[AMcWhirter]

Qatar Airways new CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer has given a long interview to CNBC – see link below with embedded video.

Main points are:

* Qatar Airways will retain and enhance first class (it will no longer be restricted to the A380) which, presumably, will return to other long-haul aircraft in its fleet.

* Originally Qatar Airways planned to operate its reactivated A380s for a short time only. But now they will be kept in the fleet for much longer which may mean their will gain updated cabins.

One subject not covered here is whether or not Qatar Airways will finally introduce premium economy class.

Previous CEO Akbar Al Baker had said Qatar Airways would be a two-class airline (A380s excepted) but, to my mind, as a powerful global airline it makes no sense to offer standard economy only.

Former CEO was also not an A380 fan. In that YouTube clip (dating from when Qatar Airways A380s were grounded) which I have posted before the CEO told vlogger Sam Chui “There is no future for the A380.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/15/qatar-airways-to-launch-first-class-as-airline-courts-airbus-and-boeing-for-new-planes.html

4 users thanked author for this post.

LetsFlyNow, Phil_Duncan, FinnKZ229, BackOfThePlane

[BackOfThePlane]

Very interesting…

Not particularly surprised about the new love being shown to the A380 but I am surprised about first class.

Having perhaps the best business class in the air makes creating a differential First Class cabin all the harder…..and which aircraft might they add First Class to? Perhaps the 777?

[cybertravller]

They need to either remove those old A330s from service or retrofit them. The difference in hard product is night and day. Going from WAW – DOH on that old bird was an extremely underwhelming experience.

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DerekVH

[AMcWhirter]

Literally a few mins ago Qatar Airways tweeted / X the above CNBC interview.

The airline says its new QSuite “along with other leading edge products” will be unveiled this year at the Farnborough Airshow.

Bloomberg is reporting that Qatar Airways will be negotiating with Airbus and Boeing for the purchase of 100 to 150 wide-body aircraft.

This would enable it “to modernise and expand its fleet.”

[paywall]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-15/qatar-airways-mulls-up-to-150-widebody-order-from-boeing-airbus

[sparkyflier]

I hope QR think of the A330neo as an option – for passenger comfort this is ahead of 787 IMO.

2 users thanked author for this post.

Phil_Duncan, cwoodward

[BackOfThePlane]

My understanding was that Qatar Airways already has a huge order in place for the 777-9 (second only to Emirates?) and is simply waiting for Boeing to get its stuff together.

Would they be adding to that order, perhaps firming up on existing options or perhaps looking at something slightly smaller like the A350 or larger 787s, the 10 perhaps?

[cwoodward]

These A330 are all leased and are being progressively returned. At one point Qatar had 29 but this is now down to 10. They are not that old at about 17 and could be refitted as the airline currently has no mid size aircraft on order.

It seems that the A330 is being phased out to be replaced as part of the said to be pending order placement for 150 aircraft.
Mostly A350s and 777s it is thought but could well include some A320 variants or Dreamliner’s to replace the ageing A330s

[workandtravel]

I’m really interested to see what this new first class product looks like – I agree it’ll be a tough balance if they want to differentiate it from their amazing business class. Retaining the A380s long-term is smart too, as comfortable as they are. Between this and potentially ordering more widebody aircraft, it sounds like they want to cement their position as one of the top global airlines.

[alainboy56]

The mention here of A330s is interesting -(it was perhaps +/-10 years ago when they were used on LHR/LGW routes).
They still have leased Oman Air examples so I am not sure of their strategy with this ‘type’.

[LetsFlyNow]

I’ve got to say that i was rather impressed with the new QR CEO Al-Meer. He seemed very friendly while giving the interview to CNBC smiling, almost playful as he was teasing the aircraft order etc, very diplomatic when asked about the issues at Airbus and Boeing and giving an example of how Airbus is delivering some planes earlier than planned etc. Very positiv.

A Stark contrast to ABB whose interviews where just full of complains.

I think that with the delays we’re seeing with aircraft deliveries QR will keep those A330s abit longer and probably even update the cabins with albeit the old reverse herringbone seats they have on the B787-8. They need the pending orders for growth. And the new order that’ll be placed will probably be delivered starting in 3-4yrs. So it’ll be a while till those older birds are replaced.

[cybertravller]

If they can refresh the cabins on the A330s, then that would be fantastic. The food and the crew were excellent; it just needs some TLC on the hard product.

[BlazeBreeze]

Looks like those big birds are sticking around longer than expected, possibly with some cabin upgrades in the works. But they didn’t touch on whether they’ll finally introduce premium economy. Kinda makes sense for a global airline like Qatar to offer more than just standard economy, right? Times are changing at Qatar Airways, that’s for sure.

[AMcWhirter]

@BlaszBreeze Re: QR and premium economy.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this separate cabin is already in the planning stage.

In fact QR already has a quasi-premium cabin on its A380s.

I was only made aware when viewing Sam Chui on YouTube where a recent video features AUH-BKK with QR’s A380.

The cabin attendant taking Sam on a tour of the A380 initially referred to premium economy on the upper deck.

After climbing the stairs at the rear of the A380 I could see a separate economy zone – see PDF below.

Maybe the attendant realised she had said the wrong thing and so later she referred to it as ecoonomy class.

Apparently this separate economy zone is kept back for the airline’s frequent flyers and therefore not officially promoted.

https://www.qatarairways.com/content/dam/documents/fleet/A380.pdf

1 user thanked author for this post.

cwoodward

[alainboy56]

@AMcWhirter
Yes, and I have been using that section for the last many years since QR took their A380s.
As indeed a FFP, they assign me seats in that area, and it is infinitely superior to the humungous ‘Cattle Class’ below one’s feet on the Lower Deck

1 user thanked author for this post.

AMcWhirter

[persiantraveller]

@cybertravller – Nope, I disagree, I love the “old” A330s 2-2-2 is amazing, night and day… I don’t understand this direct aisle access fetish many have.

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sparkyflier

[Author]

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