London Heathrow and Paris Charles De Gaulle will be the launch routes for Qatar Airways' A380 superjumbo, a spokesperson for the airline has confirmed to Business Traveller.
Qatar has previously hinted that it will operate the superjumbo "on popular routes, especially in slot-constrained airports".
Qatar Airways has 13 A380's on order, with the first scheduled to enter service early next year. No official launch dates or schedules have been released yet.
Al Baker confirmed to Business Traveller last year (see online news, December 2012) that the upper deck of the A380 will be fitted with eight seats in first class - the only aircraft in the next three years that Qatar will fit with first class - and 52 business class seats, along with a lounge area and a small economy section.
The entire main deck will be economy class, meaning there will be a very desirable economy section in the nose section, where the aircraft is quietest, making a total of 517 seats on the aircraft.
A picture of the aircraft in partial livery was released earlier this month (see online news, June 12).
To see how the other A380 operating airlines compare, click here.
Scott Carey
