Qatar Airways flash new Business Class Cabin

Qatar Airways have released details on the redesigned Business and Economy seats that will be available on the airlines new 787′s due to arrive this year – in fact Qatar will receive five of the Dreamliner aircraft in 2012. The aircraft will have over 250 seats in total with 22 in Business Class.

The 1-2-1 configuration in Business class will offer direct aisle access for flyers at the pointy end along with far more personal space than available on other carriers. The seats will be 22-inches wide and when reclined in flatbed mode will allow the traveller to stretch out over 2m in length.

The seats look well designed and modern with great features like fully adjustable armrests and a side table that will comfortably fit a laptop (allowing one to eat and work at the same time). The style is very similar to Cathay Pacific’s new business class layout which can be found here.

Economy will be in a 3-3-3 layout and will have one less seat per row than other carriers, meaning that economy flights on Qatar shouldn’t be as torturous. Recline will be 7inches (though roughly the same as the average in the market) – the redesigned head rest will aid sleep also. If you can’t sleep however you can immerse yourself in the 10.6-inch inflight entertainment system.

Qatar 787 Economy Class

Speaking of inflight entertainment, the facilities will blow customers away with the new Android operating system (similar to JAL) which will ply customers with up to 1000 movies, TV shows and other entertainment options. What sounds awesome to this writer is the fact that there will be a dual screen system that allows customers to watch a movie on the screen and be able to play games on the handheld device simultaneously.

WIFI and text message services will be available so connecting with the world will still be possible about 35,000 feet.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said:

“Space, comfort and ensuring our passengers have the best onboard entertainment options are key elements of our new Boeing 787s, promising to set new benchmarks in air travel. Qatar Airways has taken a lot of time and effort in ensuring we are true leaders in the field rather than followers, meticulously working with manufacturers on specific seat design and features”.

From what we’ve seen Qatar is really delivering a stunning product to the market with the 787. With top notch service that is consistently raved about in online review sites / forums and customer service awards abound it seems like Qatar is an airline to watch.