we can find more negativity than has been expressed so far.

  • Super Secret Stuff says:
    22 Jul22 July 16:37

    So my main thoughts are:
    > who wants to fly backwards?
    > the foot cubicles look tiny
    > longer bed which is useful for us tall folks!
    > design is stunning

    • jjoohhnn says:
      22 Jul22 July 16:49

      Nowt wrong with flying backwards!

      • masaccio says:
        22 Jul22 July 18:54

        Tell that to your OH that gets travel sick. She’d rather fly economy than do that again

    • executiveclubber says:
      22 Jul22 July 16:58

      AA already have backwards-facing seats in their business fleet and it’s not noticeable which way you’re flying once you’re in. Nobody will care much.

      • Lady London says:
        23 Jul23 July 00:18

        Not unless you’re me or @masaccio’s wife, that is. A backwards takeoff will leave me nauseous for hours.

        • Spurs drive me mad says:
          23 Jul23 July 09:11

          Add me into the say no to backwards seating. Can’t do it on a train won’t do it on a aeroplane. I also hate doors my claustrophobia is bad enough on a flight without shutting myself away. But horses for courses some love it some don’t.

    • Rhys says:
      22 Jul22 July 17:30

      Qsuite is already like this. Club World has had backwards-facing seats for decades!

      • TGLoyalty says:
        23 Jul23 July 09:59

        Still doesn’t answer who wants to .. some have to as that’s the only seat left

    • BJ says:
      22 Jul22 July 17:38

      Having flown forwards we’d be stuck overseas if we didn’ t fly backwards.

    • Phantomchickenz says:
      22 Jul22 July 19:12

      Who doesn’t want to fly backwards? Suspect the answer is a tiny minority.

    • @mkcol says:
      23 Jul23 July 09:50

      Seems nobody remembers the rear facing exit row seats on the 1-11, 727 & DC-9 series and IIRC front row of Dash 8s.

  • Opus says:
    22 Jul22 July 17:19

    Aviation week saying the remaining 350-1000 deliveries will have the new suite

    • Rhys says:
      22 Jul22 July 17:32

      Would make a lot of sense. No point installing an older product after you’ve unveiled the new one…

  • BJ says:
    22 Jul22 July 18:17

    I honestly don’t know what to think, while innovation is to be applauded I sometimes wonders if QA are trying too hard and the result is a bit too gimmicky. I’m unconvinced Qatar are really grasping what most of their passengers actually want. With the exception of the drunken groups that frequent certain destinations on certain LCC I don’t observe flying as an overly social activity. When flying even couples travelling together spend much of their time on solitary acrivities. For this reason I doubt the QS quads and pairs concept are the winners Qatar believes. Personally I’d much rather see them focus on a more basic but solid tried and tested seat, getting it rolled out fleet-wide, and devoting more time and energy to improving the quality and consistency of their soft product. The random nature and inconsistency of Qatar is all a bit exasperating; when it all falls into place it works very well but all too often they come up short on one or more aspects which colour the whole experience given the level of expectation they encourage. I’m not saying QS does not fit the bill but if that’s what they want to be their symbol or ‘trademark’ I think they need to get it rolled out fleet -wide and quickly at that.

    • Phantomchickenz says:
      22 Jul22 July 19:14

      The quad is absolutely perfect for a family of four with younger children. Whether there is enough of those with the necessary ££ (or Avios) is another question, but we found the concept brilliant.

      • BJ says:
        22 Jul22 July 19:42

        I don’t doubt that but I imagine most okder kuds and teens for sure would prefer to be secluded in their own space not shared space. I wonder too if Rob would have met Mrs Burgess had they been travelling suite-class…

      • Rob says:
        22 Jul22 July 21:54

        There are in Doha. See https://www.headforpoints.com/2021/11/14/how-we-built-the-business-case-for-qatar-airways-qsuite/

        • BJ says:
          23 Jul23 July 07:51

          Missed that article first time round, thanks for sharing. It was an interesting read but I’m unconvinced Qsuite and doors was all that significant. The most meanibful comparison is probably Emirates; 6-7 years after Qsuite was launched Emirates without a door was still carrying more passengers every year than Qatar with a door. Thus, at face value there is no business case here. I appreciate there is a need to look deeper, at relative growth in passenger numbers between the two airlines for a more meaningful comparison, and that the picture is complicated further by pandemic-factors. There is no doubt that Delta One and Qsuite were game-changes, perhaps not so much as the original ClubWorld but still of critical importance. I am convinced of the business case and impact of ClubWorld at launch, less so about suites with doors and adaptable suites with doors. I see those more as a fashion game-changer than a business game-changer. I doubt there is much evidence of massive shifts in passenger growth between airlines over the period that they arectaking to follow the fashion.

    • babyg says:
      22 Jul22 July 20:38

      I love the Qsuite, especially travelling as family down to NZ… the great thing is your have a choice, you can be fully solo if you want OR you can choose to dine together etc as a family, or shut the kids off in their own suite and keep the double bed… and that im my opinion why Qsuite is so great, its the choice that you simply dont get otherwise..

      • BJ says:
        22 Jul22 July 21:42

        Good point, and choice is always good except fot those who cannot make decisions.

    • Rma says:
      23 Jul23 July 11:21

      Agree with the above post, but drunken groups aren’t only on LCC. I have experienced extremely loud, alcohol fuelled passengers using the central group of four seats to very noisily play cards, shout loudly etc. Don’t expect the cabin staff to admonish them in any significant way, just some simpering giggles.

  • Dave Hughes says:
    22 Jul22 July 18:36

    Flew the Q suite once for my last 4 q-suite planned bookings (loved it) , luckily only 1 of the other 3 was to the 2 x 2 x 2 layout to Manchester on the 777 (others were the a350 non q-suite which is a great product , I think it looks great but I’ll be royally p1ssed if I get another poor product while they start talking Q suite 2 and they still swapping out old 777s on me! Get all isle access sorted then worry about this product!!

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